Editing and Music Choices
One thing that the Spider-Man movies do so well, so subtly, is the usage of editing and technical design as a mode of rhetoric. Upon re-watch, it must be noticed that the three films utilize very distinct technical design choices that reflect the aesthetics of the 2000s. At a time when rock music, low-rise jeans, and flats were standard in the fashion realm, the Spider-Man franchise seamlessly wove itself into the fabric of social society. This immediate transcendence into popular culture is what cements Spider-Man as a household name and cable network staple. The three Spider-Man movies are able to merge into popular culture with such ease due to the technical editing choices made in the production of the film. In Spider-Man, classic movie-making techniques such as camera movements and original scores with specially picked music features.
Throughout the Spider-Man movies, the movement of the camera enables the audience to become more involved in the movie. For example, in all movies, the fight scenes consist of the camera moving along with the webbing so that the audience follows Spider-Man as he moves throughout the city. This contrasts with certain modern-day cinematography where the camera would rest in a still position to watch Spider-Man swing. This almost hands-on cinematography style brings the audience into the film, into the swing with Peter Parker. The cinematography also utilizes light and color to create tone as it switches from scene to scene. In Spider-Man 2, scenes with Aunt May are normally yellow and bright in color, whereas scenes in the office with J. Jonah Jameson are blue and darker in color. This changing of colors allows for connections to pathos, as the audience is able to associate changes in mood and feeling with color.
Spider-Man would not be the franchise that it is today without the iconic score organized by Danny Elfman. The score creates the whole mood and excitement for the movie, draws the audience in, and creates emotion at times where there otherwise would be none. The score hypnotizes the audience and engrosses them in the actions that play across the silver screen. The score transforms Spider-Man into the legitimate and righteous hero he claims to be. The music added on and created by other popular artists of the time, acts to create bonds with the audience and the movie itself. The inclusion of bands such as Sum 41, Aerosmith, Snow Patrol, and Train appeals to the audience's knowledge of popular culture and connections with music. The bands and songs included in the movies reflect the trends of the time as they follow the genres of rock and the alternative boom of the time.
The design and editing choices that follow these movies appeal to audiences because they reflect what was popular at the time. There are no jarring transitions from scene to scene, nor inventive music being placed in intimate sequences. The editing choices made were non-controversial and mainstream, allowing it to be a time capsule of the early 2000s and a staple film that transcends time and trends to proliferate nostalgia.