Belonging comes from an understanding, or the knowledge that an external sense of being comes from an internal sense of connection and safety. For one to have a sense of belonging they must first have and understanding of what belonging is and there should be an internal connection between them and the place that they are belonging to. This critical analysis will reveal how the movie “August Rush” directed by Kirsten Sheridan, relates to the concept of belonging. August Rush is a story of drama with fairy tale elements. August Rush is separated from his parents from birth and he is determined to find them. He believes that if he plays music his parents will hear him and find him. August experiences a constant sense of belonging to his music and through this he belongs to his parents. August finds struggles and trial when trying to belong in certain situations that he is facing.
“I believe in music the way some people believe in fairytales.”
‘Hearing the Music’ is the opening scene to the movie. August is at peace with the music and his surroundings. This is signified by the soft gentle music and the nature that surrounds him. This is where August believes that he belongs. He longs to be in a place where he can be fully surrounded by the music.
During this scene August is narrating, giving his feelings and opinions about music. The narrating style is subjective. It is a personal response and opinionated. He describes what the music is, where it comes from and how it makes him feel.
“The music is everywhere; all you have to do is listen.” August is drawn to music. It surrounds him. He belongs to the music. “Listen to the music. I can hear it... it’s all around us.”
Belonging can be by choice. “All you have to do is open you...
... middle of paper ...
...face of Lyla and then faded to the close up of Louis’ face which is staring at Lyla. They haven’t seen each other in over ten years.
There is a great sense of joy and belonging at the end of the performance, all three look at each other with the knowledge of who each other is. They haven’t said anything, yet they know who each other is.
Augusts’ sense of being came from the internal connection that he had with music. He knew that if he played the music then his parent would find him, and that’s what happened. August went through trials and struggles but he chose what to belong to and this is what ultimately saved him from disaster. August and his parents had a common interest of music and this ultimately brought them together and joined their sense of belonging. If you believe in something and strive hard enough you will achieve your goal.
Works Cited
August Rush
In the first introduction of music, Alex describes how his parents have learned to “not knock on the wall with complaints… I had taught them. Now they would take sleep-pills” (33) when he plays music loudly, showing the control Alex has manifested over his own parents with music. Alex also plays the Ninth by Ludwin van while raping two girls, as they were forced to “submit to the strange and weird desires of Alexander the Large with, what with the Ninth, were… very demanding” (46). By inevitably connecting classical music to violence, Burgess shows that there is little distinction in importance between the two for Alex, and the two become physically linked after the government’s brainwashing. This suggests that you cannot take Alex’s flaws without simultaneously taking those same elements that make him human. The focus on classical music as a pivot of Alex’s humanity accentuates the sympathy felt for Alex as he is being brainwashed, as the previous poetic love for classical music is replaced with “pain and sickness” as Alex had “forgotten what he shouldn’t have forgotten” (139). Without attempting to condone Alex’s actions, Burgess stresses the notion that humanity is not meant to be erased or forcibly removed, even if it means having to come to terms with the flaws that every person
Therefore, analysis of ‘The Simple Gift’ and ‘The River that wasn’t ours’ reveals belonging as an essential aspect to the human condition. One can feel connections to people and place through the varied nature of belonging. However, the consequences of not belonging can be detrimental to the individual or group and can result in feelings of displacement and distress.
Music is magical: it soothes you when you are upset and cheers you up when you are down. To me, it is a communication with souls. I listen to different genres of music. When appreciating each form of music, with its unique rhythm and melody, I expect to differentiate each other by the feelings and emotions that it brings to me. However, I would definitely never call myself “a fan of jazz” until I witnessed Cécile McLorin Salvant’s performance last Friday at Mondavi Center. Through the interpretations and illustrations from Cécile’s performance, I realized that the cultural significance and individual identity are the building blocks of jazz music that create its unique musical features and support its development.
...ien is first introduced when she is in bed and the first shot is of
First of all, diegetic sounds and ambient sound effects are integral in creating tension and apprehension in the film, as “ …sound plays a critical role in determining how audiences react to images.” (p.234) At the background of the opening shot the audience hears the distant roll of thunder; gradually its sound increases and reaches its maximum, causing fear of impending jeopardy. As the tension escalates, the volume of the sound rises, we hear the roaring of dancers’ drums, and its sound is intentionally exaggerated, the tempo of music speeds up as well as the dance of the indigenous performers of the ritual sacrifice to gods. The alteration of volume and tempo of the sound heightens suspense and makes the audience anticipate with anxiety the forthcoming shots.
If one were to look back into the world’s history, one would find that an important and consistent element is the world of music. Music has presented itself in various forms throughout its spread and through our identification of its magical realm, people have been fortunate enough to come across a means of relation. Whether it is blues and reggae or rap and pop rock, there is music out there for everyone. Music can serve as a stabilizer for some, a relaxant to others, and to many a form of inspiration.
