Berg, Charles Merrell. “Cinema Sings the Blues.” Cinema Journal, 17.2 (Spring 1978): 1-12. University of Texas Press. University of Pennsylvania Library, Philadelphia. 7 April 2008. .

In this article, Berg discusses the relationship between jazz and film—two four-letter words that have experienced criticism, praise, and evolution. Beginning with the similarities between the two, Berg recounts how the origins of jazz and film both begin on the outskirts of society, without much popular support and created through the use of experimentation. Both have experienced problems with the development of technology, both have represented political and social issues, and both have unquestionably transformed American culture, Berg claims. From jazz’s impact on World War I to ragtime, the blues, and the consequent Jazz Age, Berg notes that the highpoint of jazz and the Golden Age of Hollywood were rather simultaneous. Jazz was particularly important once sound was introduced to film, and became a rather commercial commodity once Hollywood began to utilize it (leading to Hollywood’s attempt to “jazz up jazz”). It breathed life into animation, shed light on the significance of black culture in America, vividly portrayed the urban landscapes from which is was born, and soon became a viable alternative to traditional film scores provided by orchestras and symphonies.
Jazz happened to become “officially legitimized” in Hollywood during the early 1950s—exactly when A Streetcar Named Desire was made. Why the 1950s? By this time, Berg states, jazz had experienced its own renaissance, and had become much more sophisticated in sound. Varied and a “sound of surprise,” jazz became a dramatic element in narrative film score, and Streetcar’s soundtrack is no exception. Due to the more realistic content of 1950s film, along with its increased attention toward “misfits and deviants” (Blanche DuBois being a prime example), jazz seemed the most appropriate music to underscore the mood, tension, and storylines of feature films. Just as Tennessee Williams believed there were no rules as to what content he was allowed to comment on, jazz’s use of improvisation and spontaneity complements his forward thinking style in an age where tradition and conformity were still strongly adhered to.

Amphibiologie: Ethnographic Surrealism in French Discourse on Jazz

Journal article by Matthew F. Jordan; Journal of European Studies, Vol. 31, 2001

Amphibiologie: Ethnographic Surrealism in French Discourse on Jazz

Journal article by Matthew F. Jordan; Journal of European Studies, Vol. 31, 2001