Crazy woke Washington Post article claims that John Williams' STAR WARS music "reproduces harmful prejudices in pop culture"...

[Tydirium 1,166]

The article in question.

 

I had dearly hoped that this grandfatherly 87-year-old genius would be able to live out the rest of his life without being a target of the woke brigade, but I guess even John Williams music is now "problematic" to these loonies. Relevant paragraphs quoted below:

 

Quote

 

Even those who have noted these prejudices could be excused for not noticing the presence of such tropes in another key element of every Star Wars film: John Williams’s iconic musical score. Williams’s music associates the “good guys” with the grand orchestral style of the European Romantics (think of the beautifully hummable melodies for Luke, Leia and Rey), while the themes for the “bad guys” are expressed in the vocabulary of Chinese, Indian and Middle Eastern music.

 

This may seem incidental or unimportant. But this music reinforces, even at an unconscious level, the primacy of Western culture against an imagined “other” that reproduces harmful prejudices in pop culture that, given the power of mass media, has larger political consequences.

 

Star Wars builds on a long history of using Eastern music to depict evil on -creen or to convey to moviegoers that they are entering an alien world. It is an established Hollywood technique, going back to such classics as Max Steiner’s music for “King Kong” (1933) and “Casablanca” (1942), and Maurice Jarre’s score for “Lawrence of Arabia” (1962). This way of scoring movies reflects the training of the first generation of film composers, who introduced the tropes of European opera into Hollywood music. Among Steiner’s many influences were Richard Wagner, who popularized the leitmotif (associating a character with a musical theme), and Richard Strauss, whose opera “Salome” about a necrophiliac princess from Judea summarizes all the tropes of Orientalizing music.

 

Williams, who was born in 1932 and grew up with this generation of composers, epitomizes the Wagnerian approach to film scoring. Each character in Star Wars has his or her own musical identity, a compositional technique Williams also uses to brilliant effect in other franchises, such as “Indiana Jones,” possibly the most famous modern example of cinematic Orientalism.

 

The practice of hiring white composers to imitate non-Western music when it comes time to introduce bad guys, usually with a European-style orchestra, continues to this day. Film composers such as Hans Zimmer, Howard Shore and James Horner have brought the scoring techniques of Steiner and Strauss into modern film. Even a brief listen to recent tracks such as “Barbarian Horde” from “Gladiator” (2001), “The Bridge of Khazad-dûm” from “Fellowship of the Ring” (2001) or “You Don’t Dream in Cryo” from “Avatar” (2009) shows the continued currency of the Eastern sound.

 

Perhaps this is why we shouldn’t be surprised that Williams’s Eastern-sounding scores are not just present in the original Star Wars trilogy, but also in the sequel trilogy, including “The Rise of Skywalker.”

 

This continuing musical practice cannot simply be written off as harmless or insignificant. While film criticism often excludes the soundscape of films in favor of focusing on narrative and visuals, music is just as important a form of representation, especially in Star Wars. Williams’s music is an indispensable part of the universe’s identity. Lucas, in a 1999 interview with the Boston Globe, put it this way: “John’s music tells the story. Each character has a theme that develops and interacts with the themes of the other characters; the musical themes connect the themes of the stories and make them resonate. … The music can communicate nuances you can’t see; it says things the film doesn’t say.”

 

So what does the music say exactly? In its depiction of evil — at least in the case of Darth Maul, the Sith antagonist of Episode I — the music speaks in Sanskrit. Consider the “Duel of the Fates,” a demonic musical cue written for the climactic battle of “The Phantom Menace.” Its orchestration and melody are emblematic of how Williams uses Oriental sound to represent villainy in all of the Star Wars films. With its assembly of choral forces, the “Duel of the Fates” features a text drawn from the Welsh poem “Cad Goddeu.” The choir, however, does not sing in ancient Celtic, but in Sanskrit, a language sacred to Indian religions and philosophy — picked, according to Williams, because he “loved the sound of it.”

