Legally Blonde

850 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Essay on the effects of music in films

Director Robert Luketic brings the story of Elle Woods to the big screen in the 2001 romantic comedy, Legally Blonde. The score was produced by Rolfe Kent. Beginning with the theme song, “Perfect Day” by Hoku sets an upbeat mood in the college party scene. A trip through the campus brings together sounds of bicycle bell rings, football players whistling, and sighs of happiness. A New Future is Born begins with a soft melody as Elle prepares for her thrilling night her heels clink down the stairs.. The soft melody continues to play in the background creating a whimsical setting as Elle and Warner romantically kiss and head off to dinner. Elle and Warner begin a conversation at the restaurant with a toast as their champagne glasses clang together. The scene blends into a quiet state as Warner says, “I think we should break up.” Soft music sets in motion and she creates a display of horror on her face. She starts hysterically crying as the music becomes rapid she gets up to leave the restaurant. The music dims out as she is walking home and all that is heard is the clinking of her heels on the pavement. Starving of Depression initiates the sounds of birds chirping outside the school campus. Elle’s in her dorm and soft music begins to play as a sad love movie plays in the background. Elle’s friends soon take her out to distract her; this activates a fast and happy orchestra that represents the change of mood. I’m Going to Harvard starts with birds chirping outside and soft, relaxing music playing in the background. As soft music plays in the background, Elle tells her friends that she is going to Harvard Law School. Video Essay and Exam is the start to a new adventure and a fast orchestra plays in the background of he... ... middle of paper ... ...sound of clicking cameras and flashing lights as the newscasters speak to Elle. The fast music continues as Elle walks out of the door and fades into shining light. On Graduation Day, two years later, Elle Woods name is announced and the graduates applaud as a graduation song plays in the background. Elle presents her graduation speech and it ends with the song “Perfect Day” by Hoku. The sounds throughout represent the positive and negative situations that Elle experiences. When Elle goes through sad situations slow music plays and through the triumphant scenes fast music plays. Elle’s heel clinking represents successful points in her life or large situations such as entering the courtroom. “Perfect Day” by Hoku played in the beginning of the movie to represent the fun in the college party scene and ended in the success of her law career and graduating law school.

Show More
Related

  • The Theme Of Eerie Music In The Film Psycho

    1081 Words  | 3 Pages

    As the opening credits scroll on the screen, the violins in the orchestra play an anticipatory mood. Almost like a chase is occurring. This music sets the scene for the rest of the movie and the horror that will ensue. The same melody is continued into the first scene just at a slower speed. When Marion Crane and Sam Loomis are in the hotel room

    Read More

  • Bresson’s A Man Escaped

    1659 Words  | 4 Pages

    After first viewing of the film, one might be quick to say that the film is completely devoid of music. It is used so scarcely that it appears to make no impact. Yet, it is that scarcity and exclusion that creates the sullen tone of the film. Bresson relies heavily on ambient, diegetic sound that, in this case, is going to be the silence or the rustling of prisoners’ or guards’ feet within the walls of the prison. Careful scraping of the spoon handle on the floor, the creaking of the wooden door as it is pried open, and the light tapping on the cement walls all lend to the solitude and determination of the prisoner. Sound very much plays a role as a symbol; the clinking of the keys against the railing represents not only authority but raises the tension of the film, the viewer knowing that Fontaine’s exposure as an attempted escapee would lead to sudden death. In combination with the random firings from the death squad, Bresson leads the viewer to really feel the hopelessness and disparity of the situation.

    Read More

  • Sixteen Candles

    1767 Words  | 4 Pages

    The film opens with Sam on the phone with her best girlfriend Randy. She is examining herself in her full length mirror and is totally horrified to find that her body didn’t’ magically transform overnight. She was hoping to wake up with a body just like Caroline’s. Caroline is the head cheerleader, prom queen, and girlfriend of the most popular boy in school, Jake Ryan. Sam is hopelessly “in love” with Jake and is convinced that he won’t know she exists until she is more developed, more mature, more like Caroline. Little does she know, Jake does notice her. He is intrigued by a certain mispassed note containing some very personal information about Sam’s sex life (or lack of

    Read More

  • Legally Blonde 2 and De Tocqueville

    1869 Words  | 4 Pages

    ... middle of paper ... ... One teenage girl’s reaction was just that. Carrie Dean, of Wisconsin, walked out of the movie theatre and gave Legally Blonde 2 her own personal spin as a way for her to get involved herself.

    Read More

  • Personal Narrative: Kuroi Ledge

    1673 Words  | 4 Pages

    Which was no strange feeling to me since I turned to music to cope with whatever ailed me, because no matter what, a song, some headphones, and volume turned way too loud was always there. Returning to the supple age of ten, was a disconnect, mainly between the receptors in my brain that determine whether or not I get enough of the happy chemicals, but between what I am, and what I thought I was. I thought I was a kid like everyone else, I would be sad for no reason often, but moving many times, and having to be on my own for a large portion of my early to late teens, I thought it was how life was for most people in my situation. My situation was dreary at best, people bullied me extensively in middle school to high school, in the first string of serious relationships I had they all left because of some arbitrary meaning of what being happy should have been; coming to a peak on Valentines day of 2012, the first time I attempted suicide. Suicide is the focus of the song, how abandonment can lead to hopelessness and desperation to the point of the ultimate act of despair, death. “I guess I finally had the courage to go away. The promises we made were made hollowly. Sometimes you'd reassure me we'd be okay. But you'd always leave” (A Lot Like Birds. Kuroi Ledge. Equal Vision Records, 2013.

