Episode 116 - The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (Peter Jackson, 2002) (with Daniel White)
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (Peter Jackson, 2002).
The Fantasy/Animation podcast takes listeners on a journey through the intersection between fantasy cinema and the medium of animation. Available via Apple Podcasts, Spotify and many of your favourite podcast hosting platforms!
Finally following up their podcast on The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (Peter Jackson, 2001), Episode 116 has Chris and Alex picking up the story of Middle-earth with this instalment on the second film in the franchise, The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (Peter Jackson, 2002). Joining them is special guest Dr Daniel White, who is Senior Lecturer in Musicology in the Department of Music & Design Arts at the University of Huddersfield, and author of a number of publications looking at music in relation to worldbuilding and fantasy storytelling, including its role across the Lord of the Rings films. From the sonic dimensions of fantasy cinema to female vocality within Peter Jackson’s big-screen adaptations, listen as the trio discuss the contribution of sound to the construction of impossible fantastic space; processes of suture and de-suture; digital technology and Gollum’s identity as a VFX marvel; New Zealand and the impact within fantasy of shooting on location; what the interpretation of orcs as an indigenous community tells us about the film’s fluctuating levels of ‘humanity’; and the influence of Norse mythology upon The Two Towers’ musical logic.
**Fantasy/Animation theme tune composed by Francisca Araujo**
Suggested Readings
Adams, Doug. 2010. The Music of the Lord of the Rings Films: A Comprehensive Account of Howard Shore's Scores. Harlow: Alfred Music Publishing.
Gorbman, Claudia. 1987. Unheard Melodies: Narrative Film Music. New York: John Wiley & Sons.
Gunning, Tom. 2007. “Moving Away from the Index Cinema and the Impression of Reality.” Differences 18, no. 1: 29-52.
Halfyard, Janet K. 2012. The Music of Fantasy Cinema. London: Equinox.
Mittell, Jason. 2012. “Forensic Fandom and the Drillable Text.” In Spreadable Media: Creating Value and Meaning in a Networked Culture, eds. Henry Jenkins, Sam Ford, and Joshua Green, available at: http://spreadablemedia.org/essays/mittell/#.ZCBcYnbMKpp.
White, Daniel. 2016. “Middle-earth Music: The Sonic Inhabitation of a Fantasy World.” Participations: Journal of Audience & Reception Studies 13, no. 1: 488-511.
White, Daniel. 2020. “One Does Not Simply Walk Into Mordor: Sound and Music as Suture in the Opening Sequences of Peter Jackson’s Middle-earth Films.” Music, Sound and the Moving Image 14, no. 2: 93-117.
White, Daniel. 2022. “A Magic Beyond All We Do Here": Musical and Sonic Worldbuilding at Harry Potter Tourist Attractions.” InMedia The French Journal Of Media Studies 9, no. 1: 1-27.