 

The use of Sanskrit lends the piece an appropriately “alien” feel and conjures atmospheric menace, as best demonstrated in this clip. In these brief minutes, we see evil depicted by Sanskrit chanting (0:17) and solo percussion (0:52). Heroism, on the other hand, is scored to a rousing statement from the orchestra (1:30) and to a quotation from the brass fanfare of Luke’s title theme (1:48).

 

We see this in other notable elements of the Star Wars films: Tibetan/Tuvan throat singing accompanies Emperor Palpatine, the ultimate antagonist in the series, an orchestration choice Williams repeats in the sequel trilogy for Supreme Leader Snoke’s music.

 

We learn about the wider world through representations in media: That is the tremendous power of Hollywood. The continuous association of the alien with non-Western music is, by implication, an argument that Western music should be the norm against which all other traditions are judged. This reinforces American identity as being distinctly Western European in sound, even if we have moved past this thinking in other areas, especially in matters of race.

 

We should also think about who gets to score films in the first place and how those choices contribute to the longevity of this type of music in contemporary filmmaking. Hollywood is slowly beginning to address issues of minority representation in areas such as acting and directing. Yet, music has lagged behind. “Black Panther” (2018) and “Crazy Rich Asians” (2018) may have brought us forward in terms of visual representation, but their original scores, written by Ludwig Goransson and Brian Tyler, respectively, show no improvement from the Orientalizing sound of the past.

 

The solution is certainly not to blame these composers, but to be more aware of the way music, especially music written for popular media, can shape our understanding of the world. There are plenty of young composers of non-Western descent whose work deserves to be heard and to frame our stories, and there are plenty of established artists, such as Tan Dun, Joe Hisaishi or A.R. Rahman, who could be hired for Hollywood assignments.

 

Williams’s great talent is to express through music the artistic vision of the director, who ultimately has final say on the music. What does Lucas think of Williams’s musical choices? At the recording sessions for Episode I, when Williams showed him his work for “Duel of the Fates,” Lucas exclaimed: “Sanskrit! That’ll give the fans something to figure out.”

 

Williams’s music for Star Wars is an aesthetic, if not a political triumph. But ingrained in the soundscape of the films is a worldview that frames villainy as Eastern and heroes as Western. This reflects long-standing prejudices in American society — ones we should seek to excise by promoting songwriters, storytellers and artists who break out of the Hollywood mold. You could say it’s our only hope.

 

 

[Holko 9,499]

Thanks for quoting, they don't deserve clicks.

[Tydirium 1,166]

Quote

Williams’s music associates the “good guys” with the grand orchestral style of the European Romantics (think of the beautifully hummable melodies for Luke, Leia and Rey), while the themes for the “bad guys” are expressed in the vocabulary of Chinese, Indian and Middle Eastern music.

 

I love how he just completely ignores the fact that "The Imperial March"—arguably the most famous "bad guy" theme in history—is written in the European symphonic tradition.

 

EDIT: It's ironic that such a stupid article about Williams' music for villains would come from the Washington Post, so soon after @Falstaft (hiatus til TROS) just wrote them a really great one about Williams' music for villains...

[Jim Ware 526]

An ill-informed, technically inaccurate and worthless article.

[rough cut 1,714]

It’s PC gone mad!!!

[Jurassic Shark 12,024]

[Josh500 1,615]

Washington Post, along with The New York Times and several other "big names," are among the worst propaganda newspapers in existence today. Rivals Goebbel's propaganda in Nazi Germany, and that's no joke. If you are totally ignorant and clueless, you might believe the opposite. 

 

 

That said, I didn't even finish reading the quote about JW. No thanks!

[DrTenma 116]

That's one of the problems in this century: people seem more concern in finding political meaning to art than appreciating the art itself; and it doesn't make sense. Also, I hate when people just assume that Europe, which is quite diverse because is a fucking continent, is jus a big place full of only white people...

[Jurassic Shark 12,024]

Yeah, I was mostly pink this summer.

[eitam 364]

Absolutely incredible.

[crumbs 14,300]

1 hour ago, Tydirium said:

the beautifully hummable melodies for Luke, Leia and Rey

 

Rey's Theme really isn't "beautifully hummable", certainly not compared to other themes. And that's not a criticism (it's one of my favourite themes), just an observation of the melodic structure.

