The Great Gatsby Soundtrack

The Great Gatsby is a classic tale of romance, tragedy, lust, greed, cheats, etc all intertwined in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel depicting the roaring 1920’s. The recent movie does a great job in interpreting these themes with a modern touch. Something that really brings the film to life however is the music. It is a unique mix of the jazzy tones of the 1920’s and modern day hip-hop featuring the voices of talents such as Fergie, Beyonce, and Jay-Z. What makes this soundtrack special is that is was created specifically for this film. The music helps enhance each scene. One of the most prominent examples is Fergie's song, “A Little Party Never Killed Nobody (All We Got)”, which is played at the peak of one of Gatsby’s wild parties. It is upbeat, loud, and something that makes someone want to dance. The song also creates a sense of tension and loss of control. It fits with the scene because the guests keep getting rowdy and drunk.

Other songs bring in the cool, laid back, almost sleazy sense of the prohibition and jazz era. The song “$100 Bill” by Jay-Z starts to play when Nick and Gatsby enter the jazz club. It is a very rich and expensive sounding song, yet it has a certain racy quality to it. This racy quality fits into the 1920’s. Jazz music wasn't popular and looked up too. In a sense it was dangerous. This specific song as well as others help to make viewers of the film see that although the 1920’s was full of wild parties and glamour, there is also a darker side, one that is underground, one that involves gangsters, mobs, and bootleggers. Gatsby just being there and being so familiar with the people there shows he was up to trouble. The music simply helps create this mood, this emotion.

“Young and Beautiful” by Lana Del Rey is a powerful song that is played throughout the film. It symbolize the relationship of Daisy and Gatsby. The lyrics behind the song are powerful and help the viewers realize the history behind this couple. It is romantic and chilling at the same time, which is just like Daisy and Gatsby. The main theme “Will you still love me when I’m no longer beautiful” has a lot of depth and passion. It hooks the listener and shows them that Gatsby and Daisy are no longer the young lovers in Louisville and their relationship is complicated and prone to failure.

The lyrics are unique to this specific movie, which makes sense because the soundtrack was made specifically for The Great Gatsby. When listening closer to the words, the songs talk about the economy booming, the fixing of the World Series, and the prohibition. It is cool how the writers were able to incorporate the 20’s into modern rhythms and melodies. Other lyrics are specific to events in the movie. They depict the emotions of the characters and key points in the plot. Some examples include “Love is the Drug” (in the song “Love is the Drug” by Sia) which is talking about Gatsby and Daisy and their toxic affair as well as the words from “Back to Back” by Beyonce, “We only said goodbye with words I died a hundred times, You go back to her, And I go back to” which could be talking about Gatsby’s longing for Daisy. "Love is Blindness" by Jack White plays when Myrtle is killed. The lyrics really fit because she is blinded by her love for tome and thinking that he will save her, when in reality she gets hit by Daisy, Tom's wife. It is a little ironic and the song helps point this out. Important symbolism, such as the green light and the girls in the yellow dresses are also mentioned in the sound track. This helps the film because it connects the plot and the novel to it directly. It gives those key themes meaning and life and pushes them into the viewer/listener’s face.

It is clear that the soundtrack works well for the film The Great Gatsby. It pushes forward key themes as well as present the emotions of each character and scene. The style also is connected to Fitzgerald and the 1920’s jazz era, while mixing it with a more modern and contemporary twist as well. It is one of the best soundtracks out there and really puts the movie and the story first, which is what a good soundtrack should do.

Map Analysis

map 2 http://www.loc.gov/resource/g4410.ct001000/

• The map was created by Spanish speaking people seeing as it is written in spanish
• The creators seem to think that California is an island, separated from the rest of the United States
• There are illustrations of the explorers teaching the Native Americans methods of farming and how they are grateful to the new growing crops
• The rivers seem very important, especially those that connect with Mexico
• There are many provinces illustrated along the rivers which means that in the dry climate, land along the water was essential
• There is an illustration of people rowing a canoe in the ocean so this could be the explorers but most likely the Native Americans

There are many assumptions that this specific map makes. One of the most clear is the fact that the Native Americans wanted and were willing to learn knowledge from the explorers. It is assumed that the white explorers are viewed by the Native Americans as “...hapless martyrs” (pg. 70). The image the map creates is that the explorers are Gods in the eyes of the simple minded natives. Another assumption made is the fact that there is an “...inevitability to English control of the North American Continent…” (pg. 56). The people currently living in the California area don’t seem to put up a fight, but rather welcome the white people with open arms. This particular map centers around the American identity at the time that white people are better than any other race or culture. It is clear that the explorers came in and claimed California as their own. They had all the answers on survival and coexistence. They couldn't have shown any hostility and the natives were pleasant and simple people who were willing to give up their land. This identity is biased based on the creators of the map. It shines a bright light on the white race who shoved all their problems and animosity under the rug so that no one could know the whole truth. It also shows that the white race was not as smart as they thought they were since California obviously is not an island. I do think however that another identity is the American Dream. California was an area of opportunity. It had fertile land that could produce a nice profit after hard work. It is also a shining example that the spirit of exploration can take you to the ends of the earth, or at least the United States.