The Great Gatsby
- Thread starter Ernest Worthing
- Start date
I won't get into my personal opinion of the movie as of now, but I just want to offer some food for thought for people who are arguing or bashing the choice of music in The Great Gatsby, which was mostly hip-hop and upbeat rap music, I guess you could say.
In F. Scott Fitzgerald's novel, everyone knows the music was all about jazz, jazz and more jazz. The roaring twenties, it was. The music back then made the people feel alive, made the people dance, and most importantly made the people party. The music wasn't just music, it represented who the people were and how they were breaking free of the restrictions and restraints of politics, government, and the overall depressing tone of the twenties. Looking at it from a very basic perspective, the music in the film does not match... it just does not go together. While everyone's dressed up in tuxedos and fancy dresses with nice shoes on, Jay-Z's latest hit is playing in the background. The hell, mate? But, I think the sound designer and the director were going for a different approach, rather than just throwing whatever they had in their iTunes library onto the audio track in Final Cut Pro 7.
Similar to what I was explaining above, the music of today (rap, hip-hop) makes our generation feel alive and excited about partying and dancing. The music is a sense of euphoria for people today. Once they hear a catchy rap or hip-hop song they love, it's straight to singing and dancing. Nothing else is on their mind. When the weekend rolls along, it's all about either going to a club to listen and dance to the top hits of today, or going to a friends house to do the same. They dance, just like the people in the 20's did. They sing, just like the people in the 20's did. The Great Gatsby's crew was trying to make the film/atmosphere more relatable to the majority of the people who were going to be watching it, and I thought it was useful and a great idea.
Although, I do think they could have added a few more 20's and 30's classics... ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
In F. Scott Fitzgerald's novel, everyone knows the music was all about jazz, jazz and more jazz. The roaring twenties, it was. The music back then made the people feel alive, made the people dance, and most importantly made the people party. The music wasn't just music, it represented who the people were and how they were breaking free of the restrictions and restraints of politics, government, and the overall depressing tone of the twenties. Looking at it from a very basic perspective, the music in the film does not match... it just does not go together. While everyone's dressed up in tuxedos and fancy dresses with nice shoes on, Jay-Z's latest hit is playing in the background. The hell, mate? But, I think the sound designer and the director were going for a different approach, rather than just throwing whatever they had in their iTunes library onto the audio track in Final Cut Pro 7.
Similar to what I was explaining above, the music of today (rap, hip-hop) makes our generation feel alive and excited about partying and dancing. The music is a sense of euphoria for people today. Once they hear a catchy rap or hip-hop song they love, it's straight to singing and dancing. Nothing else is on their mind. When the weekend rolls along, it's all about either going to a club to listen and dance to the top hits of today, or going to a friends house to do the same. They dance, just like the people in the 20's did. They sing, just like the people in the 20's did. The Great Gatsby's crew was trying to make the film/atmosphere more relatable to the majority of the people who were going to be watching it, and I thought it was useful and a great idea.
Although, I do think they could have added a few more 20's and 30's classics... ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
You make a valid point, and that's probably what the filmmakers were thinking. And, full disclosure, I still haven't seen the film.
BUT, it's still a film set in the 20's, isn't it? And, for me personally, jazz gets me moving 100% more than modern pop or hip hop. A film like this, imho, is a great opportunity to educate young folks in just how hot older music can be. Just because the folks who were around and liked it then are old now, doesn't make that music stale, bland, or bad.
BUT, it's still a film set in the 20's, isn't it? And, for me personally, jazz gets me moving 100% more than modern pop or hip hop. A film like this, imho, is a great opportunity to educate young folks in just how hot older music can be. Just because the folks who were around and liked it then are old now, doesn't make that music stale, bland, or bad.
Surely you're not suggesting that they would have just grabbed some old mp3 and throw it in the film? Any song in there would have been completely re-orchestrated and re-recorded for the film.
I agree with you. I'm on both sides of the argument. I'm 19 years old and have been around the music of today that was featured in the film, and I love the old classics, especially from the 20's and 30's. I would have loved to see more music from that era than this one in the film. It would have added much more to it rather than what they used, and I agree, it would have been a chance to educate people in my generation about the beautiful music and scene that went on during that time period. I was never trying to stale that music is stale or bland, in fact, I fully disagree with that argument. That music is beautiful. But, I think the use of popular hip-hop and pop music attracted a larger, younger crowd which is probably what they were going for.
Not at all. In fact, I was being sarcastic. I was saying that the sound designers and crew actually had a much more thought-out and reasonable plan to the music choice, instead of just throwing popular music from today in the film, which some people to think they did.
Very cool VFX video I found about Gatsby https://vimeo.com/68451324
