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Now Voyager and Pulp Fiction

Introduction
Film, image and narrative

If the shot is 'the brick which built the film' (Bordwell et al: 1985: 60 ) then music is the cement that holds it in place. Film, to fully exercise its creative potential, requires a process of interaction between image, narrative, sound and audience, who actually participate in the process. As Gorbman points out in her influential investigation into narrative film;

In a film, where narrative is the excuse for, the cement of, and the raison d'etre of the film's existence, we opt to focus attention on the narrative and visual realities on the screen before us...We forsake contemplating that abstract arrangement and rearrangement of sound which is music, because it is non-representational and non-narrative and does not inhabit the perceptual foreground of the narrative film. (Gorbman: 1987: 12) .

An investigation into such ‘abstract arrangements' that don't always perceptibly assist in the formation of other filmic features, would actually strengthen the awareness of music's inter-relationship with image and narrative, rather than presuming music's subordinated relationship with image and narrative. Music is not merely an additional extra in film, but together with image forms a unified partnership in the creation of narrative.

The music of Now Voyager (1942) and Pulp Fiction (1994) is clearly very different; by identifying and analyzing key principles of the Classical Hollywood film score, however, the relationship between music and narrative in both films is revealed to be surprisingly similar. Despite being made fifty years apart, they both conform to "rules" of the Classical Hollywood film score, the theoretical framework of which Claudia Gorbman sets out in her seminal text, Unheard Melodies (1987). These Principles of Composition, Mixing and Editing can be used to scrutinize film scoring, and it is through this set of conventions (specifically Narrative Cueing) that musical comparison between Now Voyager and Pulp Fiction will be examined. In many ways, it is self-evident that Now Voyager prescribes to the Classical film scoring principles, as it was produced and received in the Classical Hollywood era; however, such conventions are less obvious in the case of Pulp Fiction.

The Classical Hollywood Film Score
The ‘indiscernible thread'

As Bordwell, Thompson and Staiger argue , the Classical Hollywood film score of the 1930s and 1940s was, like the film more widely, driven towards the goal of the invisible discourse. Hollywood produced a linear world, where there is always a beginning, a middle, and an end. Classical editing presupposes a unified scenic space (unlike the narratives in the language of Soviet montage), and implies a model that is defined by its restrictions (for example, duration, cinematography, editing, sound recording and mixing). As film is such a constructed medium, it was thought that through classical decoupage, a scenic space could be rendered in such a way that it gives the illusion that it is ‘natural' and unmediated. The goal of the ‘transparent' or ‘invisible' discourse was developed to give the illusion of filmic continuity, to efface traces of editing through continuity editing. The underscoring of music, to deliver a sense of coherence and continuity, supported such continuity editing methods of rendering an ‘indiscernible thread' (Bordwell et al: 1985: chapter 16).

Gorbman's Principles

In Unheard Melodies, Gorbman offers the key principles of composition, mixing and editing in Classical film music, which are shaped by the principles of continuity and invisibility as discussed by Bordwell, Thompson and Staiger (Gorbman: 1987: 70- 98 ). These principles show the direct relationship between image, music and the goal of narrative construction in early Hollywood film: the principles can be illustrated by looking at their interplay in Now Voyager and Pulp Fiction. A sequence analysis of Now Voyager (from the arrival of the reinvented Charlotte) indicates clear usage of many of the key principles proposed by Gorbmantwo short sequence analyses from Pulp Fiction, (the shot immediately after the opening titles, and a section from Vincent Vega's arrival at Mia's House) also unmistakably reveal usage of the key principles offered by Gorbman.

In the case of Now Voyager, it is obvious that in every shot that music is used, a principle of Classical Hollywood scoring can be applied. As discussed (see Appendix 2), the shots and its music adhere to the convention of the period, for continuity editing and achieving a so-called ‘indiscernible thread'. The filmmakers were acutely aware of the dependency of music upon image, and image upon music, and it has been exploited to its fullest point in this sequence. As Kalinak suggests, ‘Music and image collaborate in the filmic process. The farther music and image drift from a kind of mutual dependency, the more potential there is for the disruption or even destruction of the cinematic illusion.' (Kalinak: 1992: 15 ).

