Project Proposal

Individual Capstone, “And the Ambulance Died in His Arms: Alternative Music

in the Work of Gregg Araki”

Cameron Lee

clee1252@terpmail.umd.edu

INTRODUCTION:

In the early 1990s, independent film underwent a revolution. A legion of artistic voices, once silenced by the Hollywood mainstream and relegated to small, demeaning parts in front of the camera, now charged the camera from behind to usher in a refreshing, startling, necessary period of change: the New Queer Cinema. Following the shame, loss, and indifference of the AIDS crisis which swept the globe, queer filmmakers took to the streets with their cameras to create bold, confrontational films that raised awareness of the struggles of queer people and alerted many to the threat of AIDS. One such filmmaker, who arguably spearheaded the movement, was Gregg Araki. Araki’s films, which frequently examine hellbent, doomed lives of young queer protagonists, gave a voice to the gaybashed, the insulted at school, those who struggled to make ends meet, and those grappling with an AIDS diagnosis. Part of Araki’s staying power into the 21st century is his penchant for bright, stylized visuals and campy, acerbic dialogue, both of which have lived on in limited forms on social media sites from Pinterest to TikTok. Another element (one that transcends his films themselves) is the music chosen by Araki to feature in the films. From shoegaze to industrial to hip hop, the tracks cover a variety of central genres but their inclusion is a key to Araki’s work. Some tracks are made by queer musicians while others are made by artists local to the films’ shooting locations, but nearly all of them are contemporary to the 1990s and relevant to the music tastes of the filmmaker and his characters — a key to processing Araki’s work. The goal for my capstone is to explore why and how the alternative music featured in Araki’s films complement his themes of LGBTQ+ struggle and persistence through the AIDS crisis. Do the tracks selected by Araki help further his themes? How do they do that? Lyrics? Instrumentation? What forms do the musical tracks take on?

LITERATURE REVIEW:

Gregg Araki’s contributions and major role in the New Queer Cinema has been well-documented by the critic and scholar B. Ruby Rich, who coined the term “New Queer Cinema” in her film magazine contributions and book of the same name (Rich 2013). The music featured in Araki’s work has previously been noted by critics and journalists, such as Phelim O’Neill in his article for The Guardian, “Gregg Araki’s Films Are Giving the US a Crash Course in Shoegazing,” which features Araki’s own testimony as to why he included certain songs and the extended processes for obtaining the rights (O’Neill 2011). An interview with the director from 2015 on Little White Lies highlights the grim nostalgia of his work and also mentions his close relationship to music: he singles out the shoegaze band Slowdive as being particularly significant (Little White Lies 2025). A gap lies, however, in analysis of the songs in relation to the themes and messages of his work. I look to fill this gap with my audio documentary, providing new insights on how songwriting and production techniques (lyrics, instrumentation) can heighten feelings of tension or misery in scenes of predominantly visual art (cinema). The music of Slowdive, for instance, will likely be one of the examples that I will deconstruct to show how their loud, angsty chords and dour, difficult-to-make-out lyrics affect the themes and feelings portrayed by Araki. In relation to the medium of the audio documentary, I feel that it is criminally underused as an art form. Past literature has examined its origins in radio and early communication, such as Matthew C. Ehrlich’s Radio Utopia: Postwar Audio Documentary in the Public Interest, but a staggering few have capitalized on the creation of an album of “songs” (tracks) that can be played in sequence (like a regular album of music) but does not solely feature music (adding narration and soundbytes to the mix) forming a totally new and different product. I intend to create an audio documentary in that path and fill the gap of other examples that are not The Fire This Time (Ehrlich 2011).

PROJECT DESCRIPTION & SIGNIFICANCE:

I will be creating an audio documentary detailing my analysis of the impact of the film music in Araki’s work in the style of the album The Fire This Time, an examination of the Gulf War that fuses IDM/electronic music with journalistic narration, TV news soundbytes, sound effects, and Iraqi/American testimonies. To mimic this approach, I will be featuring a selection of the songs featured in the films along with narration written and spoken by me that explains my analysis, as well as audio snippets of Araki’s films themselves and possibly interview soundbytes with actors/crew/the director. I feel that this format of delivering journalistic/analytical information while creating an album-like, musical experience of breaking analytical parts down into nearly “song-length” segments backed by instrumentation is appallingly underutilized and wish to bring greater attention to the medium. The documentary will likely feature an introduction where I explore Araki’s history, his films, and their significance in their New Queer Cinema; main analysis where I argue that Araki’s inclusion of chosen music heightens his themes of LGBTQ+ discrimination and the AIDS crisis through the (often queer) musicians’ lyrics, effects, and instrumentation; and a conclusion where I spell out the impacts of Araki’s films and the value that the music and his own work hold today. As a journalism major and documentary consumer, creating pieces like this is absolutely something I see myself doing in the future.

