So there is this thing that all musicals have. Music. But there are two primarily different types of music in any musical. That being diegetic and non-diegetic music. For those of you who never went to music school and had to learn a bunch of useless terms, a quick definition may be helpful.
Diegetic music is essentially music that the characters in the story can hear. It usually comes from a radio or a band performance or something along those lines.
Non-diegetic music is the exact opposite. It exists outside of the world and characters are not aware of the music around them. Take for instance a character singing a heartfelt solo piece to the camera. They may be aware of the monologue and the feelings they have but there is no sense of the music or choreography around them. It exists outside of the world for our entertainment.
This brings us to High School Musical, a film series full of non-diegetic and diegetic music. A lot of the times when characters sing they are not aware of it. At least I choose to believe that they are not actually breaking into a choreographed song and dance number during the state championship basketball game. But maybe someone can convince me otherwise.
Regardless, the High School Musical series always had a blend of diegetic and non diegetic music. But the third film is very unique in how it approaches it. The first two movies are filled with non-diegetic songs that all culminate in some final performance with a few diegetic numbers that the characters can hear and are aware of.
This style helps give a film a more dramatic ending. Take Troy and Gabriella’s classic duet, ‘Breaking Free’ at the end of the first film. It works so well because these characters have been expressing their emotions non diegetically the whole time. It makes it so much more meaningful when they finally sing to each other in the final performance. It is finally diegetic, they can hear it. In a way they’re ’breaking free’ of the fake music that’s been there the whole time and are trading it for something real.
High School Musical 3 functions in a totally different way. It is revealed early on In the film that the final senior musical will be a musical about the students. The musical they are writing during the movie tells the story of the movie they are in, and as such the musical numbers in the musical are the same ones we see in the movie. Trust me it’s not confusing if you just watch it.
This sets the stage for a different kind of music. Not completely diegetic or non diegetic but something in between. It is trans-diegetic.
Almost every number in this movie could be real to the characters or not. Some songs, such as the prom number ‘A Night To Remember’ are actually a deliberate blend of both. It clearly starts off as non-diegetic but morphs its way into the ears of the characters as its revealed that it was a rehearsal for the musical the whole time. It is awesome.
You start to rewatch and look and any musical number in this film and wonder which songs the characters can hear and not hear. It also doesn’t help that each number is filled with over-exaggerated props and backdrops. It feels like you’re watching a production in a theatre. And you may just be.
The genius of this film can’t be be captured in a short blog post and there is much more that I have to say. But I digress.
Here’s your album of the week.
Obviously.
Happy listening!
-Steve Acker
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