The Acoustic Wound: Reflections on the Crystal-Song in Five American Films

Abstract

AbstractThis chapter develops the concept of the ‘crystal-song’ which crystallises turning points in a film. It does not illustrate or echo what we see; rather, it articulates a privileged musical moment of intense affect, ‘wounding’ the image/music nexus as does Barthes’s punctum for the photograph. The crystal-song is the piece that stands out from the others by a combination of intensity and critical insistence. The chapter explores such moments in five recent US films. The first is the diegetically performed song that gives its title to the film in American Honey (2016) and Beautiful Boy (2018). The second explores references in the dialogue to the music we hear: a diegetic song that is referred to by the characters but not performed by them (Lady Bird, 2017); the third, a non-diegetic song in a film where performed music is constantly present and talked about (Call Me by Your Name, 2017). The final and more sustained case is a diegetically performed piano piece from La La Land (2016) which demonstrates that the musical moment does not have to be a single song with lyrics, nor the spectacular performance that is usually found in film musicals, La La Land included, but can also be a much-repeated musical motif. All of these musical moments have a critical and focal function, shaping audience affects and our perception of the narrative.