Music Analysis: A Streetcar Named Desire

I was inspired by Blanche in A Streetcar Named Desire. I wanted to portray some defining moments of her life in chronological order instead of the order events were revealed in the play. The first portion of my video is a lyrical piano accompanied by mostly smooth, flowing movements. The elegance conveyed here is reminiscent of Blanche’s life of luxury before her husband committed suicide; when everything was right with her life. At the end of this section, the music drastically changes from smooth to choppy. I could not find a piece of music that encompassed both of these aspects, so I sampled pieces from Jaws, the movie, and a piano solo of Gabriel Faure’s “Sicilienne.” As soon as there is a shift in musi, the words “PLEASE DON’T LEAVE” flash

on the screen intermingled with previous video clips played backwards and sped up. This is to represent the moment when Blanche found out her husband was homosexual and the events leading up to his suicide. The conglomeration signifies how everything Blanche had “worked for” or ever known all rewound in seconds. In the next scene, a shadow, indicative of the shadows Blanche comprehends in the play, is seen spinning choreography with a rifle. The rifle represents Blanche’s sanity. At first she toys and plays with it, but when the actual shadow appears she starts to lose grip and eventually her sanity is lost. Next, a large figure walks eerily into the frame with Blanche’s shadow being obviously frightened playing off of the fact that Blanche relies on men to feel good about herself. The male character is much larger because men have an overwhelming power over Blanche’s wellbeing. This scene is also suggestive of Stanley raping her. The final scene depicts Blanche rocking back and forth crying. Everything she has known and loved has been stripped from her. She has nothing left.