www.womanthismonth.com 79 September 2014 he says by JAMES CLAIRE Movies are a hit and miss affair. So why take the risk? And why have things changed so much? In the early years of Hollywood, there was no chance a film production would not be a true success. The costs were and remain prohibitive. But in the old days, there was no chance to recoup these financial disasters through DVD sales. If a movie flopped at the theatres, it remained hidden forever. Perhaps such technology made producers and directors lazy. Money recouped whether the movie was a success or failure! A massage with soft music in the background had me realising that an important part of movies has changed. It’s probably why they never succeed into longevity. A famous quote states it perfectly, “Music is what feelings sound like.” I remember the movies of my youth and still long to see many of them over again; not just for the great actors but also because I can remember their soundtracks. Certain days, certain emotions evoke a tune of memorable quality of a movie of great viewing magnitude. Doctor Zhivago had Lara’s Theme, while Gone with the Wind had Tara’s Theme. For the Boys had Bette Midler belting out her rendition of In My Life. Beaches reminds us all of Wind beneath My Wings. And could any of us forget Top Gun’s, Take My Breath Away. Songs of numerous musicals and movies shaped my early youth; they are part of who I am. I could never forget the words to the tunes of The Sound of Music, even if I wanted to. So why don’t modern movies have a single song I can remember? In the ‘80s, the Hollywood blockbuster was born. In the ‘90s came the idea of selling the high-powered soundtracks that accompanied them. But do I remember as many movies from the past two decades as I do of the decades prior? No! So what differs between them? Trends. Music for most modern blockbusters is momentary, taken from popular artists of the day. But our thought patterns are fleeting today. We are not old school romantics anymore. There are few movies that I can think of from modern times that fill my memory banks, like Dances with Wolves and Gladiator. They used powerful music to evoke feelings, emotions and in my case, tears. To have a movie relegated to the historical trash bin is easy. It is hard to have a movie generate enough emotion, feeling and freedom within us to stay for the remainder of our days. Too many children are growing up without these powerful emotional tools. To be able to reflect and truly miss something is a nice feeling. Movies today are blockbusters trying to get folks in the door on opening weekend. They succeed, sadly without music and soundtracks to reflect upon. Memories of magnitude, feelings of awe and emotion, reflections of happiness are abandoning the children of tomorrow. Let’s hope Hollywood wakes up soon and fills our ears with happy memories for the future again. Our Life’s Soundtrack
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