Rethinking the Diegetic/Nondiegetic Distinction in the Film Musical

Abstract

This paper exposes problems with diegetic-nondiegetic distinction as applied to film musicals, arguing that it is inconsistent with its use in other areas of cinema studies and poses problems for appreciating the narratives of these films. As a replacement, the author defines two scalar concepts, one tracking the number's degree of realism, the other its degree of formality.The concept of the "diegetic number" has become as central to scholarship on film musicals as "diegetic music" is to other genres of film. In connection with musicals on both stage and screen, a "number" standardly refers to a performance of music and/or dancing by named fictional characters or such a performance that is imagined by them. In The Band Wagon (1953), a musical about putting on a Broadway show, the numbers commonly classified as "diegetic" include those that comprise this fictional show ("New Sun in the Sky," "I Guess I'll Have to Change My Plan," "Louisiana Hayride," "Triplets," and "Girl Hunt Ballet") as well as rehearsals ("You and the Night and the Music"), characters' performances in other shows (the leading lady's ballet performance "The Beggar's Waltz" and the director's production of Oedipus rex), and the cast's post-show singalong "I Love Louisa." These numbers are standardly contrasted with those that take place outside of contexts where one is likely to sing and dance, such as when one is alighting from a train ("By Myself"), getting a shoe-shine ("A Shine on Your Shoes"), debating the nature of art and entertainment ("That's Entertainment"), or taking a stroll through Central Park ("Dancing in the Dark"). Such numbers are sometimes referred to as "nondiegetic," though there is less consensus on the most appropriate antithesis to "diegetic" in this context.1 Examining the processes by which scholars arrive at such conclusions reveals that different reasoning is at work than that employed in differentiating diegetic from nondiegetic music in non-musical films as well as portions of film musicals that do not constitute musical or dance numbers. Although the utility of the diegetic-nondiegetic distinction remains a contentious topic within scholarship on film music, these terms do have a relatively stable meaning in the context of non-musical films.2 Diegetic music is music with a fictional source, whether that source is represented on-screen or merely implied.3 In other words, diegetic music is music that the fictional characters could, in theory, hear. As an illustration of the kinds of rationalization processes that factor into such determinations, let's take a portion of The Band Wagon that does not constitute a musical or dance number.When rehearsals for the initial version of the fictional show "The Band Wagon" are not going well, its leading lady Gaby (Cyd Charisse) asks her co-star Tony (Fred Astaire) if he thinks that a ballerina like her and a song-and-dance man like him "can really dance together."To find out, they take a carriage ride to Central Park. Upon their arrival, we hear an instrumental rendition of the...

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“…Robynn Stilwell suggests that ‘many films begin with credit music that is full sounding and apparently non-diegetic but “shrinks” to the diegetic space of the first post-credit scene’ (2007: 197). Discourse around the binary is widely debated in relation to the genre of the film musical (see Altman, 1987; Heldt, 2013; Penner, 2017, Stillwell, 2007). The difficulty of maintaining this binary is pronounced within film musicals for obvious reasons: whilst each film may differ in terms of approach and effect, the general conventions of the genre dictate that songs function as a key component within the diegetic narrative of the fiction, despite often being accompanied by orchestration within the non-diegetic sphere.…”

“…In this sense, unless all songs are rendered ‘realistically’ through, for example, characters playing on screen instruments, characters/viewers are faced with a conflation of the non-diegetic/diegetic space. Nina Penner suggests that: ‘Observing the different conventions governing film musicals in contrast to most other genres of film, some scholars have concluded that the diegetic/nondiegetic distinction is inapplicable to this genre’ (2017: 6) and how ‘in the context of non-musical films, there is at least a consensus about how this distinction ought to be understood’ (Penner, 2017: 15).…”

“…Similarly, Aaron Hunter talks about trans-diegetic music as a ‘bridge between the diegetic and the extra-diegetic […] a bridge between such concepts as place and time in film (2012). Whilst there is, as Nina Penner suggests, ‘a lack of terminological consensus’ (2017: 7) when it comes to unifying the varying terminological nuances of the diegetic/non-diegetic sphere, the notion of unspecificity in relation to trans-diegesis is key to my purposes. Whilst obfuscation of the diegetic/non-diegetic boundary is well-practiced in relation to sound, less common or theorised is the phenomenon of image or action problematising the binary.…”

“…Concerning the difficulty of locating certain songs within the film musical, Nina Penner suggests that ‘virtually all numbers, whether realistic or fantastical, are diegetic […] They are part of the film’s fictional world as well as its story’ (2017:12). She suggests that ‘possible exceptions would include instances where the number, in whole or in part, is framed as a character’s dream, imagining, or hallucination’ (Penner, 2017:12).…”

“…Concerning the difficulty of locating certain songs within the film musical, Nina Penner suggests that ‘virtually all numbers, whether realistic or fantastical, are diegetic […] They are part of the film’s fictional world as well as its story’ (2017:12). She suggests that ‘possible exceptions would include instances where the number, in whole or in part, is framed as a character’s dream, imagining, or hallucination’ (Penner, 2017:12). Such devices can also be found in comedic forms where interruptions to the narrative can be seen through fantasy beats often symbolising the internal thoughts of a character, which then cut back to the ‘norm’ – see Scrubs (2001–10) or The Mighty Boosh (2004–07).…”