Ellie Qudeen - Gatsby Podcast of Soundtrack

Hey scholars, welcome back to another podcast on my channel. For new listeners, my name is Ellie Kidine. I create weekly podcasts analyzing and debating different takes and ideas incorporated into pieces of writing or film. Today I will be discussing the novel The Great Gatsby to take a seat and grab some popcorn. The Great Gatsby, written by Mr. Francis Scott Gerald, is narrated by Nick Carraway, presented as a reflection and retelling of his past while he lived on West Eggwood Gatsby. Set in 1922, the novel captures many themes of the Roaring Twenties and incorporates emotions such as love, loneliness, and longing, feelings that all people can relate to. The novel focuses on the tragic story of Gatsby and his undying love for Daisy, embodying the main themes of the novel and the Roaring Twenties. A remake of The Great Gatsby movie came out in 2013, starring the one and only Leonardo DiCaprio. The soundtrack was carefully constructed throughout the film to intensify and further illustrate important scenes that portray critical themes of the novel or to help develop a further complexity of a character. Let's jump right into the movie, starring with No Church in the Wild by Jay-Z and Kanye West. No Church in the Wild is the first song used to introduce a setting and culture of the 1920s. The title of the song alludes to the recklessness of the Roaring Twenties, especially illuminating the culture of the rich as more leisurely activities were arising. Outlined by Gale in Volume 4, Modern World Part 1, quote, the U.S. economy began to prosper after World War I like never before, creating a higher standard of living and a strong demand for consumer products such as automobiles and radios. Recalling the title of the song, churches are often used to symbolize purity and faith, and there are no churches in the wilderness. Similarly, the 20s was a wild scene, full of partying, illegal booze, gambling, and little self-controls. Quote, lives on the lips of the priests symbolized corruption and deception of even people we assumed to be sincere and faithful. There was no room for honesty or self-restraint in the wilderness of society. The lyrics also mention the Colosseum in Rome, which was used to host gladiator fights and animal hunts for fun. The movie alludes to the bloody sport through the song to illustrate how similar the roaring 20s were to ancient Rome and people's obsession with entertainment and consumption at the expense and suffering of others, often the poor. The Valley of Ashes is a reoccurring location within the novel, used to portray the dark and less noticed sides of society created by the enormous wealth gap in the U.S. Next up is Who Gon' Stop Me? by Jay-Z and Kanye West again, released in 2011. Who Gon' Stop Me? by Jay-Z and Kanye West starts playing at the 20 minute mark during the movie. In the scene, Nick is at Tom's place in New York City and they are all partying and drinking. Similar to No Church in the Wild, Who Gon' Stop Me? is used in the chaotic scene to amplify the catastrophic culture of the rich during the roaring 20s, exhibited by extravagant parties, consumption of illegal alcohol, and normalized infidelity. Even Nick, who has, quote, been drunk just twice in his life, the second time was that afternoon, page 29, chose to drink with the others. Nick is characterized to be a very honest and more self-disciplined character in the book compared to other main characters, particularly due to his different economic and social standing. This scene demonstrates utter loss of control because even the most well-behaved character has to come to the, quote, inexhaustible variety of life, page 35. The rich during the 20s couldn't stop, this is something like the holocaust. People were enchanted by the new leisures and freedoms that life had to offer. Referring to the lyrics of the song, a holocaust is a mass death or destruction. Similarly, society was being destroyed and corrupted by the rich who continued to consume, ignoring the struggles of the rest of the country. The, quote, holocaust was complete, page 162, when Wilson's and Gatsby's bodies were discovered. Holocaust is mentioned in both the song and the end of the novel to portray the final consequences of the rich and their recklessness. Wilson, a poor man, was driven to suicide after killing Gatsby. Tom's infidelity with Myrtle and Daisy allowing Gatsby to take the blame of killing Myrtle ultimately led to the tragic death of two people from opposite ends of society. Quote, they were careless people, Tom and Daisy. They smashed up things and creatures and then retreated back into their money or their vast carelessness. End quote, page 179. Foreshadowing Gatsby's death at the end of the movie, Bang Bang by William is played at the 24 minute, 30 second mark into the movie when Nick goes to Gatsby's party by personal invitation. Bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang is already foreshadowing his tragic death. The song is used to foreshadow Gatsby's death, ultimately as a result of his love for Daisy. In the song, the woman uses the male's love to kill him. The guy was, quote, a fool, who continued to love the woman and did not realize that her feelings were not reciprocated. Similarly, Daisy kills Gatsby by allowing him to take the fall for hitting Myrtle. He was so infatuated with her that he was, quote, a fool in love, blind to her need for reassurance and the truth that she would always pick Tom for safety. Even with Nick's suggestion to leave for a bit until the murder scene calmed down, Gatsby was determined to wait for Daisy's call that never came. His love for her and hope that she would call led him to be shot by Wilson. Gatsby often describes the effects Daisy has over people, their irresistible aurora that she gives off. Daisy is described with alike traits of sirens to express the similarity between how sirens lure in sailors and how Daisy entices Gatsby to her. Quote, I think that voice held him the most, with his fluctuating, feverish warmth, because it couldn't be overdreamed. That voice was a deathless song. End quote, page 96. Sirens pull sailors in with their voice in order to catch and eat them, just as