One example of this use of numbers to explore the hyper real is Baz Lurhmanms Moulin Rouge. Here Lurhmann fully embraces the disordered and out of the ordinary world of the Moulin Rouge which is communicated both visually through the grandeur of the sets and costumes, musically through the rich and varied pastiche of modern songs he uses to enhance the narrative and through editing with the fast pace of cuts, rapid pans and frantic movement in the frame. However, Lurhmann also cleverly juxtaposes this spectacle with the touching love story between protagonists Satine and Christian. By incorporating slow, extreme close ups and lingering shots at specific points, for example at the end of the Elephant Love Medley where the protagonists realise and cement their love for one another with a kiss, it is one of the first times that a static shot is held in extreme close up of the couple as they embrace.
As Kinder (2002) points out, such cinematography humanizes the love story and prevents the film from becoming more of a visual spectacle and the emphasis being solely on aesthetic appeal. Through such interplay of fast paced spectacle and lingering romance the contrast between the two is highlighted, momentarily pausing for the audience to absorb the emotions of the actors and communicating emotional power, whilst simultaneously hooking and entertaining with the large scale dance routines with hundreds of performers, bright colours and rapidly moving shots.
A problem which has faced producers when attempting to turn a musical intended for production on stage into a film is the notion of realism and being able to not lose the audience through being too un naturalistic. As Terry Teachout (2008) has suggested, on stage and in a theatre the actor is human and three dimensional, giving him a certain gravitas and reality which causes him bursting into song to be all the more believable, however, on screen this is not the case. The screen is primarily a story telling medium, and we see evidence of this even in farfetched science fiction texts where the narrative presents events in a way which attempts to cause us to believe that they are real. In order to overcome this it is often the case that when a musical was translated into a film the number of songs was cut and were more likely to be performed in a context which justified their position in the narrative, which characters being singers or dancers themselves, for example, Fame, High School Musical, Hairspray and indeed Moulin Rouge.
By justifying the inclusion of musical number in such a way in Moulin Rouge, it allows the narrative to become all the more believable. Given the excess of the Moulin Rouge it is a concept which may well become too farfetched for the audience to engage with. By incorporating numbers into more justified positions within the narrative, for example when Satine is first presented to the audience she is on stage, her singing and dancing is more ingrained within the text so it functions to make her characterization more believable and real. Lurhmanns decision to present Satine as such and to introduce the love story of the film in such a manner, whereby as Hutchins points out, the camera reflects the feeling of Christian who has been drinking absinthe as he instantly falls in love at first sight with Satine, presents the notion of love as an intoxicating and all consuming emotion, communicating Christians feelings in a highly stylized manner.
As long unsteady pans are using of Satine gliding over the heads of the audience it mimics the drunken euphoria Christian is in, and as she is physically placed above everyone else in the frame, with the audience all looking up at her it places her in a both physically and metaphorically higher position, almost being worshipped by the audience and Christian himself as she is also a higher class to Christian who is an out of work writer. This causes the viewer to understand his falling instantly in love with her in the context of the chaotic environment of the Moulin Rouge.
It is a convention of the musical genre that song is used to communicate emotional intensity. As Thomas Elsaaesser points out, It is precisely when . . . emotional intensity becomes too strong to bear that the performers have to dance and sing in order to give free play to the emotions that possess them (16). This notion of the song being a metaphor for emotions which are too strong to merely communicate through dialogue is something which is seen in a variety of musicals, and the intensity is often heightened through filmic technique. For example, if we think of Sandy and Danny in Grease (1978) in an iconic split screen of the two of them gazing into the distance thinking of one another, it is clear to see that the true emotions the two of them are feeling are strong as it is only when they are both alone, away from the gaze of their peers that their feelings towards one another are able to show through.
Particularly for Danny, who is constantly seen as living up to the male bravado he portrays himself as having in front of his peers, when he is metaphorically placed with Sandy in the same shot, although not physically together, we see a different side of him which suggests that he does have stronger feelings for her than in the remainder of the song, where sex seems to be the main priority as he sings of, Well she was good, you know what I mean in a display of maleness. Through this shot a clear comment on teen culture is made, whereby Danny displays a different side to his character when away from the influence of his male friends. Through such a comment the musical genre, particularly in relation to teen cinema, can be seen as a means by which a social commentary can be made, in effect holding up a mirror to teen society during the 1970s. The comment we see here may well be that whilst friendships can be based on bravado and show, this may not be reflective of the feelings of the teens under the surface, and ultimately the emotion of love is able to break Danny of his strong image and masculine persona, as he is willing to compromise this in order to be with Sandy, although only away from the judging eyes of his peers. This also functions to reassure the audience, who at the time of release of Grease were suffering the effects of a moral panic surrounding the influence of rock music on teen culture, that in fact teenagers did still have emotions beneath their often rebellious behavior with friends.
Also within Grease notions of gender stereotypes are very apparent and this is something which is common to the musical genre. Particularly at the climax of the film, where Sandy adopts a highly fetishistic outfit in order to secure her romance with Danny, evidence of the objectification of the female form can be seen. Further evidence of this notion of females being used as decorative or erotic objects in the musical genre can be seen in the voyeuristic presentation of Marilyn Monroe in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. As we see Sandy give a highly fetishistic performance set in the fun fair as she sings You are the one I want with lingering shots of her skin tight, leather clad legs panning up her body, with Dannys reactions as well as him being placed physically beneath her we see evidence of both female empowerment as Danny obediently follows her through the fairground ride, as well as female objectification, as it is only when she adopts this sexualized persona that Danny seems willing to commit to their relationship. Such a representation of romantic love through performance seems to communicate the message that Sandy is only empowered through Dannys reaction to her, which represents subservience to males and gives the impression that she is only satisfied through her finding a romantic relationship, which emphasizes the notion of love which the musical genre has always seemed to prioritize.
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