Final Exam — Film Music
I chose to examine an animated Japanese Western action film called Cowboy Bebop: The Movie. The movie is based on the 1998 show Cowboy Bebop, centered around a group of bounty hunters (Spike, Jet, Fay and Edward) in the year 2071 (Wikipedia). The plot of the movie itself is centered around the crew trying to stop a terrorist attack on Mars, as they work together to find the source of the attack before the event takes place (Wikipedia).
The film was made in 2001 and was directed by Shinichiro Watanabe. The composer of the film was Yoko Kanno, who composed the original series, and was performed by her band Seatbelts (Wikipedia). The music was a mixture of western, opera and jazz music with Arabic elements for thematic effect. With the addition of a soundtrack with the usage of an assortment of rock instruments, the film can be considered to use a hybrid approach, using a score and soundtrack. Music in the world of Cowboy Bebop (with evidence of the bebop genre in the name) plays an important role in the flow of the action of the series the the feelings that Watanabe and Kanno want the viewers to feel. Seeing this play out by watching the series, I knew this movie would be a great choice to break down how the music interacts with the characters and plot.
During the movie, the music and the story intertwine beautifully, as there is different and unique music for every scene. There aren’t any leitmotif melodies because of this, but I believe it does not hold back from how the music brings out the characters. For Vincent, (the villain of the plot) his character is associated with dark and ire sounding music throughout the film that brings out the coldness in him. For example, when first seeing him, a low toned music plays as you see the character walk away from an exploding truck. One of the female leads, Faye, who was following the him, is seen to be fearful and shocked at what she just saw, as a bead of sweat comes down her forehead. This music shows the tension of the scene at hand. The movie also goes into an intense tension scene, as Spike, one of the main characters, is beaten by the villain Vincent and thrown out the window of a monorail train. The music is fast pace Opera with a repeating melody and gets faster and louder as the scene progresses. I think this scene really captures how evil Vincent is and the music just makes the development that more effective.
The music showcases pacing throughout different scenes as well. Spike and a Lieutenant, who is leading the government case on the terror attacks, get into a fist fight at a pharmaceutical research facility and fast paced jazz music begins. The fight turns into a chase where Spike has to jump, dodge, and roll his way out of the facility. The saxophone used for the music in the scene is high pitched and keeps up with the pace of the fight and even speeds up as Spike is escaping, adding a sense of pressure to the situation. The music then stops abruptly as it signals the end of the chase.
The music is non diegetic, as the story is mainly told through the scenes and character dialogue, as the music assists in bringing life to the scenes. The music and the narrative do counteract at times however. For example, in the opening scene of the movie, Spike and another main character, Jet, stop a robbery in a convenience store. During the scene, as the robber harasses the clerk at gun point, you hear nice, relaxing elevator type classical music in the background. Even as all the thugs are taken down by the two-main hero’s, the music is still calmly playing in the background, going against the high action fighting and gun fire that is happening in the scene.
A segment that I found interesting to highlight on came from the first couple scenes in the movie, starting with Spike going to look for clues within the city about the attacks. I believe these collection of scenes really showcase all the different types of genres Kanno used during the film. As Spike walk through the city, the music played had country western vibe, that had an instrumental that reminds me of jazz elements, with the electric guitar as the main instrument. The song has a nice bridge with the guitar as he is searching which brings out a bright timbre as he interviews people and gets closer to leads. The music then changes as he is confronted by an Arabian man who offers to help. As they walk through the streets, an Arabian singer with a banjo sounding instrument plays in the background, correlating to the cultural themes he walks by. The pulse of the song makes you want to stomp or clap to the music. When they get to a store, the man runs away and goes out into a crowd. Spike loses him, as sudden, loud, forte bells start sounding as the motion slows down. The bells keep ringing as he sees, the yet to be revealed Lieutenant, covered up in a traditional Arabian gown. These scenes really summarize the style of music heard throughout the rest of the movie and I think Kanno did an amazing job incorporating the sounds into the narrative.
In my opinion, I loved the movie and I have grown to love the music from it as well. The jazz style themes mixed with western styled instruments really makes you sit and appreciate how the music and scenes interact. With doing this exercise, I believe I can now view all movies and take account their scores or soundtracks and really appreciate them for what they try to accomplish. I can see now that music plays a much more prominent role than just the background noise in movies. I highly recommend that you watch Cowboy Bebop: The Movie, even if you are not a fan of animated movies, due to it’s compelling story and incredible use of music.
Works Cited