The opening scene of Songcatcher depicts a musicologist, Dr.
Penleric, singing an old English ballad “Barbara Allen” in her university music
class. This is important because later in the film the Dr. finds this song has
been transmitted to Appalachia and evolved into a very different sound derived
by the local culture. When Dr. Penleric meets the young Deladis and hears her
sing “Barbara Allen” she is shocked by the rendition which as Deladis explains was
taught to her by her grandmother “from the mountains whose mother taught her
the song.” Dr. Penleric realizes these ballads must have been brought to the
mountains over 200 years earlier. The mountain version is most like the Scotts-Irish
versions, but mixed with unusual twist, turns, dips and slides.
After our group discussion on how the researcher inadvertently
influences the culture they are studying I began to notice this occurring between
Dr. Penleric and the Appalachian folk. First when Deladis’ boyfriend broke her
fan out of anger that I suppose stemmed from not only a fear of change, but a jealousy of the intrigue Dr. Penleric possessed
over Deladis. The obvious influence the Dr. had on the cultures music was its transmission
which was no longer just word of mouth, but an actual recording. Dr. Penleric
also helps to create an income for the painter, Mrs. Kincaid, whose husband she also berates for his lack of
husbandry. Her influence on the culture is felt far and wide.
Something I found interesting was when Dr. Penleric tells
Mrs. Kincaid, the painter, that she cannot use her notes on the music because
they were not taken “scientifically.” I wonder why these notes could not be at
least scientifically analyzed to further Dr. Penlerics research and
understanding of the music?
One last interesting thing I noticed was the obvious
difference between what Dr. Penleric’s idea of music was and what she
discovered music meant to the Appalachian culture, particularly when she said “music
is like the air you all breathe.” Dr. Penleric’s relationship with music is geared more
towards preservation and being so is analyzed and heavily picked apart; as
where the Appalachian community embraces music as simply a way of life. Culturally their people use music to express emotion, to
celebrate, to mourn to communicate and even just to pass the time.
...to be continued.
Like how you noticed similarities between the movie and the articles we read last week about ethnomusicologists influencing the culture, it was also pretty evident in "Songcatcher" that the culture influenced the ethnomusicologist. In the beginning, Dr. Penleric was visibly put-off by the Appalachian lifestyle. However, as she grew to love the music and understand the people on a personal level, she became more familiar and in tune with the way they live. Her fieldwork changes from just recording the music to participating in it, as seen after helping Mrs. Kincaid give birth and when she tried to learn how to play one of the instruments. In a very predictable turn of events, she also began a relationship with one of the Appalachian men.This idea was reflected in the Shelemay article in which the ethnomusicologist becomes personally invested with the music and culture he/she studies.
ReplyDeleteAlso, there was a scene in the beginning in which Tom refused to allow Dr. Penleric to record his mother's singing. He stated that she wasn't preserving the music but exploiting the people, and that they weren't gaining anything while she would profit from it. In addition, after sending her findings back to her colleagues, Dr. Penleric received a note back that she could work for Dr. Cyris Whittle as his assistant. This line of events reflects the idea of a a bigger predator poaching on a smaller prey. There is also the sense of ownership to music, from themountain people to their songs, and Dr. Penleric to her contribution to collecting the music. These ideas are also reflected in the Guy reading we were assigned this week. It is important to protect the culture, music, and people that are studied and to respect their wishes.
I think it is also important to point out Dr. Penleric's response to Tom about collecting the music, that she felt she deserved any profits she would gain from publishing her research of their culture, because she had collected it. She was basically implying ownership of the music for just collecting it, and in a way was exploiting the people by only giving them what was effectively a footnote in a book, which, as Tom says, doesn't profit them at all.
DeleteThere was also another point that was really interesting, although I'm not fully sure what to make of it. During the meeting/brunch with the Priest and the man who wants to make a donation the school, the Dr shows that man's wife one of Mrs. Kincaid's paintings because she was a collector and knew she would appreciate it. This to me displayed the notion that sometime the ethnomusicologic is seen as "better" than the people's culture he or she is studying. This scene displays that notion in the sense that the Dr had to show someone who would appreciate the painting for it's value, as if the artist didn't. It shows that she views her status as one that is able to judge what is good art and what is not.
ReplyDeleteDo you think that is it Afsar? I sort of understood it as a bit of economic opportunism on behalf (as Penleric saw it) of Mrs. Kincaid. She noticed the rich lady's attachment to folk art and, having liked Mrs. Kincaid's paintings herself, seeing them as exactly the type of thing she'd probably like to collect if someone told her it was important (hence the lie about having sent them to a gallery). Now, such commodification, though it carries obvious immediate gain, is itself a complex and not unproblematic thing, especially where the power dynamic (especially economic) between artist and collector is so skewed.
