Musical movies are often debated due to varying opinions on music, dance and song within film. What influences North students’ opinions on musical movies?
Senior Gabe Baethke does not enjoy watching musical movies because he believes that hearing the plot conveyed through music is less effective.
“I find it hard to suspend my disbelief at having the conflict of a film explained through a song, and the participation of so many characters in a song about mostly just one character,” Baethke said. “I just don’t have the patience for it.”
Baethke expands that, though he enjoys music, he struggles to appreciate it within film.
“If I want music, I will listen to music. I can appreciate the form of the song on its own,” Baethke said. “If I want the storyline of a theater production movie, I’ll watch a movie. I don’t want both.”
Although he does not enjoy watching most musicals, Baethke enjoyed watching “The Book of Mormon”, a musical about Mormon missionaries, due to its “satire comedy”.
“I saw [‘The Book of Mormon’] because my family was in Manhattan at the time, and it was just so absurd that I was totally for it,” Baethke said.
In addition to “The Book of Mormon”, Baethke finds that he likes older musicals, such as “The Sound of Music”, better than modern musicals, such as “Wicked” and “Hamilton.”
“I think my expectations for modern musicals are higher because you’ve had this long to actually make something good,” Baethke said. “So I have more patience for ‘The Sound of Music’ and the classics.”
In addition, Baethke believes that others may enjoy musical movies due to what the song and dance offer.
“People like me feel like it’s unnecessary to involve music to convey a story. The music doesn’t add to what the musical is trying to tell you,” Baethke said. “Some people may not see it that way and may appreciate what the song and the dance add.”
Like Baethke, freshman Audrey Ward also believes that opinions of musical movies are influenced by whether or not students enjoy the musical element of such films.
“I’ve heard opinions from others where having characters randomly burst in a song can be annoying and frustrating, and they want action instead,” Ward said. “But for people who like musicals or like listening to music, they might like modern musical movies.”
Ward enjoys watching musical movies, as she finds that they can be “entertaining” when executed well. Some of the musical movies she has watched include “Hamilton”, “Mean Girls”, “Heathers” and “Next to Normal Proshot.”
“I feel like songs help move forward a story a lot more sometimes than scenes and storytelling do,” Ward said. “Music can be really attention grabbing and it just makes people want to watch more.”
Ward finds that her choice of musical movies is sometimes dependent on what is currently popular, such as “Wicked” and “K-Pop Demon Hunters.” She finds that other movies she watches are based on positive reviews she has seen online or recommendations from friends.
“When people online review [musical movies] and say they’re great, I always try to look into it to see if it would be good,” Ward said. “I also try to listen to the people around me, but normally it’s just whatever I see on the internet.”
Ward believes that most musical movies are more “entertainment-based” but can sometimes offer important lessons.
“I feel like some of them do focus on teaching the world things, but most musicals are just entertainment-based,” Ward said. “Someone wrote a musical about ‘The Odyssey’. If you’re learning anything from it, it’s to be kind to people.”