The music of Pulp Fiction used in these two sequences has a very similar treatment to the music heard in Now Voyager. Immediately after the opening titles, Jungle Boogie by Kool and the Gang is played, emphasising that the characters on-screen are cool, jive-talking dudes. In addition, the film also adheres to the Inaudibility principle used widely in classical Hollywood scoring: the music, whether diegetic or non-diegetic, fades substantially so as not to "drown out speech" (Gorbman: 1987: 77 ) thereby still giving primary focus to the verbal cues. This is a typical Hollywood technique, within a film that desperately tries to take an ironic look at Hollywood conventions in the attempt to overturn them and create the sort of film that may be considered (paradoxically) art-house-Hollywood.

Case Study: Now Voyager
Narrative Cueing and the Leitmotif

Gorbman proposes that music can act as Narrative Cueing: this principle, in part, suggests that the leitmotif can be used to produce a unified work through repeated musical material, and can be used to provide narrative cues or establish setting and character. A ‘leitmotif' (literally translated as a ‘leading motive') refers to a recurring musical fragment that represents a certain character, situation, object or idea: the leitmotif prefigures dramatic happenings in both an aural and visual way, giving connotative value to a series or combination of musical material. Leitmotifs are evident throughout Steiner's score of Now Voyager. The most obvious of all the musical themes is the ‘love' theme, which is present throughout the whole film and saturates the very fabric of the musical score. It can be heard in many incarnations, firstly and conventionally in the opening title sequence; the music anchors the epic feeling, the sense of voyage and of unrelenting movement towards a goal and the possibility of eventual resolution or happiness, thus introducing the key themes of the film. It is heard at key narrative structural moments in the film, the beginning and the very end for example, give it a strong structural presence.

The orchestration of the theme and its musical manifestation expresses the mood, the subconscious motivations and inner tensions of the characters or situation. For example, the theme is heard during the scene when Charlotte is having a nightmare: the machinery of the boat in which Charlotte lays is represented by rhythmic music in the orchestra's low-registered instruments, while the roll of a crash cymbal represents the rushing water. The minor-tinged love theme, over agitated ascending and descending semiquavers has connotations this time not of the embrace of love and freedom, but the fear of its rejection. We hear it again in an altogether different context representing the development and progression of the relationship of the two lovers: it is used as the diegetic music of the dance band as the couple sits in a restaurant. The theme is stylized differently with energetic dance rhythms and Latin percussion to connote the development, for the good, of their relationship. Telling too are the times at which the theme is not heard: the theme is never present during a scene with Charlotte's severe mother, as she represents the absolute antithesis of the musical theme; her power-crazed menace is, typically of the classical Hollywood score, musically represented by a sinister, minor-tinged chromatic musical language, thus anchoring and underscoring the fearful verbal cues of ‘she's coming'. At every point, then, the leitmotif is used to enhance the visual performance on-screen and Steiner forged such motivic procedures in his film scores in order that the musical processes mirror the narrative systems: the leitmotif, then, can be seen to conform to the principle of Narrative Cueing, by way of establishing and developing setting, character and narrative.

Case Study: PULP FICTION
Narrative Cueing and Character Development

Upon our first encounter with Mia in Pulp Fiction, a refined and sophisticated description of her character is given to the audience, through the interaction of image and music alone. The sensual close-ups in conjunction with the alluring, husky tones of Dusty Springfield, and her apt song lyrics (for example, "Being good isn't always easy, No matter how hard I tried"), the audience has a clear idea of Mia's character. Gorbman suggests that ‘The classical film may deploy music to create or emphasize a particular character's subjectivity' (Gorbman: 1987: 83 ), adding that the scene is presented as ‘a physical, fetishised act' (2001: 200). Clearly, Mia is a highly sexualized character, and ‘the music..... is explicitly suggestive of illicit sexual relations, both in its lyrics and performative style' (Garner: 2001: 200), which works alongside the sensual close-ups in the visuals: the combination of music and picture, therefore, work together under the "rule" of Narrative Cueing, ‘establishing setting and character.' (Gorbman: 1987: 73).

