The Moonlight Sonata in Resident Evil

A detailed Summary of The Moonlight Sonata in Resident Evil

The music of Beethoven is still around with us today, even one hundred and seventy-two years after his death. When we think of classical music the name Beethoven comes to mind. movies, television, even video games use Beethoven's music to exploit the emotions that the music conjures up and connects these feelings to a product, situation, etc. While playing a video game I stumbled on one of many examples where Beethoven's music is used. In the video game, Resident Evil on Sony Playstation, the finding and playing of thirty seconds from the first movement of Piano Sonata, Op 27 No. 2 also known as the "Moonlight" Sonata opens a secret passageway for the player.

The plot of Resident Evil is to find the rest of your crew in a haunted house filled with zombies. To keep from being eaten you have to shoot the zombies before they get close to you. This is one of the many games considered to be influencing children toward violence. In the very first level of the game we find a room with the sheet music that the player plays on the piano. While the excerpt is being played we see and hear the thunder and lightning in the background. In this example, Beethoven's "Moonlight" Sonata is used to gi

story begins and ends with the first movement. Beethoven was trying to break away from the more formal structure of Haydn.

The creators could have used other pieces of music to control our mood. Yet they chose the "Moonlight" Sonata because of its popularity and simplistic interpretation. The first movement of the "Moonlight" Sonata is used in many venues of entertainment so even those not familiar with classical music quickly picks it up and is able to dissect out the tortured feelings that the movement invokes. The audience seems to be happy with only knowing the introduction of Beethoven's story. The first movement is just so powerful it overwhelms the rest of the piece. So the average high school video game player is able to recognize the piece instantly.

The violence in the media has been mainstreamed after the recent school shootings. Resident Evil is one of many video games being blamed for the bloodshed. Advocates against violence in the media have categorized Resident Evil as being violent. So should the "Moonlight" Sonata be considered violent? Music like all forms of art is subject to interpretation. In many works of Beethoven, he has violent movements, like the rage of storm. But we would never say that Beethoven's music would invoke violence. Rap music is considered violent because of its explicit lyrics and has been charged with invoking violence. So why is it that Beethoven is not censored as ra

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Approximate Word count = 969
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: Music