Genre Development (Second try)

From the eight films I have analysed, I have noticed various differences and similarities that have developed over time. The most obvious similarity and theme shown throughout Musicals over the years, is a relationship based around love, whether this be in a boyfriend/girlfriend relationship, father/daughter or a love for an object or meaning. I think that Musicals focus on love because it is something that everyone can connect to, they all know the warmth it brings and as it normally comes along side with drama, this keeps the audience entertained through out the film. However, modern day musicals which involve love, such as High School Musical, are completely different to musicals made in the 60’s, such as Sound of Music, this is because of the Social and Political attitude changes over the years. In each love relationship that evolved in the Musicals I watched, there was always a certain sense of vulnerability, I think this was for the audience to connect with and allow them to feel more involved. There is a difference in the styles of relationships of when the Musicals were made, such as in High School Musical, their love is quite childish and completely different to something like Sound of Music and West Side Story where it is mature, but both are still vulnerable. Their vulnerability I think comes across through the way that they act, as its both of their ‘first loves’ they, as a couple, do not know how they are supposed to be around eachother. Its also portrayed through the simple, less frantic camera angles and editing techniques, it allows the audience to take in the scene, what they are saying and the emotions they are portraying. Musicals are sometimes shown from a females perspective, and I think this has differed more recently as they show it from a males perspective, Sweeney Todd and Moulin Rouge, to introduce Musicals to more of the male population or to interest women into what men think. I think that Musicals focus on a female perspective more, because females are stereotypical known to be more emotional when it comes to love and whole idea of it and men seem to keep their feelings about it to themselves. I think this shows the development of making musicals more complex and interesting for the audience.

Another difference I noticed is that of the Narrative Structure used, most mainstream Musicals seem to stick to a Linear Narrative, these are the ones that are of a more family based audience, as they are much easier to follow. However this has changed over recent years as Musicals are now more open minded, such as Sweeney Todd and Moulin Rouge, they have a certificate of 15 and follow a Non-linear Narrative, which means it contains flashbacks and is not in a chronological order. These two musicals are very different as they show various emotions and show reality as something that is hard, infuriating, unfair and doesn’t always have a happy ending, which children may not understand and get upset about, this emphasizes them having a higher age certificate. They also show musicals from a different angle, allowing them to show more adult themes and appeal to wider audiences. Some of these ‘adult themes’ are shown in West Side Story, as in violence and murder, however it is not shown as in much detail, this is very different for Musicals to show this as they are stereotyped as being all happy and extravagant all the time. West Side Story and Sweeney Todd both show violence, however they are shown in different ways from the camera angles to the gore shown. In West Side Story there is violence, this was caused by ‘race differences’, something that is now shown in a more comedic way and more laid back (E.g Hairspray), the violence is more child friendly as nothing gory is shown, only the action. However in Sweeney Todd, they do not fail to leave anything to the imagination, the shots are very exact and allow you to see the violence happen completely, which is why it is not child friendly.

The way that Musicals have developed over time in visual styles, is only a little different. As Musicals mainly involve bright colours to emphasize happiness, and are eye catching to the audience, the difference when there is no use of bright colours and shows the audience more of a background to their characters, gives off a completely different atmosphere to the audience. Both Annie and Oliver, show this difference in atmosphere as at the beginning of both the colour is very dark and gloomy and shows their status as a lower class, as similar story lines, both then become more colorful and happy as their lives become better. Even though both stories end up happy, the story line in Oliver does involve a traumatic experience for him, when Nancy gets killed. This shows a dark side of a what is known as a ‘happy child friendly’ Musical, Nancy’s death is presented as a horrible negative thing, I think this is to leave behind a moral for children who watch it. This is not done in Sweeney Todd, as it is dark and gloomy throughout, as a similarity it shows their overall status and the time period it is in, it also emphasizes the themes used which are unusual for a Musical: Greed, anger, jealousy, murder and so on. I think the visual styles are emphasized more dependent on their themes, in comparison to Sweeney Todd, is Sound of Music which has themes which are more light hearted and therefore the colouring is more bright and calm.

Mise-en-scene has always been an important factor of all films. However I think that for a Musical it is even more important, this is because if the characters were wearing brightly colour clothing and the setting around them was dull and horrible, it wouldn’t make much sense for the audience. Therefore Mise-en-scene is very important, and always has been, however I think that technical aspects, such as editing, has lost its importance. In less modern films they seemed to use more camera angles and a variation of editing techniques, such as blurring out the surroundings to just show the couple and so on, but now it is more simple. They seem to just show the surroundings in a wide shot to allow the audience to take everything in and then close ups of the characters faces to show their emotions, which means the audience can connect with them.

In conclusion, Musicals have changed over the years. In some ways they have stayed the same, so that they’re suitable for families that have young children to watch and so easier to understand. But they have also grown and showed a different side to musicals to suit a wider audience, it has evolved to fit the needs of a more modern generation.