ABSTRACT
Unpacking the historical assumption that music is a means of social connection, this chapter foregrounds the subtheme of musical intimacy from earlier chapters. Throughout music history (from Orpheus to Bernstein), music has been construed as an ideal means of sincere connection that mitigates the individual's alienation. After framing this historical concept in relation to Lionel Trilling's understanding of sincerity, the chapter explores how filmmakers often echo this perspective by representing shared listening as an intersubjective space where the lonely self understands the other affectively. Scenes from WALL•E (2008) and Garden State (2004) demonstrate how filmmakers idealize music's connective power by representing technologically mediated musical community. The Her (2013) soundtrack complicates these historical assumptions about musical connection with a more ambivalent perspective. The chapter concludes by asking: what do these scenes afford socially and emotionally for spectators immersed in such film narratives and the music they feature? High Fidelity (2000) illustrates how film representations of shared listening create intimacy with characters on screen through both visual and aural means and that this virtually social encounter leads to an enhanced musical enjoyment.
