Film music as a guide in complex temporal narratives : An analysis of the narrative function of Hans Zimmer’s film music in Inception (2010) and Interstellar (2014)

Sammanfattning: This thesis analyses Hans Zimmer’s film music in Inception (2010) and Interstellar (2014) that resulted from his collaboration with director Christopher Nolan. The focus lies on the narrative and temporal functions that film music can attain when used in temporal complex narratives. The analysis looks into how time is presented, manipulated, and connected through the music. Three aspects that are examined are: 1) how musical motifs function as a guide for understanding narrative themes, 2) how music gives temporal clarity within a narrative, and 3) how sound design contributes to an understanding of the temporal structure of the narrative. This thesis offers more insight into how music can function temporally, a subject worthy of more academic attention. It concludes that Zimmer’s “minimalistic maximalism” style and his creative process with Nolan are essential to how the music of Inception and Interstellarfunctions.