The Huffington Post published an article discussing the realism of the Oscar winning film Whiplash, drawing how the film portrayed jazz musicians and teachers in a wrong way. In the film, an aspiring jazz drumming student gets in a heated rivalry with his instructor at a music conservatory. The film won 3 Oscars for Best Supporting Actor, Film Editing, and Sound Mixing.
I do agree that the film overdid what real jazz players and instructors do; instructors don't call students names or be violent, and students have rarely (if ever) bled while practicing their instruments.
One jazz professor at Julliard, Mark Sherman, says:
"If Wynton Marsalis, who's my boss here at Juilliard, did that, called kids "cocksuckers" and badgered kids like that -- he'd be thrown out."
The good thing about the film is that is brings jazz into the big screen, something missing from today's media. And although the film went overboard with the drama for the sake of pulling in the audience, it might not have portrayed it in a way that might let people actually go out to listen or buy jazz records.
The full article is [here], what do you think?
A movie about jazz is about as exciting as a movie about paint drying.
ReplyDeleteNever saw it. I guess I should check it out. When it comes to movies about music, few hold my interest because to me, music is something you do, not watch. I realize others may hold a different view. But for me, music is an active pursuit, not a passive one.
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