| Unit name | Music and Comedy in Film and Television |
|---|---|
| Unit code | MUSI20118 |
| Credit points | 20 |
| Level of study | I/5 |
| Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 2 (weeks 13 - 24) |
| Unit director | Dr. Heldt |
| Open unit status | Not open |
| Pre-requisites |
None |
| Co-requisites |
None |
| School/department | Department of Music |
| Faculty | Faculty of Arts |
Comedy has been at the heart of film and television throughout the history of both media, and music is a key aspect of much film and television comedy, though one that has been regularly overlooked by film and TV scholars and has only recently begun to be taken seriously by film and TV musicology. Studying how music can be used to produce, contribute to or frame humour in film and television (or to define where the fun ends) can provide deep and detailed insights into the ways music meshes with other filmic elements to create structures, meanings and effects.
The unit will start from theories of humour and of comedy, progress through a series of aspects and techniques of the comedic use of music (music and movement; intertextuality; camp and trash; music and self-reflexivity; comic performance) and finally to case studies of music in the context of particular genres (such as romantic or horror comedy), national and historical repertoires and programme types (such as TV series and advertising).
Unit aims are:
1) to introduce students to different theories of humour and to the discussion of screen media music in the light of such theories;
2) to introduce students to different genres and forms of film and TV comedy and the places and roles of music in these genres and forms;
3) to provide students with an understanding of different techniques of using music in comedic contexts, and through that
4) to develop students' skills in analysing the interactions of music and other elements of film and television in depth and detail;
5) to equip students with the analytical and contextual skills to apply their knowledge to discuss music in different genres and historical or national repertoires of film and television;
6) to hone students' skill in assessing the state of research on the topic in film/TV studies and musicology (including its gaps and blind spots).
At the end of the unit, a student will be able to:
1) demonstrate knowledge of different theories of humour and be able to discuss screen media music in relation to such theories;
2) demonstrate an understanding of the genre landscape of film and TV comedy and the places of music on it;
3) understand and discuss different techniques of using music for comic purposes or in comedic contexts;
4) synthesise knowledge and analytical skills to discuss music in historically, nationally or culturally specific repertoires of film and TV comedy;
5) develop coherent arguments in written texts of different length;
6) develop coherent arguments in audiovisual form.
Weekly 2-hour seminars for the whole cohort.
1) Blog posts: over the course of the teaching block, students write three 700-word blog posts that discuss music in shorter screen media texts (such as adverts, cartoons, short films, online texts). Students receive formative feedback on all posts, and at the end of the unit choose two of the three posts for a summative mark (25%). (ILOs 1-5)
2) Audiovisual essay: students create a 5-minute audiovisual essay on music in a screen media text (25%). (ILOs 1-6)
3) 2,500-word essay on music in a film comedy or TV series (50%). (ILOs 1-5)
1) Mark Evans & Philip Hayward (eds.): Sounding Funny. Sound and Comedy in Cinema. London & Oakville: Equinox, 2016.
2) Geoff King: Film Comedy. New York: Wallflower, 2002.
3) Rod A. Martin: The Psychology of Humor. An Integrative Approach. Amsterdam & London: Elsevier Academic Press, 2007.
4) Miguel Mera: ‘Is Funny Music Funny? Contexts and Case Studies of Film Music Humor’, in: Journal of Popular Music Studies 14 (2002), pp. 91–113.
5) Steve Neale & Frank Krutnik: Popular Film and Television Comedy. London: Routledge, 1990.
6) Jeff Smith: ‘Popular Songs and Comic Allusion in Contemporary Cinema’, in: Soundtrack Available: Essays on Film and Popular Music, ed. By Pamela Robertson Wojcik and Arthur Knight, Durham/NC & London: Duke University Press, 2001, pp. 407–30.