Music has a way of bringing out our emotions. We say that there are moods of music, and we know which songs make us happy and which make us sad. But music also connects with us intellectually through the lyrics and what we understand them to mean. Thus, music becomes a way to link aspects of intellectual and emotional life – to combine thought and feeling. In the novel Porgy, we see music used as a tool to do just that; music, whether sung, imitated, or described metaphorically, is used, among other things, to link mental and emotional states.
A joyous celebration of the sanctity of life is generated through the element of Mood and atmosphere. The clip begins with a soft orchestration of piano and violin, creating a magical melody. The choice of melody creates the mood and atmosphere that influences the audience to feel joyous from the outset. The use of lighting adds dramatic effect to the mood and atmosphere of this scene; a warm yellow beam of light streams out of the barn, cutting through the dark and rainy morning, which
...vision and music. Therefore the movie begins on a simple level. The viewer is introduced to many of the central elements of the film in a purely visual way – Donnie, his family, and the American suburbs. The music makes this an isolated and surreal presentation; the viewer sees the family from the outside before seeing them from the inside. The song also has a feeling of apprehension and of magnitude which makes what is seen seem more significant and mysterious.
The film is about change and every element of sound functions to reinforce that theme. The opening sequence uses an audio recording of a prisoner’s interrogation to transcend space and time. The scene bridges sound from the actual interrogation, where the sound is synchronized with the prisoner speaking the words, to a training session for future interrogators, where the sound is now simultaneous with a recording from the interrogation. The actuality of this recording is used to instruct the students in the art of extracting information and confessions from enemies of the state. The theme of change is asserted when on...
For this essay I will be looking at the work of Hans Zimmer to discuss how music in film engages the viewer and evokes emotion and pulls the viewer toward the film. Hans Zimmer is a German born music composer. Hans Zimmer’s love of music stems from his childhood when he learned how to play various instruments. Before Zimmer began composing music for films he was in a well-known band. The band was called The Buggles whom were famous for their song Video Killed the Radio Star. After the Buggles Zimmer played in other bands but never had another hit. As Zimmer has progressed as a film composer so has his list of nominations and awards. Zimmer has won 4 Grammy Awards and 2 Golden Globes and many more for his outstanding film scores. The reason I chose to write this essay on Zimmer was that his genres and music score are extremely versatile ranging from animations to comedy to dark thrillers. This is important to highlight as it shows Zimmer can create almost any atmosphere with his music whether it be sad or creating tension that all cause us to engage with the film. Zimmer's use of themes and introduction of different instruments allowed him to create these wonderful engaging film score. In this essay I will look at three films by Hans Zimmer these are The Holiday Rush and Rain Man.
“You can’t touch music—it exists only at the moment it is being apprehended—and yet it can profoundly alter how we view the world and our place in it” (“Preface” 7).1 Music is a form of art enjoyed by millions of people each day. It is an art that has continued through decades and can be seen in many different ways. That is why Ellison chooses to illustrate his novel with jazz. Jazz music in Invisible Man gives feelings that Ellison could never explain in words. In Ralph Ellison’s Invisible Man, the narrator’s search for his identity can be compared to the structure of a jazz composition.
There has yet to be a culture discovered which lacks music. Making music is seen historically to be as fundamental as the characteristically human activities as drawing and painting. Many even go so far as to compare music to language and claim that music functions as a "universal language." But it is rarely the same music, however, that all peoples respond to. What is it that we are responding to when we listen to music? Strictly speaking, music is not a language, (1) because it has neither outside referents nor easily detectable meaning. Ludwig Wittgenstein explains that although we understand music in a similar way as we understand language, music is not a language because we still cannot communicate through music as we can through language. (2) More recently, Susanne Langer argues that although we understand music as symbol, because we are so caught up in seeing symbolic form function like language we tend to want to make music into a language. But, Langer argues, music is not a kind of language (3) because the significance of music lies not in w...
Episodic memory is a conscious process: Music evokes memories and so also evokes the emotions associated with these memories. Although this discussion of the memory processes is compelling, it is incomplete because it excludes mentioning the circumstances where music is explicitly associated with narrative content that independently evokes emotional responses e.g. music accompanied by lyrics that tell a story which evokes the story’s emotion message. However, their main focus is on circumstances where music is associated with the narrative content of film (Juslin, P.N. and Vastfjall D., 2008, p.578).
Music is fun. The very mention of the word seems to stir emotions that are exciting and interesting. The mind shifts to recall memories that have long passed, moments that could presently be experienced, or future events that will hold a place in one's heart and mind. In everything, there is sound. Where there is sound, there can be music. Where there is music, activities are taking place with implications affecting one's path in life. In an elementary schoolroom, kindergardeners are learning the ABC song to go home and sing to their parents. Later, these kids are learning to not step on their date's feet on a gym floor at their first school dance. Years later, a team is preparing with exhilarating sounds to clash with their rivals. As this class of students is graduating, they reminisce during their class song. These events will shape their lives with the things they have learned along the way. I am a music fan and a supporter of learning, and, with this project, I learned that both had a connection. As a report, this paper tells of the ways having music in one's life benefits mentally, physically, and emotionally.