The Great Gatsby And A Little Party Never Killed Nobody

Released in 2013, Baz Luhrmann’s adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s book The Great Gatsby raised a great deal of controversy over his music choice. The music choice may surprise many people who watch the movie, The Great Gatsby, but Luhrmann used modern songs to accurately convey the themes represented in the 1920s. Luhrmann’s song choice does two things. One it helps the younger generation visualize the Roaring Twenties clearly. Another is it made the movie seem more enjoyable to the present generation. Moreover, songs like “$100 Bill” by Jay-Z and “A Little Party Never Killed Nobody” by Fergie meticulously characterize the themes and morals of the 1920s.

For one thing, it helps captivate today’s younger generation with music that they listen

“$100 Bill” kicks off when in the movie when Gatsby tells Nick about his “little business on the side” (82). Jay-Z goes on to say “Stock Markets just Crash” and “History don’t repeat itself, it rhymes, 1929.” Jay-Z is referring to Mark Twain’s quote that history does not repeat, it rhymes. He uses this logic to connect the recent recession to the stock market crash of 1929. Furthermore, he raps the line, “Jay Gatsby, I park things Yellow cars, yellow gold” he is saying he is Gatsby. Jay-Z is saying he is as powerful and prominent as Jay Gatsby is. Also the line, “Move coke through Maryland,” hints at Jay-Z affiliations in drug trafficking and relates to Gatsby’s own illegal operation, bootlegging. “$100 Bill” lines up with Gatsby’s own life, it is a perfect modern example of his

It is an upbeat, lively song; you hear it and want to dance. This is the atmosphere of the Roaring Twenties; everybody was partying and having a good time. Conveniently, it is also the atmosphere of Gatsby’s parties. Fergie keeps singing, “A little part never killed nobody, so we gon’ dance until we drop,” which is more or less the motto of the people attending Gatsby’s parties. They did not care about morals, they threw them out the window. All they cared about was partying and getting so drunk they passed out. They just wanted to have a good time and didn’t care about the consequences. The twenties were all about partying, getting liquor at speakeasies, and having a good time. Nobody was worried about what could happen, they were just worried about themselves. “They were careless people…they smashed up things and creatures and then retreated back into their money or their vast carelessness, or whatever it was that kept them together, and let other people clean up the mess they had made”(Fitzgerald