Why choose 'Black Orpheus' (Orfeu Negro)?
Arcade Fire recently released (through their official YouTube account here) a video containing their entire new album, Reflektor, played over the film Black Orpheus.
What do the two have to do with each other? Why did Arcade Fire choose Black Orpheus and not another film? Are there specific themes in the film that speak to the message the band is trying to convey with their album?
Best Answer
Short answer: Several of the songs on the album directly reference the Orpheus myth or have something to do with death and the afterlife. Black Orpheus is the best filmed depiction of the Orpheus myth with the Palme D'Or award for Best Film and Oscar for Best Foreign Film. Most importantly, it has a very visually arresting style, perfect for a music video.
Long answer: In the Orpheus myth, a wonderful singer's young wife, Eurydice, is bitten by a snake shortly after their wedding and dies. Orpheus travels to the underworld and uses his music to convince Hades to let him bring Eurydice back. Hades agrees, but only on the condition that Orpheus doesn't look back and see her until they are both out of the underworld. He doesn't manage it, and loses her again.
Time has an article with an explanation of exactly how the Arcade Fire songs relate:
The first of the two Arcade Fire songs that directly reference the myth, "Awful Sound (Oh Eurydice)," doesn't have much within the lyrics to draw a parallel to the original story. The words, presumably from Orpheus' perspective, are about love and end with the lover being gone, but don't specifically reference the details of Orpheus' particular love.
On the next song on the album, however, the reference is much more clear: "Hey, Orpheus! / I'm behind you / Don't turn around / I can find you" begins the song "It's Never Over (Oh Orpheus)." The album also contains a song called "Afterlife," which doesn’t mention the myth but may be a nod to Hades.
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Why is Black Orpheus important?
Ironically, Black Orpheus became a goad to Brazilian creativity, acting as a negative catalyst for progressive filmmaking. The film's influence can still be seen in the modern subgenre of Latin American favela films, of which 2002's City of God is the most famous.What is the meaning of Black Orpheus?
In 1959, Bosley Crowther, a film critic for the New York Times, described Black Orpheus as, \u201ca tragic love story of a Negro chap and a Negro girl all tangled up in the madness of Carnival, full of intoxicating samba music, frenzied dancing and violent costumes.\u201dIs Black Orpheus problematic?
Again, this was highly problematic as this European attitude towards black people reflected a mixture of condescending paternalism and fetishized exoticism. The attitude had not waned during the filming of Black Orpheus, as Camus was reported to have said that black people lived in favelas to flee from civilization.What is the theme of Black Orpheus?
Directed in 1959 by Frenchman Marcel Camus, Black Orpheus fully embraces the concept of Cinema Novo. Created as a result of unrest in much of the world and especially in Brazil during the 1950s and 60s, Cinema Novo showcased themes of drought, poverty, and revolution.Why choose KPMG
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