Evaluating Sources

While researching articles that related to the field of film I came across a scholarly article that discussed that “musical soundtracks can influence the interpretation, emotional impact, and remembering of film information.” This was not so much of an argument as it was an explanation of findings after an experiment had been conducted.

From researching this field for over a month now I have found other sources that have had similar findings to this article.

 For delivery and tone music is essential in films. In any movie there is a particular soundtrack for specific genres. Many times music is used as a way to foretell what is to come. Often, this is used in movies for suspense. This article focuses on more than the use of foreshadowing and tone. This article brings up the idea that music or musical soundtracks mean much more to the “cognitive system.”

The results of the experiment conducted were fascinating. Viewers that were asked to watch clips with music that was congruent with their mood at the time remembered more than if the music was incongruent with their moods. Memory has now become a factor in how one looks at films.

             Music is an important part of film emotionally and cognitively as these results have proven. I would be interested to know if any more research has been done on this topic and I am going to research more within the next few weeks.

Boltz, Marilyn G. "The Cognitive Processing of Film and Musical Soundtracks." Memory & Cognition (pre-2011) 32.7 (2004): 1194-205. ABI/INFORM Complete; ProQuest Psychology Journals; ProQuest Research Library. Web. 11 Oct. 2012.