Using popular music in the film, it gave a complete different effect and tone to the movie. While the movie was placed in a vintage setting, the music made it seem more relatable to our lives. When a pop song came on during on of the large party scenes, it blended perfectly because that it the type of music our generation would listen to at parties as well. Sometimes that affect worked great with the scene, but at other times it just seemed like it was stuck in place. I first expected the movie to have completely different music, but since the overall hype of the movie was to be modern, it worked well most of the time.
I did however think that the music would have been better if it was more vintage instead of modern. Of course we listen to mostly hip hop and pop, but incorporation this type of music somewhat distracted from the setting. I would have also enjoyed the film if had popular music from that time frame. Because the two generations do not correlate, the music sometimes would clash with the picture. From the scene of viewing the downtown city, it was too overwhelming having a popular song on the radio. Watching the movie, I sometimes got irritated that the director tried too hard to make the movie appeal to teens. The overall movie would have flowed much better if the music was mixed from the older generation to now. Various songs should be chosen to fit best with the scenes instead of squeezing in a bunch of popular hits to make the movie seem more popular. Because of the distinct differences in time, I did not think our generations music generally fit well with the movie.
The music helped the viewer understand the movie better by giving emotion. When the director wanted the party seems to seem wild and crazy, the movie would feature an energetic song. When Gatsby and Daisy were talking romantically, a slow and beautiful song would play. I think this is critical for all movies to do so to add a deeper meaning. Without music, the overall movie would seem boring. I believe that the director intentionally used popular hits to try to target teens more than the older crowd. Most teens do not actually read The Great Gatsby unless told to in school. Since the movie was marketed with better music, it probably helped the movie do well in theaters. Without the appeal to our generation and casting Leonardo, the movie would have been a bust. Even though I disagree with having all popular music from our time in the movie, it probably helped with the success of the movie.
