Music has always played a pivotal role in the movies and TV shows we watch, often changing our perception of scenes and characters. Horror movies wouldn’t be nearly as terrifying if they had Sabrina Carpenter as the soundtrack instead of the ominous sounds of screeching violins. With that being said, it seems as though recently pop music has started to encroach significantly on the movie and television industry.
This is especially relevant in movies and series that contain primarily teenage and young adult audiences. When watching shows like The Summer I Turned Pretty, Every Year After, and the myriad of other young adult dramas, it is hard not to notice the sheer number of popular songs and artists playing throughout the scenes. While music is meant to enhance and communicate the intricate feelings and emotions of the scenes and characters in a piece of media, this inclusion of so much pop music feels almost patronizing to the audience. In a lot of these shows, the plot, acting, or writing can be pretty lackluster, which makes these heavily streamed songs feel like a tool to distract you from this fact. It feels as though these series are trying to trick audiences into overlooking the often poorly written characters and ridiculous plot with the consolation that Taylor Swift is playing in the background. The movie industry is placating young people with their love for music as a way to put little effort into creating a good piece of media and assuming we are too young and naive to notice.
Some might argue that because these shows are about and directed towards young people, pop music has its place and is there for a reason. While this is certainly true, the amount of pop music being used feels unnecessary. For example, when watching the first episode of Sterling Point, the first thing I noticed was Olivia Rodrigo playing in the background. 10 minutes later, it was Laufey, then even later Oliva Dean and Troye Sivan. This addition of pop music not only feels patronizing, but it distracts from the show itself. It is difficult not to get taken out of the story and plot of a show when recognizing a popular song. The focus is no longer on the story itself, but instead on that song you like.
When music is included in a movie or TV show correctly, it can create memorable scenes that you want to rewatch over and over again. There are so many needle drops seen in movies that make such an impact because the music goes with the scene of the film in a way that is not distracting or unnecessary. While you want the music in a piece of media to correlate with the scene, you don’t want the music to be too on the nose. So many of these shows recently will include pop music where the lyrics are word for word what the character is doing or going through. In my opinion, by doing this, it once again makes it feel like the show is calling you stupid. It’s almost like oh if you didn’t already know what was happening in the film or show, here is a song that will tell you. Finding a song that is both subtle and impactful can be difficult, but I think it is an important aspect of making movies and shows.
These films and shows that are directed towards young people are often not meant to be taken seriously, and while that has its place, I don’t think they should be overlooked. I am not saying that pop music doesn’t belong in movies and TV shows. I am merely saying that the sheer amount and the way production companies are going about it feels condescending towards young adults.