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Musical Appropriation and Cultural Memory in Contemporary American Cinema

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Musical Appropriation and Cultural Memory in Contemporary American Cinema MUSICAL APPROPRIATION AND CULTURAL MEMORY IN CONTEMPORARY AMERICAN CINEMA By KATHERINE M. REED A DISSERTATION PRESENTED TO THE GRADUATE SCHOOL OF THE UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA 2015 1 © 2015 Katherine M. Reed ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This dissertation would not have been possible without the support of the faculty at the University of Florida and my dissertation committee in particular. From my first semesters in the musicology program, Silvio dos Santos has been supportive (and still critical) of my work, encouraging me to explore areas that interested me and to constantly search for new approaches to the musicological problems I ran into. Jennifer Thomas’s courses pushed me beyond my comfort zone in music history, helping me to think through concepts that underlie this dissertation, though in vastly different repertoires. In Alex Reed’s theory courses, I relished the opportunity to explore yet more musicological approaches, particularly the semiotic theory that forms a foundation for this project. Outside the music department, too, UF’s faculty have been open, helpful, and challenging, especially in my interdisciplinary cognate work in the English department. In Robert Ray’s film courses, many of the ideas in this dissertation began to coalesce. Throughout those courses and this dissertation process, I have appreciated not only his vast knowledge and thoughtful critiques, but also his patience with a musicologist whose interest in film outweighed her knowledge. In the long journey of the dissertation from vague idea to finished document, I owe a great debt of gratitude to my family and friends. First, to my parents, Bill and Michele Reed, who are always willing to take a phone call and listen to my frustrated venting. My father has been patient throughout this whole process, providing emotional, financial, and automotive support – that last one more frequently than he should have needed to, unfortunately. Special and unending thanks go to my mother, editor extraordinaire. Her professional expertise helped turn my ramblings into a much 3 sharper, more coherent whole, despite our stylistic differences (long live the Oxford comma). My brother, Michael, too, has listened to more than his fair share of my rambling musings and existential crises with no complaint. I also thank Gregory Brown who, in nightly phone calls, frequent Skype sessions, and more than a few panicked breakdowns, has supported me (and somehow stayed with me) through this often stressful degree. I would also like to thank my musicology cohort, Sarah Bushey and Morgan Rich. As sounding boards, both ladies have been invaluable throughout our six years at UF. More importantly, though, we have supported each other through the long days of seminars, grueling exams, and frustrating dissertation writer’s block. Without them, this whole process would have been torturous if not impossible. 4 TABLE OF CONTENTS page ACKNOWLEDGMENTS .................................................................................................. 3 LIST OF FIGURES .......................................................................................................... 7 LIST OF EXAMPLES ...................................................................................................... 9 ABSTRACT ................................................................................................................... 10 CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................... 12 Recent Approaches to Film Musicology .................................................................. 17 Methodology: Semiotics and Musical Appropriation ............................................... 22 A Note on Terminology ........................................................................................... 32 Chapter Organization .............................................................................................. 34 2 THE CHANGING TIDE OF MUSICAL APPROPRIATION IN HOLLYWOOD, 1963-69 ................................................................................................................... 41 Musical Reuse Pre-1968: Casablanca .................................................................... 44 Post-1968: New Hollywood’s New Sound ............................................................... 48 Kenneth Anger and the Development of Musical Appropriation .............................. 56 Film, Semiotics, and Musical Appropriation ............................................................ 61 Conclusion .............................................................................................................. 65 3 “OUR IMAGES TOOK ON AN ALMOST MUSICAL RHYTHM”: MUSIC AS STRUCTURAL ELEMENT IN THE FILMS OF TERRENCE MALICK ..................... 70 “A Sense of Things” Through Sound: Musical Shorthand in Early Malick Films ..... 78 Between Grace and Nature: Music and Filmic Form in The Tree of Life................. 90 Conclusion ............................................................................................................ 124 4 MUSICAL PERFORMANCE, AUDIENCE INTERACTION, AND NOSTALGIA IN THE FILMS OF DAVID LYNCH ............................................................................ 128 Nostalgia Reaffirmed and Challenged: Blue Velvet and “In Dreams” ................... 136 “No hay banda!”: Illusion and Narrative Structure in “Crying”/“Llorando” .............. 159 Wild at Heart: Allusion, Nostalgia, and an “Aesthetics of Phoniness and Fakery” 175 Conclusion ............................................................................................................ 196 5 REMAKE/REMODEL: MUSICAL APPROPRIATION AS REINVENTION IN THE FILMS OF TODD HAYNES .................................................................................. 199 5 Haynes as “New Queer Cinema” Auteur ............................................................... 201 The Voice, Physicality, and Mediated Identity in Superstar: The Karen Carpenter Story ................................................................................................. 208 “The Ability to Escape a Fixed Self”: The Star Image through Performance in I’m Not There ..................................................................................................... 218 Singing the Alien: Velvet Goldmine’s Glam Rock as a Tool to Rewrite History ..... 228 Conclusion ............................................................................................................ 252 6 CONCLUSIONS ON MUSICAL APPROPRIATION IN FILM ................................ 255 Velvet Goldmine and the Ongoing Fan Experience .............................................. 257 New Institutions in New Media .............................................................................. 262 Conclusion ............................................................................................................ 264 REFERENCES ............................................................................................................ 266 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH .......................................................................................... 277 6 LIST OF FIGURES Figure page 2-1 Scorpio Rising’s popular iconography. ............................................................... 57 3-2 Comparison of overtones in A) Schulwerk and B) Spacek voiceover ................. 83 3-3 The Tree of Life’s appropriated music. ............................................................. 102 3-4 Typical lighting in A) a “grace” sequence and B) a “nature” sequence. ............ 111 4-1 Unlimited semiosis’s chaining effect (adapted from Roland Barthes, Mythologies, trans. Annette Lavers [New York: Hill and Wang, 1972], 115). .... 137 4-2 Ben performs “In Dreams”. ............................................................................... 143 4-3 Frank and Jeffrey in the spotlight. ..................................................................... 145 4-4 Betty and Rita solve a mystery. ........................................................................ 160 4-5 Roy Orbison, “Crying” lyrics, first iteration of form. ........................................... 164 4-6 “Crying”/ “Llorando” visual framing. .................................................................. 165 4-7 “Crying”/“Llorando” visual form. ........................................................................ 165 4-8 Diane and Camilla at the fateful Mulholland Drive party. .................................. 169 4-9 Lula and Sailor in “Love Me,” with an unaffected audience behind................... 181 4-10 Sailor and Lula, “Love Me Tender”. .................................................................. 187 5-1 Rufus Wainwright, “Going to a Town,” directed by Sophie Muller (2007: Geffen Records). .............................................................................................. 206 5-2 Example of Superstar’s current state of decay, from YouTube upload by user Outcasting Tube. .............................................................................................. 217 5-3 I’m Not There’s Bob Dylans (clockwise from top left): Woody (Marcus Carl Franklin), Jude (Cate Blanchett), Arthur (Ben Whishaw), Billy (Richard Gere), Robbie (Heath Ledger), and Jack (Christian Bale) (I’m Not There, directed by Todd Haynes [2007; Los Angeles: Weinstein Company, 2008], DVD). ............ 220 5-4 Costume similarities between
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