AUDIENCE & IMPACT:

My audio documentary will mainly appeal to those aware of the New Queer Cinema, cinephiles who are fans of Gregg Araki or other queer filmmakers, and people who have seen snapshots of his films on Pinterest or other social media sites (which often accompanied with music from the films when made into edits). These “knowers” will likely have seen or heard of his films and possess a general idea of his subject matter, methods, and style: namely, young, queer protagonists who are “doomed,” shot in an almost comic book, psychedelic style with frequent “needle drops” that often act as diegetic music in the characters’ lives. My project will build off of their knowledge and give them a new insight into Araki’s films, or encourage them to view more of his work. However, I also intend to extend the breadth of my audience and also attract those who are totally unaware of Araki or the New Queer Cinema. This will be done in the introduction segment of my documentary, where I will dive into a brief history of the cinematic era and Gregg Araki’s background, history, and preoccupations. I would like every audience member to come away feeling more informed and more empathetic towards their queer peers and their peers suffering from HIV/AIDS. Arts Scholars has frequently shown me the value of highlighting those that often go voiceless in our society through artistic works, and this piece I feel will satiate that mission.

METHODS:

Methods I will likely utilize to complete my audio documentary include writing, recording, organizing audio and text files, layering audio tracks, mixing audio tracks, clipping and snipping, compiling interview footage, reading film reviews, sending emails, and other tasks. These are more precisely intended for the actual creation process rather than what goes on behind the scenes. In a broader sense, behind the scenes, I will be watching tutorials to see what artists before me have done, finding examples of other audio documentaries to take inspiration from, workshopping my rough drafts with peers to hear their feedback, and constantly editing and attempting to improve my work. These actions act as clarifying steps to confirm that my creation path is the best that I can make it and that I’m evaluating the information and criticisms around me - essential steps in creating a quality piece of art. 

SKILLS:

As a cinema & media studies major, I am skilled in film analysis, film writing, and film criticism. I am able to deconstruct the multitudinous elements of a film and evaluate each one individually to see how they impact a scene - for example, I am able to examine how the pacing of dialogue affects a scene, or how the production design affects a scene. In this case, I will be examining how music affects a scene(s). Additionally, as a journalism major, I am able to create a logical “story” that flows through threads of real information. In this case, a documentary on the music of Gregg Araki films. I would like to become versed in a DAW (digital audio workstation) over the course of the creative process, a tool I will need to become intimately familiar with in order to succeed. Many of my peers through student organizations such as WMUC-FM, the campus radio station, are well versed in these programs, and I can go to them for additional help and information. I will need to plan ahead and allocate time to learning how to use the digital tools before I dive headfirst into the project.

BUDGET:

• Access to audio editing/mixing platform: ranges from free to yearly subscription, $300-500/yr

• Access to sound effects program: ranges from free to yearly subscription, $250-$500/yr

PROJECT GOALS & WORKPLAN:

Main Objective:

Create and finish an audio documentary that examines music’s role in the works of Gregg Araki

Sub Goal 1:

Determine the extended structure of the audio documentary (how will the narration progress?

Sub Goal 2:

Write the narration and decide on what albums/films I will highlight

Sub Goal 3:

Amass music, film footage, audio clips, interview clips, and then sort through them all

Sub Goal 4:

Learn a DAW in and out

Sub Goal 5:

Layer audio tracks and music with the narration to form a cohesive product

Week

Project Goals

Winter Break

(you may break this section down into further increments if desired)

• 
  Consider watching more films in Araki’s oeuvre/rewatch significant entries

• Shop around for different DAWs, skim tutorials, find out which will be the best for my usage

• Additional research

Week 1

• 
  Select a DAW from the list, consider prices

• Begin the tutorials of how to use it, determine best approaches

Week 2

• 
  Continue and complete the tutorials, begin to think about I want to use the tools in the program to enhance my audio documentary

Week 3

• 
  Plan the structure of the narration, create an outline, decide how it will complement audio

Week 4

• 
  Amass audio clips from interviews, audio segments from films, music, etc

Week 5

• 
  Continue week above: collect clips, insert them into outline, consider their location in finished product, begin to write narration

Week 6

• 
  Finish narration, record speaking parts, arrange them in the DAW

Week 7

• 
  Begin to layer audio tracks, arrange audio files in the DAW, maintain organization

Week 8

SPRING BREAK—NO CLASS

Week 9

• 
  Finish layering and arranging elements of extended piece, alter the narration, add extra bits if needed

Week 10

• 
  Break down the extended documentary into “songs,” create smooth transitions between the material

Week 11

• 
  Finalize the mix, send to peers for review

Week 12

• 
  Add final touches, receive final peer feedback

Week 13

Dress Rehearsals

Friday

Arts Fest exhibition and display set up (4pm-6pm) and Opening Night (7:30pm-9pm).  All students expected to attend Opening

Saturday

Arts Festival @ Adele H. Stamp Student Union.  All students expected to participate throughout the day.

ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY:

Rich, B. Ruby. New Queer Cinema: The Director’s Cut. Duke University Press, 2013.