DeleteI agree with Ben, but I would go a bit farther to say that the Penleric felt as though she could legitimize the paintings by displaying her own personal affection to the rich lady. The local people aren't necessarily seen as the most most educated or cultured by the outsiders (in this sense, the rich couple), and the art would have likely been dismissed if it weren't for Penleric's sign of appreciation. By presenting Mrs. Kinclaid's paintings to the rich lady, Penleric is acting as both a saleswoman and a source of legitimacy.
DeleteI had similar thoughts about Dr. Penleric refusing to take the notes that Mrs. Kincaid had taken. If nothing else, these should be an interesting source of information in and of themselves, regardless of whether or not she can actually include them as transcriptions. Would it not be an interesting and potentially enlightening study to look at how a member of this culture that she is studying records music? It might show what they value as important things to include and what they consider unnecessary. It would have been particularly interesting to have her sing a song against one of her transcriptions and see where they differ, or how Dr. Penleric's transcription may have differed.
ReplyDeleteI agree with this as well. Even though it's not written in traditional Western Music terminology, I think she could have used them to better understand how the music was passed down from generation to generation. If she could understand their music annotation better, it would be a lot easier for her to collect data. I understand that as an outsider it might be difficult for her to fully understand the notation of the music, but I wouldn't say whatever she wrote down from listening is extremely accurate either.
DeleteSomething that I found particularly interesting in this film was when Dr. Penleric was asked to record a song and she said that she couldn't. When asked why she couldn't record the song she stated that the song was just too long to record and that the cylinder could not record something so long.
ReplyDeleteI also noticed that when she began studying Appalachian folk she was seen as outsider, but as the film progressed we see that she becomes more intertwined with the culture and becomes a part of it.
Why did you find that interesting Manuel?
DeleteDoes she? How does she? Simple as that? Easy as that to become part of a culture?
When Dr. Penileric explained that she couldn't record song of e song such as the lengthier ones due to cylinder I reflected back on what a loss that is. The cylinder was a great resource and has been towards filed recordings and preserving musical works however it is also extremely limiting (however mind the time period and what recording tools were available to be used, especially in travel). The quality of recording isn't the best (compared to today's technology) and also as the doctor mentioned is limited. Limitations of recording technology of the caused for a lot of songs and other musical works to be lost and never preserved. Songs that could have been used within a cultural to express a specific emotion or sung for a specific occasion would never be heard or known of unless through transcription, however transcription of a song is also very limiting as it can only provider the reader with a structural look and lacks inflections, emotion, and personalization.
DeleteTell me Cass, I may be misinterpreting your meaning, but you make it sound as though Penleric's version of Barbara Allen was the original and it got changed into the Appalachian version. Given the various performances you see, which do you think is more likely to have been changed? How and why? and how do they relate?
ReplyDeleteI believe the song originated in England so I figure the Dr.'s version is the closest to the original. As far as I can remember the versions are fairly similar in tempo and the most obvious difference is in the ornamentation.
DeleteI may or may not be wrong, but I believe the doctor's fascination with the folk music of mountain people was largely due to the fact that she believed it was closer to the original form/style. This interpretation, however, contradicts with the notion that anything that is passed down as an oral tradition is likely to change during the process of transmission.
DeleteI also think that the Dr. expressed interest in the song because she mentioned it was closest to an original form and at one time I think mentioned to be "purest" but I don't think it is fully contradicting the notion of change within the song after its circulation. I thought that her focus in it was actually focused a bit on the changes and differences as I think at one point she had said they didn't know or hadn't thought that the songs had traveled through the Appalachians and so she was very much so intrigued in the differences and the changes in the songs compared to the version she was familiar with.
DeleteThere were many things that I did not like with the film in regards to the ethnmusicological aspects in terms of interaction between the ethnomusicologist and the studied culture, but are probably very good representations of how interactions occurred during the early stages of musicology/ethnomusicology/anthropology.
ReplyDeleteThis has been brought up by multiple people already, but the scene in which Dr. Penleric refuses to use the transcriptions of the musics because they were not scientifically recorded was the most ridiculous thing about the movie (ridiculous in that I just did not like it, and was annoyed by this action). This short interaction of the refusal of transcriptions from within the culture, disregarding them because they were not scientifically recorded by the ethnomusicologists reinforces the power structures already present within the film, but ones that have echoed themselves within the field of ethnomusicology which is the hierarchy that the ethnomusicologist and the society from which this "preserver of culture" is much more dominant and important than the culture being studied. Why could these transcriptions not be considered? They could show light on how the "mountain people" preserve their culture themselves, as well as provide insight of their concepts and thinkings of the music. To always be "scientifically correct" (if one could ever be that scientifically correct) while disregarding helpful artifacts within the culture is just one sided, reinforcing the ethnomusicologists views of the culture and not necessarily a true reflection of what actually occurs within that society.
