Editor's note: This video essay begins not by announcing itself as an essay with, say, a conventional title screen or the use of voiceover argument, but rather by replicating the audiovisual cues of a popular film and film franchise, just before subverting expectations. As you're watching, consider why the author chooses to begin her essay in such a manner. Consider, moreover, what it tells us about how visual modes of argumentation can function differently from textual modes. One of the features of this video essay we particularly appreciate is the transformative way it presents its evidence in support of its argument.
Works Cited
“The Adventures of Tintin (2011)—Snowy to the Rescue Scene.” YouTube, uploaded by MovieClips, 30 Jan. 2019, www.youtube.com/watch?v=kXXnZuu72DA.
“Clark Kent Gets a Job in the Daily Planet | Man Of Steel.” YouTube, uploaded by FlashbackFM, 23 Aug. 2016, www.youtube.com/watch?v=1XhLcUR2nyo&t=231s.
“Dunkirk (2017) Oil Blast Scene.” YouTube, uploaded by John Stargaryen, 14 Dec. 2017, www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZbDpG-vQvsw&t=36s.
“E.T. Bike Chase Scene (1982 Original).” YouTube, uploaded by Peter Montag, 15 March 2011, www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ct6O2nSOMlI.
“E.T. Minus Williams—Flying Bikes.” YouTube, uploaded by Auralnauts, 26 May 2017, www.youtube.com/watch?v=xMdj3lIPKts.
“Extended Transcript: John Williams on Spielberg, ‘Star Wars,’ and the Power of Music.” CBS News, 22 Sept. 2019, www.cbsnews.com/news/extended-transcript-john-williams-on-steven-spielberg-star-wars-and-the-power-of-music/.
“The FALL of Anakin Skywalker: FIGHT with Obi-Wan Kenobi.” YouTube, uploaded by Zach El Capitan, 29 Dec. 2015, www.youtube.com/watch?v=8631ukAVr6g.
Gramophone. “John Williams Interview: ‘It’s Not Hard Work That Makes Success; It’s Sustained Hard Work That Makes Success.’” Gramophone, 20 Feb. 2017, www.gramophone.co.uk/feature/john-williams-interview-its-not-hard-work-that-makes-success-its-sustained-hard-work-that.
“Harrison Ford Salutes John Williams.” YouTube, uploaded by American Film Institute, 5 Aug. 2016, www.youtube.com/watch?v=fzEM5UUnh6w&t=85s.
“The Hogwarts Letter Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone HD.” YouTube, uploaded by parodypieshow, 19 Dec. 2013, www.youtube.com/watch?v=yQIFkMlDF4M.
“Inception—Ending.” YouTube, uploaded by j2k5, 31 Oct. 2010, www.youtube.com/watch?v=XQPy88-E2zo&t=79s.
“J.J. Abrams Celebrates John Williams.” YouTube, uploaded by American Film Institute, 5 Aug. 2016, www.youtube.com/watch?v=su3oJoKQxQs&t=6s.
“Jurassic Park (1993)—Welcome to Jurassic Park Scene (1/10) | Movieclips.” YouTube, uploaded by Movieclips, 27 May 2011, www.youtube.com/watch?v=PJlmYh27MHg.
“Jurassic Park—WITHOUT MUSIC.” YouTube, uploaded by FilmScoreAnalysis, 10 Aug. 2016, www.youtube.com/watch?v=fRwd1zYZEAU.
Keegan, Rebecca. “John Williams and Steven Spielberg Mark 40 Years of Collaboration.” Los Angeles Times, 8 Jan. 2012, www.latimes.com/entertainment/la-xpm-2012-jan-08-la-ca-john-williams-20120108-story.html.
“Memoirs of Geisha ~ Snow Dance (HD).” YouTube, uploaded by meiji990, 24 March 2011, www.youtube.com/watch?v=63FxLM3AQt4&t=108s.
Palmer, Erica. “How John Williams Changed the Relationship Between Movies, Music.” Deseret News, 11 July 2014, www.deseret.com/2014/7/11/20544640/how-john-williams-changed-the-relationship-between-movies-music#a-crowd-at-the-deer-valley-music-festivals-outdoor-venue-which-holds-about-5000-this-friday-the-utah-symphony-will-perform-the-music-of-john-williams-a-concert-honoring-the-distinguished-film-score-composer.
“Schindler's List’s Ending Scene.” YouTube, uploaded by ankit bayer, 3 June 2011, www.youtube.com/watch?v=vOoWpTxKJGA&t=11s.
Smith, Nigel M. “Steven Spielberg, George Lucas Praise Lifetime Award Winner John Williams.” The Guardian, 10 June 2016, www.theguardian.com/film/2016/jun/10/john-williams-afi-lifetime-achievement-george-lucas-steven-spielberg.
“Star Wars: Episode 1—The Phantom Menace—Opening Crawl.” YouTube, uploaded by Terran, 26 Oct. 2019, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZvjQO3Z0E4Y.
Swed, Mark. “Review: Why Dudamel Conducting John Williams’ Music in Disney Hall Is Unlike Any Williams Music You’ve Heard Before.” Los Angeles Times, 25 Jan. 2019, www.latimes.com/entertainment/arts/la-et-cm-laphil-dudamel-williams-review-20190125-story.html.
Turner, Brad. “The Classical Cues That Inspired John Williams’ Music For ‘Star Wars.’” Colorado Public Radio, 30 June 2019, www.cpr.org/show-segment/the-classical-cues-that-inspired-john-wiliams-music-for-star-wars/.
Discussion Questions
- The opening of this essay presents itself not as an essay but as the beginning of a film—specifically, it reenacts the iconic opening of a Star Wars film. Why begin the essay in such a manner, rather than framing the work from the very start as an argumentative essay, with, for example, its thesis stated from the very beginning.
- Relatedly, with the exception of some written text that is overlaid atop the featured imagery, much of the "argument" of this video essay comes through the voices of others, expressed during clips, say, of speeches delivered during awards shows. How, then, does the author use editing to help piece together an argument that is entirely her own about the work of John Williams? How similar and different is that work of editing from the kind of quotation we might see in written essays?
- The ostensible question that drives this video essay is, "Why is John Williams's music so iconic?" But the thesis and analysis the author provides offers an answer that speaks specifically to John Williams's versatility as a composer. How do we square this seeming difference between question and answer? How does the thesis answer the question, and how does it offer more than an answer to that question of iconicity?
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