The Sound of Disconcerting Music

I discovered something very disconcerting the other day. First, I discovered many people do not know the meaning of the word disconcerting; to me, this is quite disconcer— er, I guess I should say, troubling.

Second, I discovered many people have never seen the classic Julie Andrews movie “The Sound of Music.” And what makes this even more disconcer— um, I mean, upsetting, is where I was when I learned this stunning fact. I was at church choir rehearsal. That’s right, people who have never seen the movie are members of the choir and are very much into music. Whoa! How can a normal American adult, especially one who likes to sing, not be familiar with “The Sound of Music”? It’s quite disconcer— uh, that is, perplexing.

I always thought “The Sound of Music” was such a cultural icon, viewing it at least three times and memorizing a minimum of half the songs were required in order to be an official American citizen. (A movie set in Austria starring British actors is required for American citizenship? Relax, it was written by Broadway superstars Rogers and Hammerstein, and the movie was a Hollywood production that simply dripped with the Stars and Stripes and apple pie — except they used the red and white Austrian flag and apple strudel.)

In fact, the movie is SO American, when my wife and I visited Austria several years ago, we took the official “Sound of Music” bus tour, which traveled to many of the actual film locations is the Salzburg area, all-the-while playing the movie on video screens inside the bus. But here’s the weird thing: the local Austrian citizens are baffled by the phenomenon. Most have never seen the movie, and those who have didn’t particularly like it (not enough Octoberfest style oompah bands, apparently). When the brightly painted tour buses go by, filled with American tourists singing the songs together, the locals shake their heads and scowl, thinking there has to be a better way to infuse a pile of cash into their economy. I don’t know the German word for disconcerting, but these folks feel it on a daily basis.

Anyway, the movie is such a classic, and the music is so memorable, I found myself thinking up new lyrics to honor many of the presidential candidates dominating the news right now. Visit this post on the blog for the lyrics:  http://merrycatholic.blogspot.com/2015/09/the-sound-of-presidential-music.html

There are a number of movies that I would consider to be an integral part of American culture. Besides “The Sound of Music,” other musical movies include “The Wizard of Oz,” “Mary Poppins,” and “Jaws.” In the drama category, there’s “Citizen Kane,” “Casablanca,” and “Caddyshack.” And finally, to keep it light, classic film comedies that must be seen are, “Young Frankenstein,” “Airplane!” and “Gone With the Wind.”

If a person hasn’t seen at least these few films, he or she will be ignorant of so many everyday cultural references and quotes, such as: “We’re not in Kansas anymore,” “A spoonful of sugar,” “You’re gonna need a bigger boat,” “Rosebud,” “Here’s looking at you, kid,” “Cinderella story,” “It’s EYE-gore,” “…and don’t call me Shirley!” and “Frankly my dear, I don’t give a Spam.” 

As usual, I need help. No, not that kind of help. I need help from my readers (all four of you). What are your must-see movies, the films that people simply need to watch in order to know and understand American culture? Right after you check out my Sound of Music song parodies on the blog, post a comment here or send me an email at MerryCatholic@gmail.com. Let me know your favorite films and famous movie quotes. And I hope your selections are not disconcer— I mean, confusing.