I found the episode of This American Life to be unsettling to listen to. I don’t think it was the stories themselves, I think it was how they were presented. The music made me uncomfortable and planted a creeping feeling inside of me. I didn’t like it. It felt invasive and manipulative. These are not comfortable stories, and I don’t think they have to be. But I felt defiled by the music and the way it tried to get inside of me and dictate my opinions about what I was hearing. I felt like I needed distance from the stories in order to think about them, and the music wouldn’t let me do that. It was trying to do my thinking for me.
What is interesting about the third prong of the episode is that after all the twisted images of the mother, we find out that the daughter speaks to her daily and visits her twice a week. I don’t think the episode did credit to that revealing moment. It is so easy to miss, especially if you are letting the music think for you. There is no music through that section indicating that it is negligible.
Does something have to be dogmatic to be challenging or evocative?
I agree with you that the soundtrack they had for the American Life broadcast was creepy. It did feel disjointed from what the stories themselves were. Along with the theme of challenging images I guess there should be critical analysis of challenging music. The only part I did find humorous was the song by the Simpsons.
ReplyDelete-Jeremy Ashworth