In Defense of: "The Sound of Music"

Certain parties have suggested this all-time classic musical is "quaint and uninspired." Now, I fervently believe that every individual is entitled to his/her own opinion, no matter how wrong they may be, but sometimes those opinions must be challenged. I've prepared some facts to support my superior and correct opinion in favor of The Sound of Music.

1) Interestingly enough, one possible definition of the word "quaint" is "skillfully or cleverly made," according to dictionary.com. So there goes half your argument. Tppphthptthpthp! On behalf of all Sound of Music lovers, thank you for saying so.

2) Since I know you didn't mean it as a compliment, I will say that "quaint" is an appropriate word to use for something that was made in 1965. Lots of things in that time period can be considered quaint now. For example, The Beach Boys, and Charlie Brown. That doesn't mean they are bad things. I feel one of the key morals in the movie was learning to appreciate the simple pleasures of life. Perhaps a more appropriate word choice for you to use would be "cheesy." Well, my friend, in 1965, it was not cheesy, it was just a new kind of sweetness. The critics thought so as well.

3) In 1966, The Sound of Music was nominated for 10 Academy Awards, winning 5 of them including Best Picture and Best Music.

4) Any movie that has evil Nazi's in it has to be good. See Indiana Jones for reference.

5) Now to address the next word you've chosen to label it, "uninspired." I guess the opening sequence was skipped when you watched this movie, because I feel it is one of the most beautiful scenes in existence of cinema. Perhaps it is cheesy for an aspiring nun to go up where it is quiet in the mountains of Austria and sing to the hills and streams about her heart wants to "laugh like a brook when it trips and falls over stones on its way," but I wonder, in what place do you write? Have you found yourself a little nook to sit with pen and paper to scribe your feelings? Do you write with music in your ears or out on the streets while cars pass? Do you get...inspiration...from this place you sit? I suppose for a pessimist, it is difficult to understand why someone's heart wants to laugh. Perhaps you would rather see Maria trip and fall over her feet and land in the brook to drown. My point is, just because the sequence is simple does not mean it isn't beautiful and cannot be appreciated. It doesn't mean you aren't allowed to cry and be moved *sniff* ...at how full of life she is... *tear escapes* *sniff* ...Your heart must be stone! *sobbing and weeping*

6) Ahem. Now that I've stripped your opinion down to nothing but cruelty and misrepresentation, I will continue. In addition to many other musicals (The Sound of Music included), Mr. Rodgers and Hammerstein worked together on South Pacific, one of the most controversial musicals of it's time, and nowadays is often painted as cheesy.

7) The Sound of Music was the last musical Rodgers and Hammerstein wrote together. Mr. Hammerstein died of stomach cancer shortly after it opened on broadway. The musical is a homage to his life, his last message to humanity. The very last thing he wrote was the song "Edelweiss." Out of all the songs in the musical, I would say this one is presented dripping with the most sappyness and sentimentality. It is also the simplest song in the whole show, once again following the moral I mentioned earlier of finding the simple pleasures in life amidst hardship. The man was about to die and he writes a song about a small white flower that looks "happy to meet [him]." Sounds cheesy, right? And uninspired. But when you look at the facts, you begin to understand it to mean so much more. Perhaps the small white flower represents his whole life that has bloomed in the wake of his footsteps, and as he dies, he feels his life has been a happy one and he has no regrets. In the show, the song envokes the honor and loyalty of Austrians everywhere who are about to get forced into the Third Reich to join the evil Nazis. Kind of makes Captain VonTrapp sound hardcore when he makes the whole audience sing it while Nazi soldiers and flags litter the crowd. Speaking of hardcore, who doesn't like a couple of sinning nuns that pull car parts out of evil Nazi engines to help their friends escape?

7) The storyline itself was inspired from a true story and adapted into a musical for it's inspiring nature. *Boo-yah fact*

8) Just tell me you never wanted to be a part of that puppet show scene. It looks like so much fun!

9) I will be fair and mention my two least favorite scenes...both are love scenes, and both are in that windowed bungalow on the VonTrapp grounds. I've never shouted "WEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!" after kissing anyone. I think Rodgers and Hammerstein went a little overboard there. And for some reason, watching the Captain and Maria nuzzle onscreen makes my skin crawl. Other than that, I smile throughout the movie.

10) On a number of occasions, I have sung "I Have Confidence" in the mirror to boost my own morale, and let me tell you, if that song isn't inspired, it sure has begat inspiration.

I think what it boils down to here is some people not appreciating the classics, even modern classics like ELF and AVATAR.

Like I say to my coworker who doesn't like guacamole, if you tell me not to eat the disgusting roasted seaweed, I'm not going to listen (chomp chomp chomp--delicious roasted seaweedness).