Tsotsi: Sound and Music

 

 

In the film Tsotsi, there was a lot of different music, some at appropriate times and some at inappropriate times. One example of inappropriate music was during a scene near the beginning of the film. It was storming out and Tsotsi was running away from a fight. The music that was played in the background was upbeat party music. In my opinion, this just didn't reflect the mood of the scene. Usually during a storm, music is usually more dark and eery. I also associate upbeat music with fun and happy scenes and fleeing a fight isn't the happiest scene. An example of appropriate music was at the opening of the film. The music was upbeat as Tsotsi and his friends were 'heading out' for the night. At this point, as the viewer, I was unaware what their definition of a 'night out' meant and I found this upbeat music to be appropriate. Another instance of appropriate music was towards the end of the film when Tsotsi and the 'mother figure' woman were reflecting on events that had happened. The music was not upbeat; it was a slower type of music that seemed to match their reflections.

 

 

As a side note, I chose this picture because I thought it was a really good representation of the film. For the most part, we saw the film through Tsotsi's eyes . We were able to understand his behavior through flashbacks of his life.