If the Marvel Cinematic Universe can best be defined by a uniformity of style, its biggest handicap is thus a lack of diversity. Case in point: right now, try humming the themes for Iron Man, Captain America, or Thor. (Not too loudly if you’re at work or in public.) Think about some other superheroes. Try humming John Williams’ Superman tune or Danny Elfman’s Batman score. Notice the difference? It’s the sort of thing you might not even keep in mind that, when finally considered, feels like an obvious gap.
That’s the set-up of Tony Zhou‘s latest video essay, “The Marvel Symphonic Universe,” which explores how many of these scores are just wallpaper — and although it’s (ostensibly) part of a scene’s momentum, said scenes can often function without them. It would be less of a problem if this issue stuck to a series of films that, frankly, we don’t care much about, but it doesn’t: the matter of temp music has allowed banal scoring to seep its way into other films, even those that are otherwise more formally adventurous. This is discussed in the first video, then expanded upon in Zhou’s follow-up — a rather horrifying illustration of how creativity is being sapped from Hollywood productions in ways we don’t even realize.
Watch the video essays below:
Update: Watch a response to the above video essays below.