While this cultural referencing from the early 90s in film is unusual (only Araki has done this to much success in “The Doom Generation” which was made during the early 90s), it is also apt since these attempts highlight all the more the cinematic traits of the dated but enduring genre. In fact, in most parts, what one hears are just instrumental excerpts from some obscure track of a particular musical genre from the 90s labeled as “shoegaze” music. Of course, the average listener is not expected to recognize many of these songs. Jarring as these may have been, these clever bits of musical scoring not only comprise the best thing about the film but also serve as its ideological heart. The forlorn but quintessential New Order song, “Ceremony” is played in another party scene to create a contrast to the revelry of the French royal upperclass. I’ve always thought that the music of The Cure was cinematic but the band evoked visions of modern dystopia for me- of highways, electric poles and sad abandoned factories instead of men wearing wigs and tights and women with exposed bosoms under dainty parasols during the last gasps of European feudalism. In one scene, The Cure’s “Plainsong” was played during the couple’s coronation - an important and extensive shot taken on the steps of the Versailles. The song then segued into the original post-punk version signifying a higher level of joy and abandon for everyone. Perhaps to evoke the ironic joie de vivre of the 80s juxtaposed to the dionysian lifestyle (as opposed to hedonism) of the French king and queen and her court, they danced to an adaptation of Siouxsie and the Banshee’s “Hong Kong Garden” which was played by a string ensemble. It was a joy to watch French royalty in their elaborate garb cavorting with their consorts and ladies-in-waiting to the sound of 80s post-punk. This affluence of French royalty was showcased in the film with the help of music. According to historical records, Marie Antoinette’s lifestyle was too extravagant that the general populace suffered (see Fraser 2001). It is already commonplace that Marie Antoinette lived a life of luxury, and the film showed this from the beginning until the end. It is through music that the film was able to convey a historical account of Marie Antoinette’s life. Of all its features, “Marie Antoinette” was an interesting cinematic experience because of the music. Order custom essay Sophia Coppola’s Marie Antoinette and the Traces of History I will argue that the tenuous conflation of film and history proved a success (and failure) in the case of Marie Antoinette. The fifth element that I will focus on is what the film unwittingly revealed in its precise attempt to conceal – that is the fact that Marie Antoinette and King Louis XVI are not innocent victims. I will show that, among others, the film articulated the extravagant life of Marie Antoinette, the French Revolution, the “human” side of the queen, and the period of Enlightenment. In this paper, I will highlight the historical allusions in the movie that coincide in the last instance with the actual events that occurred in France more than two centuries ago. At the same time, the movie is engaging as it was able to capture the historical events that, to me, challenged the viewers to analyze history deeper. It is interesting in the sense that the form (which is film) through which history was rendered provided entertainment to the viewers. The result is both interesting and engaging. At the offset, the movie presented the events that have transpired in French history with fresh eyes. This paper probes in the historical events included in the Sophia Coppola’s Marie Antoinette.
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