Defining History Through Music

When creating historical fiction film, biopic, adapting a classic novel, one of the many aspects to think about is the music. You would want to make a statement with your music choice, and I have seen a couple films where the music supervisor broke the mold in music-casting, so to speak.

Many of you should know Baz Luhrmann's adaptation of The Great Gatsby. Director Luhrmann stated that in today's society, jazz music is considered too tame. In the 1920s, Jazz was the devil's music. He wanted us to feel the same tension the old folks felt when they heard the music and saw the massive chaos it "caused." Today, some people may think hip-hop is the devil's music. So, the hip-hop music overlaid the jazz in the music bed.

The Great Gatsby - I Can't Stop Scene


The other film is a favorite of mine: Marie Antoinette directed by Sofia Coppola. The film mainly shows the infamous Austrian princess and her time at the Palace at Versailles, from her marriage to her escape attempt.
The film exploits her young age very much. She and, then, Prince Louis were both 14 when they married. She's a teenager. She did teenage things. She put on plays she wrote herself, she had elaborate parties, she bought expensive clothes, she gambled, etc. To help show her young age, rock music from the 80s and 90s were used, including artists like Bow Wow Wow, The Strokes, Adam Ant, and the Cure.

Marie Antoinette - I Want Candy Scene

I'm sure there are several other films that uses music from the wrong era, and I can't wait to see what the directors and music supervisors decided to use.