Musical Geopolitics

Masculinity, Nationhood, and the Scoring of Superman (1978-2006)

Bibliographic Data

ID3948415
AuthorsPhilip Kirby (0000-0001-9254-8732, King's College London, corresponding author)
Year2023
Volume28
Issue2
Pages694-717
Publication date2023-03-15
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueGeopolitics (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1465-0045 • E-ISSN: 1557-3028
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/14650045.2021.1965575
OpenAlexW3201630718
LanguageEN
Citations received4
References cited89

This article explores the potential for the field of popular geopolitics of close attention to the form and structure of instrumental film music. Specifically, it analyses the film scores for Superman (1978) and Superman Returns (2006), showing how these, in conjunction with the films’ visual components, communicate a series of geopolitical logics and ideas about gender and nationhood. In so doing, this article extends existing concerns in popular geopolitics with music, principally lyrical popular music, contributing to a new research agenda that offers detailed readings of musical scores and notation, informed by semiotic perspectives. It advocates an interdisciplinary approach to the analysis of film music, drawing on research in the rich and expanding field of film music studies. It supplements the close reading of the scores here with an analysis of audience reviews

Aesthetics · Art · Art history · Epistemology · Film studies · Geopolitics · Literature · Masculinity · Media studies · Movie theater · Musical · Political science · Politics · Popular music · Semiotics · Sociology · Superman · Cinema and Media Studies · Gender Studies · History · Law · Media, Gender, and Advertising · Music History and Culture · Philosophy

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Open DOIOpen Access