    Read More

  • Cruel Intentions

    662 Words  | 2 Pages

    Cruel Intentions The film Cruel Intentions, directed by John Hughes, is a fast paced. glimpse into the lives of the young New Yorkers whose entire existence. revolves around power, sexuality and to some extent class A drugs. Hughes The direction for the movie concentrates on those who prey on innocence.

    Read More

  • Asa Butterfield Monologue

    513 Words  | 2 Pages

    Score/Soundtrack: Music throughout this film remained somewhat unnoticeable as it let the action of the film speak for itself. The calm music throughout the majority of the film helped me focus on dialogue and expressions instead of sound and chaos. Scenes filled with music, such as the moving away party and search for Bruno, did help the film as they helped bring more description and evidence of emotion to the

    Read More

  • Music And Music In Refugee By Milan Dragicevich

    863 Words  | 2 Pages

    As the play flashes between the sisters and their grandchildren’s lives, music continually appears and serves as a mode of communication for each character. Savra’s side of the family listens to different types of music while connecting with other members in the area to get over their differences. Additionally, Mara’s grandson runs a pirated music shop, where he DJ’s throughout his first scene and repetitively speaks about his connection to music. Therefore, playing music throughout the scenes with each family’s side demonstrates how while everyone might be different, they all share a common passion. Since Eriksen composed his own music, it added an extra significance to scenes between Savra and Mara since intimate and new music served as an undertone to symbolize their

    Read More

  • Million Dollar Baby

    850 Words  | 2 Pages

    Fortuitously, the movie has turned out to be one of the best motion pictures of the year. Once again, Clint Eastwood surprises us all with his work as a film director. He gives the audience a chance to consider life from another viewpoint. The movie makes one think about what he or she has achieved in life and Maggie shows us that it is never too late to have a dream fulfilled. After all, this is why we are actually born and live to fulfill our dreams.

    Read More

  • The Red Violin Scene Analysis

    245 Words  | 1 Pages

    As she starts to play, viewers recognize a variation of the melody played throughout the movie, once again connecting a life with the journey of this violin. As she plays we hear a soft and melancholy minor tune. Starting at a low pitch, the song

    Read More

  • Isolation In The Film 'The Graduate'

    1262 Words  | 3 Pages

    The first song played is “The Sounds of Silence,” which is somber and melancholy with its soft voices and instruments. The song plays along with a dull and repetitive recording while Ben stands alone on the moving walkway at the busy LAX airport. The song’s lyrics reinforce Ben’s feeling of isolation, “And in the naked light I saw, ten thousand people, maybe more. People talking without speaking, people hearing without listening” (Nichols 00:01:34). Right away the unhappy music and lyrics give the feeling that Ben is absent from his life and is surrounded by people that have nothing important to say. The song establishes the anxiety that Ben will experience throughout the film which is that of not being able to connect with the generation above him and worrying that his own generation is becoming a superficial and apathetic culture. Later, there is a montage that uses “Sounds of Silence” and transitions into “April Come She Will.” The montage shows Ben going through his monotonous daily routine and then meeting up with Mrs. Robinson for their loveless affairs. The music reminds the audience how detached Ben is even in an activity that should be intimate. “April Come She Will” plays while Ben walks back and forth between the worlds of Mrs. Robinson and his parents, neither of which he is pleased with. This song is about a love burning

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Moonrise Kingdom

    720 Words  | 2 Pages

    Sound also draws attention to specific scenes and can cue expectations of what will occur. The sound viewers hear first is that of thunder and rain. The external sound is both accessible to characters within the scene and the audience. Although the rain and thunder are unnoticeable viewers can presume that the weather is rainy outside which explains the minimal lighting coming through the windows. Lionel stomping up the stairs, the sound of jacks, and the chewing as the three young boys eat are all examples of diegetic sounds which appear natural. By using diegetic sound viewers perceive the story as more realistic because it places the audience within that scene. The use of the recorder and orchestra music is also important because it adds drama to the scene. When Susy picks up her book the loudness of the music increases which intensified the scene to make it appear more dramatic. As Susy opens the curtains again the music gets louder, the combination of music and camera distance in this shot hint that perhaps Susy saw something of importance through her

    Read More

  • Gun Shots-Personal Narrative

    1265 Words  | 3 Pages

    I couldn’t believe this day was finally here. I would get my high school diploma and get out of this town forever. I was finally going to get the chance that I had been waiting for so many years. I was going to start a brand new life, someplace away from here, where no one knew me. As my mind was lost in plans of the future, I tuned out my surroundings, until, a loud noise snapped me out of my thoughts.

    Read More

  • Mean Girls

    563 Words  | 2 Pages

    Do you ever think girls are too mean to each other? Girls are often mean to each other, but sometimes they a little bit too mean. Like Newton's Third Law, for every action there is a reaction. Girls take action to get a reaction and please their audience. It is clear that girls are too mean to each other.

    Read More

  • Music In The Film, Phantom Of The Opera

    1453 Words  | 3 Pages

    Different from other types of films, the music in Phantom of the Opera was used by all the characters, as a way to tell their part of the story. The music created a convincing surrounding for the film, guided the audiences. The music was constantly a signifier of emotion, as the characters expressed their feelings through the songs. The music score was an emotional and scary score that tied into their diegetic/non-diegetic singing, giving the main characters an identity, specifying situations and places to help connect certain points. When we hear the dark music play throughout the movie, it plays a certain theme, that theme gives the viewers a clear hint of who or what the music is talking about. Another example of signifier of emotion was in The Devil Wears Prada, where the film used either fast upbeat songs for when Andy walks all around the city, running errands for Miranda, or romantic alternative music when Andy is with her boyfriend and true friends (The Phantom of the Opera/The Devil Wears

    Read More

More about Legally Blonde

Open Document