Abstract

The licensed music that can frequently be heard accompanying motion pictures carries with it a wealth of information in the form of contextual baggage. This study actively works to unpack this baggage and detail the ways that filmmakers may harness the power of this contextual content through allusion and explicit reference. Select examples from three feature films by Gregg Araki are used to show how this process is affected by a variety of budgets and to illustrate how music supervision can act as a tool that aids in fostering connections with social subcultures, complements activist themes, and creates additional meaning . . .