Learn Music Appreciation From Movies

Great Story And Great Music Equals Magic!

Mar 28, 2023

A cartoon cat with eyes closed serenely listens through headphones that are plugged in to an iPhone-like device.

Image by L.E. Wilson from RedBubble based on work by naobim from Pixabay

Few things are more powerful or moving than a great scene in a meaningful movie that is further elevated to the heights of emotion by a remarkable song. What a joy, what a treat to be enveloped visually and emotionally by this fantastic combination. It is why movies surpass most forms of media and are capable of touching us on so many levels.

Music taste is subjective, that is true, but beauty is widely recognized. It shouldn’t take more than an open mind and careful listening to appreciate how nice the soundtrack of the movie Pretty in Pink is, for example, how fitting, how perfect, how soothing and uplifting.

If you could take a moment to just appreciate the music, you will understand something profound about beauty. This is due to the fact that when filmmakers are able to combine cinematography, story, and music together to communicate, the result is something that is truly indistinguishable from magic.

Here, for your viewing and listening pleasure, is a tour of the astounding music found in some great movies. Please enjoy and prepare to be wowed!

Swing Kids (1993) is a drama directed by Thomas Carter set in Nazi Germany about the Swingjugend, a group of youths who loved American swing music and dance but were forced underground and brutally punished for their preferences by the repressive government.

Life Lesson: Know who your real friends are.
- 🍿Movie Scene Link (movie quote)

You haven’t lived if you’ve never felt that swing. Swing Kids (1993) is an excellent introduction to the great jazz musicians like Louis Prima, Benny Goodman, Djangoman (Jean Reinhardt), and the power of music to make you feel happy! But of course, it goes further than that because literally if music moves you, then the natural result is dance. And few dances are as joyful, energetic, and entertaining as swing, which is an American invention and one that fully expresses that boundless positivity, that can-do attitude of the roaring 1920s and 1930s that celebrated economic prosperity and technological growth. What a time to be alive, and if you want to know what joy of living is, listen to some swing:

Dirty Dancing (1987) is a drama directed by Emile Ardolino about a privileged young woman, Frances “Baby” Houseman (Jennifer Grey), vacationing with her family in a resort, where she falls in love with Johnny (Patrick Swayze), a dance instructor, and learns a ballroom routine to help out his dance partner, Penny (Cynthia Rhodes), who needs a medical procedure.

Life Lesson: Everyone deserves to be treated with dignity and respect.
- 🍿Movie Scene Link (movie quote)

Speaking of dancing, for step by step instructional on how to learn the moves of a dancer, nothing compares to the movies Dirty Dancing (1987) and Strictly Ballroom (1992). Here you see complete novices develop the musicality and confidence required to express themselves through dance and at the core of that growth is exposure to amazing music, which you can experience for yourself by watching these stunning films. But beyond that, these are profound movies, complex, satisfying and enlightening, with truly incredible soundtracks that really awaken the senses to the pleasures of good music. These are the kinds of movies that makes you wish that life was really just about music and dancing, because what could be greater?

Strictly Ballroom (1992) is a comedy co-written and directed by Baz Luhrmann about Fran (Tara Morice), a novice dancer who convinces Scott (Paul Mercurio), a ballroom champion, to be her partner for the Pan Pacific Grand Prix, and dance the steps their way, non-Federation, even though it means forfeiting a win.

Life Lesson: “Vivir con miedo es como vivir a medias.” — A life lived in fear is a life half-lived.
- 🍿Movie Scene Link (movie quote)

Kinky Boots (2005) is a comedy directed by Julian Jarrold about Charlie Price (Joel Edgerton), a man who inherits his father’s failing shoe factory and decides to save it by finding a niche market with the help of Lola/Simon (Chiwetel Ejiofor), a drag queen.

Life Lesson: Accept others for who they are, even if you don’t understand them.
- 🍿Movie Scene Link (movie quote)

Kinky Boots (2005) is a complete pop musical with a touching story and great acting. But it is also a demonstration of talent. The actor, Chiwetel Ejiofor, who portrays the main character, also performs the impressive dance routines and the singing. And these are fun, lively, sometimes funny, sometimes earnest songs that fit the movie so well, move the story along, and punctuate the sentiment of each scene masterfully. This is a well-made, precisely crafted film that seamlessly integrates story and music into one thoroughly entertaining film. And you can sing these songs in the shower or in the car, which is to say that these are approachable songs you can learn the lyrics to because they tell a story themselves. The intentionality, planning and execution demonstrated in this movie makes this a masterclass in filmmaking.

Pretty in Pink (1986) is a drama directed by Howard Deutch and written/produced by John Hughes about Andie Walsh (Molly Ringwald), an independent, essentially parent-less, teenager from the poor side of town who is caught in a love triangle that forces her to rise above peer pressure and class discrimination.

Life Lesson: “Feel the fear and do it anyway.” — Susan Jeffers
- 🍿Movie Scene Link (movie quote)

Are you even a teenager without feeling angst? How wonderful and reassuring to be able to find musical expression for the complicated emotional lives of young adults in Pretty in Pink (1986). In particular, these are songs for those with a heavy heart. If you’ve never experienced overwhelming feelings then you don’t need this music. But if you have, then this gives external representation to it. And not just that, it does it beautifully in a more elevated and lovely manner that actually justifies the angst, or at least lets you know that pain, fear, longing, are all human, universal, emotions that we share with others on this earth. Some brilliant artists have taken that energy and converted it to something beautiful that we intuitively understand and are enchanted by. That is magic. That is the power of music.

Enjoy!

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