Quentin Tarantino attempts to escape the ‘rules' of Hollywood cinema, and traditional Hollywood scoring, in his film Pulp Fiction. As Bordwell, Thompson and Staiger pont out, ‘comprehending a narrative requires assigning it some coherence', and Tarantino does not make this an easy task; neither the image nor the music that he prescribes to accompany the jumbled narrative construction aid coherence in this manner (Bordwell et al: 1985: 34). Pulp Fiction plays around with narrative linearity, attempting simultaneously to achieve a sort of non-linear-linearity, by producing parallel linear narratives that loop back on themselves and that are not fundamentally driven by the closure in the way conventional Hollywood films typically strive for.

The soundtrack to Pulp Fiction supports and enhances the unconventional narrative progression. It uses a patchwork of pre-existing twentieth century popular music as its musical basis, turning categorically away from the Hollywood tradition of the especially composed classical score (though it must be noted that this began much earlier in film history, with the first "pop-patchwork" scores surfacing in the 1960s). The individual tracks are in themselves linear, yet juxtaposed into a musical sequence they don't logically cohere to linear development: the music Tarantino uses is employed to reflect the fragmented nature of the narrative and of the film as a whole. As individual tracks taken out of the filmic context, the music is neither alienating nor confusing, but when used in sequence to underscore the image, they share no common musical material. There is no musical coherence or harmonic pull to drive toward conclusion: the resultant effect is the imitation of narrative structure within the musical structure.

Interestingly, however, despite the many attempts to steer clear of Hollywood convention, Pulp Fiction doesn't drift too far from the traditions of the classical Hollywood score: though no stylistic unity exists in the music, music in this film is crucial in the development of key characters. Character development is essential in this film due to the complex interweaving of characters, and forms a fundamental part of the narrative structure.

CONCLUSION

In conclusion, many films that attempt desperately to avoid the conventions that Hollywood has initiated and popularized still follow many musical rules of Hollywood's Classical era. It seems that filmmakers find it easier to subvert rules of editing, of cinematography, of scriptwriting and of narrative development, but music remains a difficult medium to undermine or destabilize. Perhaps this is because music is an extremely complicated language in itself, and with each choice of note, each instrument, each time signature, each tempo, comes the assertion of some kind of meaning when put together with image. In addition, it seems that we live in a very visual culture, wherein audio more often than not takes a subordinate role alongside its more obvious counterpart: this being the case, it is inevitable that music will at least follow the principles of Invisibility and Inaudibility.

BIBLIOGRAPHY:

Bordwell , Staiger & Thompson, (1985) The Classical Hollywood Cinema, Columbia University Press

Garner, Ken in K.J. Donnelly (2001) Film Music: Critical Approaches, Edinburgh, Edinburgh University Press (p.188- 205)

Gorbman Claudia (1987) Unheard Melodies: Narrative Film Music, BFI, London

Kalinak, Kathryn (1992) Settling the score music and the classical Hollywood film, University of Wisconsin Press

Lack, Russell (1997) Twenty Four Frames Under, Quartet Books, London

Bordwell , Staiger & Thompson, (1985) The Classical Hollywood Cinema, Columbia University Press

Gorbman Claudia (1987) Unheard Melodies: Narrative Film Music, BFI, London

Bordwell , Staiger & Thompson, (1985) The Classical Hollywood Cinema, Columbia University Press

Gorbman Claudia (1987) Unheard Melodies: Narrative Film Music, BFI, London

Bordwell , Staiger & Thompson, (1985) The Classical Hollywood Cinema, Columbia University Press

Kalinak, Kathryn (1992) Settling the score music and the classical Hollywood film, University of Wisconsin Press

Gorbman Claudia (1987) Unheard Melodies: Narrative Film Music, BFI, London

Garner, Ken in K.J. Donnelly (2001) Film Music: Critical Approaches, Edinburgh, Edinburgh University Press (p.188- 205)

Now Voyager and Pulp Fiction
By Laura Callaghan