Whiplash by Clara Kao
Posted on September 26, 2015.
In March, the CMO had it's first ever movie screening! We showed Oscar award winning (or was it just nominated? either way, it was supposed to be good) "Whiplash." In short, "Whiplash" is about a young and talented drummer attending a prestigious music academy. He finds himself under the wing of the most respected professor at the school, one who does not hold back on abuse towards his students. The two form an odd relationship as the student wants to achieve greatness, and the professor pushes him. (Thank you, IMDB!) How does this relate to chamber music, you ask? Here's the thing-- no matter what form of art, be it jazz or classical music, the pressure for perfect is constant. The relationship between a student musician and his/her teacher is one of mutual respect. We've all had different types of teachers-- the strict teacher, the lax teacher, the teacher who's your best friend. In "Whiplash," Fletcher is an extreme and is both physically and emotionally abusive. In our post-screening discussion with PhD candidate Brad Spiers, we talked about the pressures on ourselves, as musicians, and outside of the music world, to achieve perfection. And what do we sacrifice to reach this? Is our society built in such a way to promote an unhealthy need to achieve? Just something to think about while you eat cereal alone in Cathey Dining Hall tomorrow morning...