Music and the Allied Arts—Cinema

Music and the Allied Arts—Cinema 

            At first thought it may seem that there would not be any connection between cinema and music.  However, even the great classic religious motion pictures were greatly enhanced by their musical soundtracks.  For instance the classic film sound tracks of Miklos Rosa like, King of Kings, The Robe, and Ben-Hur, and recent soundtracks such as The Passion of Christ (2004) by John Debney are living proof that there is a vital connection between music and cinema.

            There are major philosophical problems with the mainstream of cinema in both the twentieth and early twenty first centuries.  A host of sensual and lewd films have included music sound tracks that were so effective that they made these films even worse.  So what position should a music educator take about making the connection between music and cinema?  First, be honest.  Effectively composed music has the power to make a wholesome film a better artistic and spiritual medium, and it can make a lewd sensual film even worse. 

            Ignoring the connection between cinema and music is a mistake and ignoring the multiplicity of problems with this connection is short sighted and also a problem.  The philosophical problem extends to the visual content of each film and the power of music to arouse unhealthy passion in the mind of the listener. The problem is made even more complex by the fact that seeing and hearing at the same time results in combined and therefore enhanced emotional arousal.  I suggest that every film must be judged on an individual basis and its use with music certainly must be a part of a Christian’s evaluation before it is used in the music classroom. However, rejecting all cinema and refusing to include it in classroom discussions of the allied arts is certainly not the answer.