Q1.
In Sleepless in Seattle, we predominantly hear nondiegetic music throughout the film. This is no surprise seeing as the plot focuses on two individuals who fall in love. We typically don’t hear music being played throughout our daily activities so this movie is taking a realistic point of view as we follow their day to day lives. Nondiegetic music is often pre-existing music that coordinates with the characters emotions. Throughout this film, images were coordinated with the soundtrack therefore making it empathetic. This movie was released in 1993 and uses pre existing music from that time. Some examples include “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” by Ray Charles, “When I fall in love” by Céline Dion and Clive Griffin, “As time goes by” by Jimmy Durante, and “In the Wee small Hours of the Morning” by Carly Simon. The diegetic music the audience hears makes it more relatable and also makes it feel as though they are apart of the movie. Some examples of this would be when the family was singing Christmas songs when Annie and Walter are leaving the house on Christmas Eve or when you hear the party music being played on New Years Eve. Sleepless in Seattle is a romantic film therefore a majority of the film falls under the love theme topic. For instance, the original underscore that is presented at the beginning of the movie during the funeral scene because the main character is depressed about the death of his wife. In contrast, there are scenes where the songs are upbeat but the message is always related back to love nonetheless. For example, when Sam becomes more open to dating again and moving on, the song “I am Back in the Saddle Again’ plays. Another example would be when Annie’s mother is telling her how she met her father. Music is rather prevalent during this film. From a critical perspective, we hear music around twenty times in total.
There is no doubt that Black Panther was one of Marvel's most successful films due to its strong cast and unique plot. However, while watching the movie critically, one can truly appreciate the the soundtrack because of the different types of sounds it presents to western culture. The soundtrack used in Black Panther is largely derived from traditional African beats. While watching the movie, a common pattern that was reoccurring was their use of exotic (oriental) topics playing as background music in which most cases were nondiegetic because it was added to enhance the scene. Throughout the film, the use of exotic (oriental) topics were prevalent because the fictional place of Wakanda is located in East Africa. The incorporation African instruments truly helped the narrative. There was a fair balance of diegetic and nondiegetic sounds. For example, while Prince T’challa was fighting M’baku at the kings ceremony, the people of Wakanda were banging on drums (diegetic) as foreground music. The banging of the drums is common in African culture. Another example is how throughout the fighting scenes, the music that was playing as background music (nondiegetic) had that oriental tone to it as well. The sound of this film was also very modern due to the time it was released. Black Panther was released in 2018 and is supposedly set in modern day and this is depicted through the soundtrack. American artist, Kendrick Lamar, is not only featured on the majority of the Black Panther soundtrack but also coproduced it. Lamar raps about the characters and their struggles which amplifies the plot. Having Lamar in the soundtrack is a strategic move because it is an effective way to reach out to a younger audience.
Q2)
Both Sleepless in Seattle and Black Panther have very different tones. Not only do they differ because of the story line and type of movie, but the sound is noticeably different as well. In Black Panther, we hear a calm African tribal orchestra while they are showcasing the beauty of Wakanda, and in numerous different scenes as background music. The African sound was consistent throughout the film. As mentioned above, during certain fight scenes that took place in Wakanda, the banging of the drums were present. We hear sounds throughout the majority of the film but only when conflict arises does the sound become more prevalent. The use of leitmotifs helped the plot of story and helped represent specific character and places in the film. For example, when Prince T’chala was usually making an appearance, a specific leitmotif was always playing. This helped the audience know he was present or that he was coming. The leitmotif was heroic in sound because he is presented as the “good guy” of the film. Erik Killmonjer, who we quickly learn is the “bad guy, also has a leitmotif that is also much more distinctive in sound. This helps the audience understand which character is usually present and gives them an indicator as to who or what might be coming next.
Q3
All of the pre-existing music in Sleepless in Seattle is non diegetic at the exception of “Take Me Out To the Ball Game” when Sam is having a flashback to when he and his family attended a Chicago cubs game and when Annie and her friend are watching a show and the song is playing. The song “As time goes by” is played during the opening credits. This songs is empathetic with the storyline and also is an indicator that the movie is going to be a romantic one. The lyrics from “As Time Goes By” is also an forewarning stating that as time goes by, Sam might fall in love again. Another song in Sleepless in Seattle is “Somewhere Over the Rainbow”. This song is empathetic with Sam’s feelings. This song states “…bluebirds fly over the rainbow…why can’t I?” To elaborate, Sam is still not over Maggie and he is unhappy. He even has difficulty sleeping and he can’t seem to “fly” as the song suggests. The song “In the Wee Small Hours of the Morning” is empathetic with Annie’s actions and feelings. She wakes up in the middle of the night as the world is sleeping and listens to the radio instead of trying to go back to bed. The music almost mimics her actions just like mickey-moussing. Another song that is empathetic with Sam’s emotions is “I am Back On the Saddle Again”. This was used when Sam was ready to move on and go out on dates, Several other pre existing songs were used in this film. These pre existing songs include: “Stardust”, “Bye Bye blackbird”, “When I fall in love again” , “a Wink and a Smile” and “Stand By Your Man”. These songs were added instead of original underscore because the lyrics went well with the story line and the characters emotions. The songs were very empathetic with the characters action and emotions and original underscoring would not have had had the same effect for the film or for the audience. The use of pre-existing songs might even touch the audience because it could remind them of someone or something making the scene that much more relatable. In Black Panther, the use of orchestral underscores are more prevalent. Black Panther focuses more on African sounds which falls under the exotic (oriental) topic rather than pre existing music. The soundtrack however, was co produced by Kendrick Lamar and the pre existing songs that were presented throughout the film were actually produced for the film itself. To conclude, the use of preexisting music was more prevalent in Sleepless in Seattle whereas Black Panther applied more orchestral underscores for their sound.