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September 1999, Week 3

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Subject:
From:
Krin Gabbard <[log in to unmask]>
Reply To:
Film and TV Studies Discussion List <[log in to unmask]>
Date:
Mon, 20 Sep 1999 00:53:56 -0400
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Once again I ask my friends in the cinema studies community for assistance.  I'm
writing about the interactions between soundtracks and visuals in feature films,
especially where race is involved.  For example, I am fascinated by films that
rely upon (invisible) black voices to add an extra level of romance to the
interactions of an attractive white couple. Think of Clint Eastwood and Donna
Mills strolling hand in hand in _Play Misty for Me_ while Roberta Flack sings
nondiegetically.  Or Bill Murray and Andie McDowell dancing to the unseen Ray
Charles in _Groundhog Day_.

But there are less benign examples of invisible racial borrowing.  I'm
specifically thinking of a film I saw some years ago in which an urban street
gang of white youths was made to seem more menacing by the addition of rap music
to the nondiegetic score.  The film may have been something like _Robocop 3_
that went straight to pay cable, but I can't find it.  Does anyone know of ANY
film in which white people are made to seem more dangerous through the use of
nondiegetic music associated with African American youths?

Thanks very much for your attention.

Best,

     Krin Gabbard

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