Music in Film and Television

Catalog description

This course is a survey of the history and the change over time in film and TV scores from the Silent Era until the present. It is an introduction to the interlocking studies of film, music, literature, politics, and culture in the United States in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. Students will learn how music enhances, comments on, undermines, and directs a viewer's interpretation of a film or TV episode. Different film genres including horror, historical fiction, movie musicals, and speculative fiction will be highlighted in the course content. Through class discussions, class activities, formal, and informal writing assignments, students will evaluate films, sound recordings, scholarly publications, and primary sources about music in film. No previous musical experience is required.