Daisy's voice with its fluctuating, feverish warmth kept Gatsby infatuated with her until she left him to die. Sirens are beautiful, but deadly, much like Daisy. They are monsters, hiding their true nature behind their looks and voice. Daisy embodies the idea of sirens because she hides her shallowness behind her looks and wealth. Daisy's voice is deathless because she will last forever, feeding off of others' love and attention and throwing the remains out. To give context on Daisy's and Gatsby's love story and how they know each other, Young and Beautiful will be played next to bring light to Gatsby's and Daisy's past together. When you and I were forever one Crazy days, dirty lies The way you'd play with me like a child Will you still love me when I'm no longer young and beautiful? Will you still love me when I'm no longer young and beautiful? Young and Beautiful by Lana Del Rey is played during the duration of Nick and Daisy's visit at Gatsby's house. The group has fun going around to the different rooms. Daisy lets go and enjoys herself, and Gatsby builds up hope for their future together with the encouragement of Daisy's enthusiasm. During the shirt scene, Daisy starts off happy and laughing, but by the end she is crying because, quote, she'd never seen such beautiful shirts before, end quote, page 92. Young and Beautiful recalls a crazy love story during the summer, free and, quote, wild, acting like kids who are naive and unbothered by the complexity of life. In parallel, for a moment, Daisy and Gatsby relive their passionate past, ignoring the reality of their current lives. Daisy later cried over the shirts when she was brought back to reality. The shirts represent her role in the house, and the beauty of the shirts represent wealth and attractiveness. She is reminded of her role and values in life, to look pretty and to be reassured by money. She married Tom because it was a safer route than waiting for Gatsby, who was serving in the military. Daisy accepted her role as a woman, even at the beginning of the story, glad that her daughter, quote, was a girl, and she hoped that she'd be a fool. That's the best thing a girl can be in this world, a beautiful little fool, end quote, page 17. Daisy, born into a rich family, had never struggled financially before or had to work. Daisy therefore conformed to society's idea of a woman and their roles in the house. It was easier to be dumb and to look pretty for men than to go out and be independent, quote. She wanted her life shaped now, immediately, and the decision must be made by some force, of love, of money, of unquestionable practicality, end quote, page 151. However, Daisy still wanted to have fun with Gatsby, potentially in retaliation to Tom cheating on her with Myrtle. In Young and Beautiful, the lyrics, quote, Will you still love me when I got nothing but my aching soul? I know you will, are used to illustrate Daisy's shallowness and selfishness. Daisy knows that Gatsby is infatuated with her and that he will always love her because he loves the past of her, which cannot change. In a way, she takes advantage of his devotion and plays both Tom and Gatsby until she chooses Tom and his security, running away from the murder of Myrtle and letting Gatsby take the blame. After Gatsby's tragic death and the end of the novel, Kill and Run by SZA is played at the end of the credits to wrap up the film and to sum up the life story of Gatsby. As Tom Morgan explained in sentimentalizing Daisy for the screen, quote, Daisy represents something indefinable, an idealized love. The idea of love became more important than the object of it, end quote. Daisy herself is not his goal. Gatsby's goal is to keep hold of the love that she once inspired, the memory of her, which is colored by his idealization of her. Gatsby projected his hopes and dreams on Daisy without seeing that she did not feel the same as he did, for Daisy did not live in the past or care to change her life back to the way it was when she was with Gatsby. When Gatsby realized Daisy was not going to call, he regretted devoting his life to one person who didn't feel the same about him. Quote, he must have felt that he had lost the old warm world and paid a high price for living too long with a single dream, end quote, page 161. Gatsby had lost the old warm world, meaning that his dreams of replaying the past were gone and all the warmth of his past with Daisy was gone because it was only going to stay in the past. Gatsby paid a high price for basing his sole purpose on Daisy, represented by a single dream. When Daisy left, Gatsby had nothing to live for, for he had not developed any other purpose in his life. In the end, Daisy killed Gatsby and ran off with Tom, hiding behind her wealth and status. She didn't even send flowers or a card to Gatsby's funeral, demonstrating that she had truly never loved Gatsby. All in all, Gatsby thought that money could win back Daisy, or in other words, their past. The novel tells of a love story gone wrong, where both people in the relationship had different dreams and expectations for one another. The story teaches the lesson of forward progression and not to get hung over the past, for it will prevent happiness and growth. The novel also embodies the common theme of perception versus reality during the Roaring Twenties, where wealth and status was on the forefront of everyone's mind. However, looks are deceiving, and not everyone is what they appear to be. In the novel, both wealth and love were falsely portrayed by characters, hiding the reality of their lifestyle or true feelings. Gatsby gripped onto his past with Daisy, and he was blind to the reality that she did not love him anymore. Gatsby confined his American dream in Daisy, which ultimately led to his loneliness, loss of purpose in life, and tragic death. Nick stuck by Gatsby's side until the end and wrote a novel about him, bringing to light Gatsby's greatness that was missed and overlooked by everyone else in his life. That's it for today. Thanks a lot for listening in. I hope you enjoyed the analysis of the soundtrack used in The Great Gatsby Movie, and I implore you to watch the movie if you haven't already. Signing off, see you next time, scholars!