Music and the Fictive Dream - "Burlesque"
Burlesque is a musical movie that was released in 2010 and was directed by Steve Antin. The film stars Christina Aquilera, Cher, and several other notable actors/singers. The movie follows the cliché storyline where Ali (Aguilera), a small-town girl from Iowa moves to Los Angeles to make it big as a performer. Cher plays Tess who is the owner of the Burlesque Lounge which is facing foreclosure by the bank. The music for the film is the result of a huge conglomerate of writers with each song having its own set of composers. However, the majority of the songs are performed by either Christina Aguilera or Cher (IMDb). The piece I want to delve into further is called "Bound To You" which was one of the three original songs which Christina Aguilera contributed to the film. It was written by Christina Aguilera, Sia Furler, and Samuel Dixon who also produced the piece (Wikipedia).
"Bound To You" serves as the part of the story where the main character, Ali, begins to fall in love with her coworker, Jack. The piece is a way to give insight into how she is feeling about the whole circumstance. For context, Jack has a recent ex-fiancée, with whom he was with when the two characters met, and Ali was dating a rich businessman, So, suffice to say, their relationship is complicated and could be considered inappropriate. The lyrics of the song can be widely applicable to many people from all walks of life. The idea of falling hard for someone can be scary, especially if you've been hurt by a romantic interest in the past. Opening up and being vulnerable just becomes that much harder if that has been betrayed before. Therefore, the moment you let go and let yourself love and be loved can be very liberating (Chilton).
I really like this piece by Christina Aguilera, it's emotional and she portrays the lyrics well. It is supposed to say that she loves so much that it hurts, and she really brings that across in her performance visibly and audibly. I think it shows off her vocal abilities very well. She, of course, incorporates her signature vocal runs and belts, which showcases the immense lung power that she's using to push her notes out. She gives her all in every song she performed for the film, but this one just really stood out to me.
Sources
IMDb. “Burlesque.” IMDb, IMDb.com, 24 Nov. 2010, www.imdb.com/title/tt1126591/?ref_=ttsnd_snd_tt.
“Burlesque (Soundtrack).” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 17 June 2021, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burlesque_(soundtrack).
Chilton, Martin. “Deconstructing The Love Song: How And Why Love Songs Work.” UDiscover Music, 15 Feb. 2021, www.udiscovermusic.com/in-depth-features/deconstructing-the-love-song-how-they-work/.
This is a good song and a good blog post. Very unpopular opinion: I do not care for Christina. I know she is an amazing singer I have just never truly enjoyed listening to her. Cher, however, I do enjoy. My favorite from Cher is linked here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BUbjmLrp9dc. I will continue to listen to Christina and try to grow more fond of her music. I need to watch again Burlesque as well because it has been years since I last saw it.
ReplyDeleteI love Christina! She has such a powerful voice. These types of movies a lot of people can relate to, a love story that that has someone dream of getting the person they love or even achieving the dream they didn't think was possible. I haven't seen this movie though but have heard the song. Do you think that the storyline is overplayed with many movies or doesn't get old? Also it makes a difference when someone sings in my opinion.
ReplyDeleteI think your analysis of "Bound to You" is spot on. You used great secondary resources to back up your arguments. I, too, have been in a situation where I love someone so much it hurts, and letting myself be vulnerable like that is very difficult. Aguilera's incredible talent captured that perfectly. I unfortunately have not seen Burlesque, but now it is definitely on my watch list. Good work !!
ReplyDelete