Lists have been made of movies and shows containing HiFi gear but this is a look from a different perspective: What is the purpose or message behind the gear shown in a movie or TV show?
For example, my take from a couple of movies and TV shows is as follows:
In the movie Indecent Proposal, Robert Redford, the antihero is a mysterious millionaire that offers a couple $1 million for a night with Demi Moore. (I haven’t seen this movie in decades so I recollection of details might be faulty.) He takes her to his large home and into a large Ballroom. The Ballroom is empty except for a stereo system. We don’t get the see the entire stereo, just a glimpse of the VPI TNT turntable as he cues a record so they can dance together. In this scene I ask myself the question, why wouldn’t Robert Redford hire a band to play in the ballroom? He could certainly afford to hire a band. Perhaps the director felt a band would look too romantic given the storyline premise. On the other hand, watching Robert Redford hit PLAY on a CD player would look too pedestrian. This movie came out in 1993. CD sales were on the rise but vinyl still carried an air of sophistication. Real music lovers still played vinyl at the time. But in the case of this movie, the room is void of furniture- not even a listening chair. They wanted the antihero to appear sophisticated, not too romantic but also not come across a a hifi geek with a single listening chair in the room. What’s your take?
The TV Show House, MD includes a Sota Turntable in Dr. House’s office. The turntable is mostly a prop. I think I saw him playing a record once during the series. This show came out in the early 2000s. By then vinyl was at its low point. Digital music and mp3 players were all the rage. The purpose of the turntable in his office was to show that Dr. House was a counter culture rebel. As a brilliant doctor he thought differently than others and the turntable showed that he listened to music differently than others.
The TV Show Suits features a couple of different turntables over the seasons and Kplisch bookshelf speakers in the office of a cold calculating lawyer played by Gabriel Macht. His stereo is mainly a prop. We see him play a record maybe twice during the series. Can’t blame him really- Klipsch bookshelf speakers up against a glass wall in a glass walled office? Ouch. The real centerpiece is his large Jazz record collection that he keeps in his office. The record collection is supposed to show us his human side through his connection to his Jazz musician father. He apparently lives in his office as in the series his apartment is just a place to take women for the night and make them breakfast in the morning. As in the movie, Indecent Proposal, men with record collections are portrayed as shallow loners.
The TV series Bosch has a stereo as the centerpiece of his home. The Ohm speakers standing as pillars with a stupendous overlook of LA in-between. Bosch is a hard boiled detective but we see his human side through his love for Jazz. The stereo is non-functional. Not a cord or speaker cable to be seen. In fact, I wonder if the director had them cut off the power cords to the amps and turntable. The two speakers sit up against a glass wall. It is a glass walled house which makes me cringe to think about how this system might sound in there. They show him playing a record now and then. Not sure how that is possible without electrical connections- but in Hollywood anything is possible.
My last observation is about the Star Trek movie reboot. We see a glimpse of a turntable playing vinyl in the 23rd century. I have racked my brain trying to understand why this screwball director put that scene in the movie. But then he also put a glimpse of R2D2 in the space debris when the ship first comes out of warp around the planet Vulcan. Perhaps the whole job was just one big joke for him.
What are your thoughts of these and other shows featuring HiFi?
For example, my take from a couple of movies and TV shows is as follows:
In the movie Indecent Proposal, Robert Redford, the antihero is a mysterious millionaire that offers a couple $1 million for a night with Demi Moore. (I haven’t seen this movie in decades so I recollection of details might be faulty.) He takes her to his large home and into a large Ballroom. The Ballroom is empty except for a stereo system. We don’t get the see the entire stereo, just a glimpse of the VPI TNT turntable as he cues a record so they can dance together. In this scene I ask myself the question, why wouldn’t Robert Redford hire a band to play in the ballroom? He could certainly afford to hire a band. Perhaps the director felt a band would look too romantic given the storyline premise. On the other hand, watching Robert Redford hit PLAY on a CD player would look too pedestrian. This movie came out in 1993. CD sales were on the rise but vinyl still carried an air of sophistication. Real music lovers still played vinyl at the time. But in the case of this movie, the room is void of furniture- not even a listening chair. They wanted the antihero to appear sophisticated, not too romantic but also not come across a a hifi geek with a single listening chair in the room. What’s your take?
The TV Show House, MD includes a Sota Turntable in Dr. House’s office. The turntable is mostly a prop. I think I saw him playing a record once during the series. This show came out in the early 2000s. By then vinyl was at its low point. Digital music and mp3 players were all the rage. The purpose of the turntable in his office was to show that Dr. House was a counter culture rebel. As a brilliant doctor he thought differently than others and the turntable showed that he listened to music differently than others.
The TV Show Suits features a couple of different turntables over the seasons and Kplisch bookshelf speakers in the office of a cold calculating lawyer played by Gabriel Macht. His stereo is mainly a prop. We see him play a record maybe twice during the series. Can’t blame him really- Klipsch bookshelf speakers up against a glass wall in a glass walled office? Ouch. The real centerpiece is his large Jazz record collection that he keeps in his office. The record collection is supposed to show us his human side through his connection to his Jazz musician father. He apparently lives in his office as in the series his apartment is just a place to take women for the night and make them breakfast in the morning. As in the movie, Indecent Proposal, men with record collections are portrayed as shallow loners.
The TV series Bosch has a stereo as the centerpiece of his home. The Ohm speakers standing as pillars with a stupendous overlook of LA in-between. Bosch is a hard boiled detective but we see his human side through his love for Jazz. The stereo is non-functional. Not a cord or speaker cable to be seen. In fact, I wonder if the director had them cut off the power cords to the amps and turntable. The two speakers sit up against a glass wall. It is a glass walled house which makes me cringe to think about how this system might sound in there. They show him playing a record now and then. Not sure how that is possible without electrical connections- but in Hollywood anything is possible.
My last observation is about the Star Trek movie reboot. We see a glimpse of a turntable playing vinyl in the 23rd century. I have racked my brain trying to understand why this screwball director put that scene in the movie. But then he also put a glimpse of R2D2 in the space debris when the ship first comes out of warp around the planet Vulcan. Perhaps the whole job was just one big joke for him.
What are your thoughts of these and other shows featuring HiFi?
