# Does anyone else resent movie music? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** movies\ **Created:** [September 12, 2023, 8:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-else-resent-movie-music/989968 "2023-09-12T08:01:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2023, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-else-resent-movie-music/989968/21 "2023-09-12T16:47:26Z")
I hate when they think they can make a movie set in a different time more authentic by peppering it with period earworms. And they’re always the earworms that were overplayed when they were new. It’s lazy. ---
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2023, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-else-resent-movie-music/989968/22 "2023-09-12T16:59:55Z")
> [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](#): > > I hate when they think they can make a movie set in a different time more authentic by peppering it with period earworms. It was kind of refreshing when they used a Decemberists track on _Mad Men_… ---
**Author:** ![echoreply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/echoreply/32/3641_2.png) [@echoreply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/echoreply)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2023, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-else-resent-movie-music/989968/23 "2023-09-12T17:00:21Z")
I really hate when the music seems like it’s there only to tell me how I’m supposed to feel about what I’m watching. If the dialogue, performances, and action don’t make me sad, then overlaying sad music is just going to make the whole thing seem that much more stupid. This thread has many examples of music being done well, but so often, to me, it is just heavy handed and distracting. The first time I saw _Fury Road_, I was incredibly distracted by the music. I really liked the film, but it took later viewings, when I knew the music would be a bit much, to appreciate it properly. I think it would have been effective if the movie had very sparse music, up until the Doof Wagon shows up, and then lots of loud music. ---
**Author:** ![slicedalone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slicedalone/32/12515_2.png) [@slicedalone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/slicedalone)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2023, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-else-resent-movie-music/989968/24 "2023-09-12T17:05:16Z")
I find it manipulative, in the worst way. Overlaying the end of PLATOON with the Adagio was excessive. I get it, Vietnam was very sad, a tragic waste of human life and resources. Do I need sad music to drive that point home? It’s like Stone doesn’t trust himself, or his film. ---
**Author:** ![Eonwe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eonwe/32/240_2.png) [@Eonwe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eonwe)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2023, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-else-resent-movie-music/989968/25 "2023-09-12T17:09:25Z")
> [@Disinfectus](#): > > Having said that, I’m not much of a fan of the scoring that has been done in the last 10-20 years. But that’s because I think it is a dying art and that newer composers don’t measure up to their predecessors. I have a similar cranky-old-man perspective. While there are some really interesting and effective scores being written for screens of all sizes, most films that I end up seeing seem to lean heavily on telegraphed emotion, over-use of orchestral tropes (and f^%#]ng reverby bass drum), and a paint-by-numbers feeling of matching music to the scene. So many scores that are uninspired and interchangeable. And, too many movies with too much music. To me, that always feels like a sign that the director does not trust their own work/material to carry a film (“we need people to feel excited… let’s add a ‘feel excited’ cue). ---
**Author:** ![velomont](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/8491ac/32.png) [@velomont](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/velomont)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2023, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-else-resent-movie-music/989968/26 "2023-09-12T17:47:57Z")
> [@echoreply](#): > > I really hate when the music seems like it’s there only to tell me how I’m supposed to feel about what I’m watching. As such, I tend to think of excessive soundtrack music as the sign of lazy film-making. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Bravo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_bravo/32/493_2.png) [@Johnny\_Bravo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Bravo)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2023, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-else-resent-movie-music/989968/27 "2023-09-13T03:40:08Z")
Soundtracks are punctuation. Just like in writing, punctuation that’s overused or misused gets in the way of intent. Done well, it elevates the medium. That doesn’t make it inherently deceptive or something worth resenting; it’s just a quality marker. ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2023, 4:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-else-resent-movie-music/989968/28 "2023-09-13T04:25:49Z")
The movement "Dogme 95” specified that only diegetic sounds were allowed in the movie. So, maybe you should try some of those films. ---
**Author:** ![slicedalone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slicedalone/32/12515_2.png) [@slicedalone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/slicedalone)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2023, 9:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-else-resent-movie-music/989968/29 "2023-09-13T09:46:58Z")
Yes, of course, it can be well done. My complaint is that overuse of music is common. ---
**Author:** ![chela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chela/32/21582_2.png) [@chela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chela)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2023, 11:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-else-resent-movie-music/989968/30 "2023-09-13T11:28:47Z")
Jaws wouldn’t be the Monster of fear and impending doom without its simple musical score. ---
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2023, 12:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-else-resent-movie-music/989968/31 "2023-09-13T12:20:28Z")
And _Catch-22_. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2023, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-else-resent-movie-music/989968/32 "2023-09-13T15:07:41Z")
> [@beowulff](#): > > The movement "Dogme 95” specified that only diegetic sounds were allowed in the movie. > So, maybe you should try some of those films. Oh god, why do you hate people? No one should watch those! I think that was just von Trier fucking with people. Like Andy Kaufman. 🙂 Even he didn’t believe in his “dogma”. ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2023, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-else-resent-movie-music/989968/33 "2023-09-13T15:17:12Z")
When you make his documentary, you can add a score, just to piss him off… ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2023, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-else-resent-movie-music/989968/34 "2023-09-13T15:19:13Z")
Didn’t that also apply to lighting? And I don’t know the proper phrase, but you couldn’t pull out a wall for filming rooms or move furniture around for camera placement. ---
**Author:** ![iamatractorboy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iamatractorboy/32/21261_2.png) [@iamatractorboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamatractorboy)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2023, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-else-resent-movie-music/989968/35 "2023-09-13T15:38:28Z")
> [@chela](#): > > Jaws wouldn’t be the Monster of fear and impending doom without its simple musical score. Yes and the audience wouldn’t be able to tell the difference between a red herring and a white shark without the music. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2023, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-else-resent-movie-music/989968/36 "2023-09-13T15:49:33Z")
> [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](#): > > Didn’t that also apply to lighting? And I don’t know the proper phrase, but you couldn’t pull out a wall for filming rooms or move furniture around for camera placement. Oh yes! Natural lighting, hand held camera, color film, no music unless it is “naturally occurring”, filmed on location only. My “favorite” Dogma rules: - The film must not contain superficial action. (Murders, weapons, etc. must not occur.) Why not? What defines “superficial”? I wonder if it is a translation error. Where is the limit? Can you slap/punch someone? If the person is actually murdered, is that allowed under the rules? 🙂 - Genre movies are not acceptable. Someone hates westerns! I bet I could film a western or other “genre film” (except Space opera! Naturally. At least for now…) following the dogme rules, but let’s just note that I could make a case that “Dogme 95” is itself a genre. So there! ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2023, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-else-resent-movie-music/989968/37 "2023-09-13T15:53:37Z")
Björk, being executed by hanging is all I ever need to see of “The Process.” Thanks for your response, **J\_A\_Q**. (Did he make any films for visually impaired people and everything was in pastels?) ---
**Author:** ![chela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chela/32/21582_2.png) [@chela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chela)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2023, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-else-resent-movie-music/989968/38 "2023-09-13T17:08:36Z")
That’s a hasty generalization as the audience will still crap their pants upon hearing dun dun dun dunnnn even if it’s a decoy. ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2023, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-else-resent-movie-music/989968/39 "2023-09-13T17:17:18Z")
How about the complete lack of music? Like when it gets super quiet during a horror show. You KNOW it’s going to be a jump scare. It’s like every time it happens I’m just like “jeez, get it over with already”. ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2023, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-else-resent-movie-music/989968/40 "2023-09-13T17:20:41Z")
If this thread had been “Does anyone else resent _podcast_ music?” I would have agreed 100%. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-else-resent-movie-music/989968.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-else-resent-movie-music/989968.md?page=3)