Rich’s seminal critical work examines the waterfall of independent, queer-centric films that emerged in the filmic landscape of the 1990s, positing that the works can be grouped into a genre she named “New Queer Cinema.” One of the most preeminent figures of the New Queer Cinema is director Gregg Araki, who she cites, critiques, and heaps praise upon, shedding (at the time) newfound light on the work of the iconoclastic filmmaker. Important to note is how Rich mentions how important “alt music” is to Araki’s works. This source teaches a lot about the New Queer Cinema landscape as a whole and leaves no stones unturned. Great for background and Araki anecdotes. Many reflections on prevailing critical attitudes of the time, especially in queer circles.

Okada, Jun. Making Asian American Film and Video: Histories, Institutions, Movements. 1st ed. 

Asian American Studies Today. Rutgers University Press, 2015. https://doi.org/10.36019/9780813565033.

Okada’s Making Asian American Film and Video: Histories Institutions, Movements looks at the vast field that is Asian American film and examines what led up to its success and who provided for the opportunities to create — independently or on the hands of the state. As an American filmmaker with Japanese heritage, Araki and his work are mentioned in the book as being part of Asian American cinema with a queer focus. Great additional information on Araki as well as other Asian filmmakers and their films, as well as their sources of funding/inspiration.

Goddard, Michael, Benjamin Halligan, and Nicola Spelman. Resonances: Noise and 

Contemporary Music. Bloomsbury Academic, 2013.

Resonances: Noise and Contemporary Music collects a multitude of essays that deconstruct the meaning of noise and how it has shaped a variety of music genres across popular (and unpopular) culture. Chapter 3, “Shoegaze as the Third Wave: Affective Psychedelic Noise, 1965-91,” by Benjamin Halligan, is most helpful to my project. The chapter dives into how loud and discordant noise, thought by many to be unpleasant or wrong, is used to challenge listeners and push them to reconsider what it means to create loud, abrasive noise, often used in shoegaze music to create a particular mournful, angry atmosphere. Great for the theoretical end of shoegaze music and how it affects emotions through music theory.

Pinkard, Ryan. Shoegaze. Bloomsbury Publishing USA, 2024.

Pinkard’s Shoegaze is an entry in the 33 ⅓ series of books that dive deeply into musical genres, albums, and artists spanning popular culture. He chronicles the short life and fast death of the abrasive genre alongside interviews and revelations about the music’s history, as well as information about shoegaze’s persistence into underground, DIY circles of 21st century rock on and off of college campuses. Superb overview of the genre as a whole and its implications for the future, in addition to covering the emotional side of the musicians and artistic ideas.

Hart, Kylo-Patrick R. Images for a Generation Doomed: The Films and Career of Gregg Araki. 

Lexington Books, 2010.

Hart’s Images for a Generation Doomed: The Films and Career of Gregg Araki is a detailed look specifically at the life, career, and works of Araki. It explores Araki’s (arguably tenuous) connections to the AIDS crisis and his works after the Teenage Wasteland trilogy. Lots and lots of great, useful, hard-to-find information on the director and his influences and artistic choices, as well as Hart’s analysis.

Ehrlich, Matthew C. Radio Utopia: Postwar Audio Documentary in the Public Interest. The 

History of Communication. University of Illinois Press, 2011.

Ehrlich’s Radio Utopia: Postwar Audio Documentary in the Public Interest explores the 

rise of the audio documentary following World War II and its aims to inform and educate the American public during a time of healing and great change. At a time before the cultural stranglehold of television, radio was embraced as the most accessible form of household mass communication, providing a platform for now legendary journalists to combine drama, facts, music, and sound effects to create audio documentaries that engrossed listeners across the nation. Excellent for studying the history of the audio documentary and examining its possibilities 80 years in the future.

O’Neill, Phelim. “Gregg Araki’s Films Are Giving the US a Crash Course in Shoegazing.” Film. 

The Guardian, August 5, 2011. https://www.theguardian.com/film/2011/aug/06/gregg-araki-kaboom-shoegazing.

O’Neill’s article from The Guardian is a fairly in depth (for a newspaper) look at how music (specifically shoegaze) plays a significant role in the films of Araki. The director shares his love for the scene while O’Neill mentions a number of notable bands and the history of the genre. They both highlight how the music compliments the films and how many times special versions of songs were in fact commissioned for a handful of his films. Great general information on the subject, lots of great anecdotes from Araki on how he feels about the music and the role it plays in his work.

Little White Lies. “Gregg Araki: ‘Each Movie I Make Is a Snapshot of a Certain Time.’” 

Accessed October 21, 2025. https://lwlies.com/interviews/gregg-araki-white-bird-in-a-blizzard.

This interview was published following the release of Araki’s film White Bird in a Blizzard from 2014. Araki goes into detail about his love for the band Slowdive and how it inspired elements of his film. He mentions the nostalgia that the music evokes and the youthfulness of the energy. Great for large quotes about Araki’s feelings on specific bands and how they inspired him to create.