Very true, but what do you think it is that Penleric is afraid of there, and why is she?
ReplyDeleteI think Penleric is afraid of not being able to gather the "correct" data that she needs for her research to be published. She sees this opportunity to prove that she is good enough to produce great research and attain her tenure. This fear has made her take extra measures to make sure that the research she produces is flawless, which, to me, is why she did not accept the music sheets from Mrs. Kincaid. Also, Penleric is rushed for time, she wants to gather as much information as quick as possible, before someone else gets the chance to discover what she has (though once she got the letter about how another researcher is trying to take her research has led me to wonder what will happen next..).
DeleteI agree with Brent, there is a a superiority issue here, and I think that Penleric thinks the notes might have problems with it. She trusts herself much more than the culture that she is studying. We see her negative attitude toward the culture in the dinner scene where she clearly does not want to eat the food of the culture. Perhaps it isn't about superiority but more about not being comfortable with the culture. But it doesn't seem like she's willing to become more comfortabe with it either
DeleteOnce you get past how cheesy and predictable some parts of the movie are, I think you can find some valuable information about the ethnomusicologist and their interactions with the society their studying.
ReplyDeleteSome of you have already mentioned the part of the movie about Dr. Penleric rejecting written notes from the local. I agree with most of what was said but want to also add a few more points. I think in the real world of ethnmusicology, it would be absolute crime to not accept written music from the culture that you are studying. It's like being handed keys to a Ferrari and turning it down on account of you wanting to build one yourself. The written music from the locals was probably not the same notation as Dr. Penleric was accustomed to. I understand that, but also want to point out that the written music says so much more than what notes to play. The music could have had invaluable clues to inflection, feeling, timing, etc. that she might not pick up with her method of ethnography as an outsider.
Another point I wanted to bring up was the first impression I got from the locals towards Dr. Penleric. When Dr. Penleric first traveled into the mountains, she was greeted with contempt. They clearly didn't want her there. The fact that the grandmother mentioned that she didn't know of any songs when in fact she knew about so many was an important step in the process. Dr. Penleric had to gain the trust of the locals before they would even consider letting her into their world. If this wasn't a movie, things could have easily soured and Dr. Penleric could have left the mountains with little to no new information about the music. In the real world, ethnomusicologists don't have a movie script to follow. They have to be careful to approach the culture with caution, not step on any toes, and gain their trust so that he/she can get the information necessary.
One thing that has not been mentioned so far in the discussion is how Penleric believes that her work will make an impact on the culture she is studying. The peoples' lands are being slowly taken over by the mining company. Penleric sees her research as a method of visibility for the people of the Appalachia , which may in turn save the culture. Will this visibility help or hurt the culture? I believe a large part of why the culture is how it is in the beginning of the movie is because it has been untouched and isolated for a very long time.
ReplyDeleteIn regards to the question Eric raised, I believe that Dr. Penleric's research would undoubtedly raise visibility for the Appalachian people, but whether this is truly something the Appalachian people want is a different question. Sometimes I wonder whether all cultures want their music to survive, even if it means being carried on by people or cultures/societies/institutions which are not directly their own [i.e. appalachian music being recorded & 'transmitted' elsewhere for people to appreciate, but not be associated with it in the same way as the originators].
DeleteThe mining company's encroachment on these peoples' lands is also an important point because this would make Penleric's work a socioeconomic cause as well as a 'cultural' or 'musicological' study. There has long since been an issue of poverty & exploitation in the Appalachian region - but the impact of people being more aware & proactive about addressing these problems can help Appalachian society financially. But their culture will forever be changed, and their music will as well.
I think in the long-run the visibility would help the culture [or at least the PEOPLE]. The culture may be altered too dramatically to be considered a part of the same culture. But preventing exploitation & poverty seems to be the lesser evil compared to the altering of a culture [that hopefully improves the standard of living for all].
What really struck me about the movie was Penleric's attitude and how it affected collecting the music. When she first started, she acted as though she was better than everyone else else. By the end of the movie, she was in a relationship with one of the men (not surprising), accepted the life of the people, and did what she could for the community, just like any of them would have done.
ReplyDeleteI think that once she showed the respect to the people and the culture she was studying, they were willing to share their music with her. Considering "music was like the air they all breathed", it as like opening themselves, their homes, and their lives to her. I don't think she realized just how much they gave her until near the end of the movie if she even realized it then.