“Directors use songs to literally interpret and tie it in with the film’s ideas and emotional and/or political content” Coyle. How does popular music help set the differing moods and emotional content in the movie, (500) Days of Summer?
“‘Popular music’ as a wide ranging term refers to various forms of vernacular musical expression arising from everyday cultural experience and broadly accessible across education, class and occupational categories.” (Coyle, 2004)
In his film, (500) Days of Summer, Director, Marc Webb has created an effective score by utilising songs that are well known amongst his audience. This score has drawn from a wide variety of musical styles and eras, all of which accomplish a specific purpose in enhancing narrative, characterisation and mood. Each song selection was not merely an afterthought grafted onto the film in post-production, but rather, a calculated element in the film’s larger schemes of production (Smith, 1998) and is crucial in obtaining the right character development and establishing mood. Jeff Smith summarises this process by explaining that filmmakers frequently use songs as a way of establishing mood and setting, and as a commentary on the films characters and action.
Unusual and unexpected scoring choices do more than simply establish historical background. Instead they indicate the depth of Webb’s musical literacy and understanding of the magical and nostalgic power of pop, aware that the exact placement of a song within a movie can shape and change the nature of the on screen story. It conveys an understanding that the relationship between the music and action does not have to be harmonious. (Kermode, 1995)
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The movie, (500) Days of Summer is Marc Webb’s film directorial debut. Webb is a renowned music video director, a reason why this essay will be focusing on the use of popular music in this film and the particular decisions he has made in music choice. The soundtrack of the film features ‘indie’ and smaller upcoming artists such as Feist, Regina Spektor, The Smiths, and The Temper Trap.
(500) Days of Summer is best described as a classic boy-meets-girl story with a twist. The movie goes back and forth in a five hundred day time span, which “capture the soaring highs and miserable lows of that thing called love” (Germain, 2009) The film subtly mocks convention but at the same time is a heartfelt love story. The narrative is shaped by the unconventional nature of the characters and their subsequent actions, resting heavily on the way in which the music communicates essential aspects of narrative and character. Four selected songs will be analysed to demonstrate the way in which the music does this.
Scene 1: The morning after Tom’s first night with Summer
This scene begins with Tom turning off the light in the room behind him and looking at Summer as she is lying in bed. The song being played is You Make My Dreams, a 1980s Hall and Oates single. The song begins with an electric guitar and the rhythm creates a mood of anticipation as Tom walks towards her and leans in for a kiss. The drum kicks in and the next frames is Tom walking out of his apartment with a ‘goofy’ smile on his face. What happens next could be described as a scene out of a Broadway musical. The music is upbeat and driven and provides a joyfully content mood, which is reflected in Tom’s swagger. The scene is incredibly ‘cheesy’ which is a contrast to the others in the film so far. Tom’s joy is not only shown in the music but also in the visual cues of the scene, from the pats on the back he gets from passersby on the street, to when he stops to check his hair in the TV and Harrison Ford looks back and winks at him, to the fountain lighting up with water as he walks past and starts to dance. From that point on, the whole scene turns into a choreographed dance sequence with everyone on set joining in. The music continues to be driven and fun and the lyrics indicate just how he is feeling, unstoppable and like a hero, after his first night with Summer.
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kground and leaf-less tree – day three hundred and three, a foreboding of what is to come.
Scene 2 – Expectation vs. Reality
This scene is fairly unique in the way it is set up. The screen is split into two and a sequence of events is played. On each side of the screen, there is a label ‘expectation’ and ‘reality’. As the audience, we see the expectation side through Tom’s eyes, of what he wants to happen on the night however, paralleled and being played at the same time, is what is actually happening in the scene. Two split screens of the same event, conflicting. The song being played is Regina Spektor’s Hero. The scene starts as Tom arrives at Summer’s front gate, the sound of a piano in a minor key and Regina Spektor’s unique voice singing the words; He never ever saw it coming at all over and over are a foreboding of what is to come. The voice over indicates that something is going to go wrong between his expectations and what is actually happening. Audiences who do not recognise the song will be able to at least pick up on the general codes that the music communicates. A more informed audience will recognise the song’s title, lyrics or performer and will apply this knowledge to the dramatic context depicted onscreen (Smith, 1998) and are able to appreciate the link between the song and what is happening in the scene. The climax of the scene comes as his expectations show that he thinks he will be spending on one time with summer, whereas reality shows Summer showing her friend a ring.
Power to the people
We don’t want it
We want pleasure
And the TVs try to rape us
And I guess that they’re succeeding
Now we’re going to these meetings
But we’re not doing any meeting
And we’re trying to be faithful
But we’re cheating, cheating, cheating
These lyrics paint a rather grim picture of the world. The word ‘cheating’ is repeated while the chord is held on the piano, the word lingers and the split screen becomes one, as Tom realises the ring is an engagement ring, she has cheated him and failed to tell him she is engaged and that this is her engagement party.
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Once he puts it all together, the piano and song continues,
I’m the hero of the story
Don’t need to be saved
These next lines are repeated four times and are reflective of how Tom thinks of himself. A feeling of him being the hero of his own story and being in a mess that he no one but himself can get out of is what is trying to be conveyed. He runs down the stairs and out the front gate and starts to walk towards the city skyline. He soon becomes a black silhouette, as the line It’s alright is repeated thirteen times, almost like he is trying to convince himself of it. The scene closes with him coming to a standstill and sighing, as the skyline turns into a pencil sketch and we left with the words: No one’s got it all.
In the three minutes of the scene, barely any audible words were spoken, however as the audience, we have already learnt so much about the mood of the characters as well as tone of the scene through the use of Hero. As Coyle (2004) says “Music cues offer the audience identification, mood or commentary to assist the operation of the overall score in relation to the image track, narrative and film themes.”
