Tuesday, September 25, 2007
All that (evil) jazz
This has nothing to do with Hitchcock. Just something interesting and sinister I heard on NPR's "All Things Considered" today during a segment on Shanghai jazz. An old Chinese guy was talking about his band, which fell in love decades ago with American jazz and became quite a popular group in Shanghai. Then the Cultural Revolution began and he, like all other artists and intellectuals, had to get "rehabilitated." Officials condemned Western music as the instrument of evil. They broke into his house and confiscated his saxophone, which they deemed "pornographic," and his piano. For the next 30 years, he and his fellow musicians could play only Chinese opera of the "revolutionary" variety. He said it became common in Chinese movies to use jazz as background music for villains and "evil" scenes. Crazy, huh?
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6 comments:
In conservative parts of the United States, jazz was considered evil and was not allowed in schools until the 1970s or 1980s. Some of that probably had to do with racism.
Wow, that's really interesting, kc.
Interesting. I'd like to see how well that worked in Chinese movies. Jazz doesn't seem like it would evoke the proper emotions for villains.
Some of the frantic “free jazz” of the late 60s and early 70s would. Although the Chinese filmmakers might not be aware of such contemporary styles. But more generally, any of the bold and brassy forms might work. How about from the soundtrack of our movie “Sweet Smell of Success”?
That's a good point. That style can certainly evoke sleaziness.
DW, I was thinking of "Sweet Smell," too. That hectic jazz was really a great backdrop for the action.
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