[crocodile 7,983]

He forgot to mention how John Williams is racist because his themes for Lando, Rose and Finn never get re-used in subsequent films.

 

Karol

[Thor 7,465]

Ha, ha.....some crazy times we're living in if this kind of drivel gets published in a reputed newspaper like the Washington Post. Unbelievable.

 

In a similar vein, let's refute the use of a cymbal in orchestral music, because if you put the cymbal horizontally, it kinda looks like a traditional Chinese straw hat. Racist!

 

[Holko 9,499]

Don't give them ideas!

[Jurassic Shark 12,024]

5 hours ago, Thor said:

Ha, ha.....some crazy times we're living in if this kind of drivel gets published in a reputed newspaper like the Washington Post. Unbelievable.

 

Spielberg really ought to make a film about this. He could call it The Post... and JW could score it with some of his trademark prejudist music.

[publicist 4,643]

Interesting tidbit: Rey's Theme, it's underlying rhythm, leans heavily on a pentatonic scale. 

 

Though that's probably too esoteric a notion for this kind of blogger firebrand 'journalism' for and by the perennially outraged. To wit: in 1977, a middle-aged white man was asked to emulate styles and pieces of the last two centuries by other white middle-aged to old men. How dare he not to turn down the assignment in outrage? Not for a lack of reasons, it seems.

[Jurassic Shark 12,024]

He could at the very least get a bit more tanned.

[publicist 4,643]

Probably disturbs the pacemaker.

[Jurassic Shark 12,024]

Then he needs a PC pacemaker.

[crocodile 7,983]

Why do I always hear Hans' music from The Peacemaker whenever someone mentions it? 🤔

 

 

Karol

[publicist 4,643]

It's a fun score.

[Arpy 4,145]

Fucking ridiculous article. Music breaks down these cultural barriers through embracing cultural appropriation and creative expression.

[crocodile 7,983]

 

1 minute ago, publicist said:

It's a fun score.

It's one of my favourites from Hansu.

 

Karol

[Jurassic Shark 12,024]

I wonder how large part of it he actually did himself...

[Arpy 4,145]

The author of the article praises Williams whilst calling him an ignorant racist. This is the most backward anti-human way of thinking I've ever heard. 

[Demodex 557]

2 hours ago, Josh500 said:

Washington Post, along with The New York Times and several other "big names," are among the worst propaganda newspapers in existence today. Rivals Goebbel's propaganda in Nazi Germany, and that's no joke. If you are totally ignorant and clueless, you might believe the opposite. 

 

[publicist 4,643]

It's just Josh500, we all pray to god he never runs for office. He stands a serious chance, though.

[TheUlyssesian 2,473]

There is no bottom to the American media. Everytime you think you have hit rock bottom, you can hear WaPo or NYT or CNN knocking from below.

[Demodex 557]

Whatever

[Taikomochi 1,136]

I have no problem with this type of cultural criticism when it is well thought out. This article just selectively overlooks counter examples like the Imperial March to make a point, and that’s unacceptable. 

[Richard Penna 3,669]

(in response to original article)

 

Huh?

 

Which part any of the SW scores is 'expressed in the vocabulary of Chinese, Indian and Middle Eastern music'?

 

Last time I checked, Imperial March sounded pretty Western to me.

[Pawel P. 738]

Author of this article expresses exactly my thoughts that I had while listening to MEMOIRS OF A GEISHA and SEVEN YEARS IN TIBET. "Those damn Asians!" 

[Quintus 5,399]

Woke is the new in the wake of and every time I read or hear the word I go flaccid.

[Falstaft 2,132]

I was wondering when this article was going to come up on this message-board. I'll say this: film music is a perfectly valid target of cultural & political critique, but it's gotta be, you know... at least minimally engaged with what's been said before. What bothers me so much about this article is that it is so technically inaccurate, and in making its superficial and selective claims, fails to acknowledge any scholarly or critical discourse around these scores whatsoever.

 

 

3 hours ago, Josh500 said:

Washington Post, along with The New York Times and several other "big names," are among the worst propaganda newspapers in existence today. Rivals Goebbel's propaganda in Nazi Germany, and that's no joke. If you are totally ignorant and clueless, you might believe the opposite. 

 

 

 

 

Excuse me? Is this supposed to be some kind bad joke, @Josh500? As someone who has family that perished in the Holocaust, this is about the most repulsive and irresponsible thing I've seen in days. Please consider taking it down.

 

[Taikomochi 1,136]

No he really believes that crazy bullshit.

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

Josh is another one of those members who would have been quietly removed years ago under better moderator-ship.

[Tom 4,634]

Dumb, but based on principle deep in the mindset of a whole hell of a lot of people in American academic and intelligentsia circles.  

[King Mark 3,625]

The goal of this article is to utterly destroy the entire career of John Williams , regardless of how baseless it is . I feel deeply hurt and offended by this article. All this politically correct woke bullshit has gone completely out of control.

 

No doubt the Hollywood elite eats that shit up and any chance of JW getting an Oscar for TROS is gone .And if I were John Williams I'd just say fuck it and retire.

[Taikomochi 1,136]

It’s definitely not trying to destroy his entire career, and I doubt the Hollywood elite give a fuck about a single WaPo article. There were plenty of critiques of Green Book in the print media last year, and that didn’t stop it from winning. That was certainly a more problematic film from a PC perspective. This article is just masturbatory, but no one is gonna read it. John won’t win because the Academy doesn’t care about him anymore, not because of some dumb ass article.

[Disco Stu 15,495]

7 minutes ago, King Mark said:

No doubt the Hollywood elite eats that shit up

 

I don't think they pay any attention actually.  Last year there were a thousand articles denouncing the movie Green Book as problematic and racist (like this one from the NY Times) and it still won Best Picture.

 

EDIT: ha!  @Taikomochi we made the exact same point about Green Book at the same time  

[King Mark 3,625]

4 minutes ago, Taikomochi said:

It’s definitely not trying to destroy his entire career, and I doubt the Hollywood elite give a fuck about a single WaPo article.

 

Yeah but Washington Post is well known and read by a lot of people. It's not a small blog nobody cares about

[Taikomochi 1,136]

Yes, and I’m sure if you looked you could find a bunch of criticisms from them on any number of Oscar winners. The people who vote on Oscars are like sheep. They vote what’s trendy, but they certainly won’t be bothered to READ.  This article I have not seen shared anywhere but on this forum, and that’s coming from someone who does read WaPo and is surrounded by people who read WaPo.

[King Mark 3,625]

All this cultural appropriation crap threatens creative choices that are made in all movies and tries to dictate who should be hired for each part of the movie regardless if that person is actually talented or not. I wonder why so many Hollywood stars stand by this when it threatens their own existance.

[Disco Stu 15,495]

The article I linked to above, effectively a hit piece on the movie Green Book (right or wrong), ran as the main above the fold story in the New York Times style section.  Hardly some blog.  And Hollywood didn't give a crap and gave it best picture.  Media narratives like this have to get BIG for Academy voters to notice.

[King Mark 3,625]

I think Ricky Gervais did a great job at the Golden Globes pointing out how political correctness is getting out of control .There needs some kind of balance.

[Thor 7,465]

Crikey....whenever marginally political threads pop up here, I'm shocked and scared to discover that a great many members here -- whom I consider fairly reasonable in film music discussions -- come from the deep, dark undercurrent of the radical right.

[King Mark 3,625]

Not at all. I'm a liberal, but I think this is going too far

[Holko 9,499]

.

[Thor 7,465]

1 minute ago, King Mark said:

Not at all. I'm a liberal, but I think this is going too far

 

I wasn't referring to you, but rather some previous comments concerning the newspapers in question.

[John 2,032]

5 hours ago, Josh500 said:

Washington Post, along with The New York Times and several other "big names," are among the worst propaganda newspapers in existence today. Rivals Goebbel's propaganda in Nazi Germany, and that's no joke. If you are totally ignorant and clueless, you might believe the opposite. 

 

 

That said, I didn't even finish reading the quote about JW. No thanks!