Henry Jackman's Captain America: The Winter Soldier
In this post, I will be interpreting the score of Henry Jackman’s Captain America: The Winter Soldier. This theme is a combination of a few themes from the MCU film and is basically the main suite. Since this is the first post in the Music section of my website, I will explain what I do here. Basically, I go through a musical piece from a film score and explain what I interpret the music expresses to me or what it may intend to the audience. Let’s dive in.
The music begins with a serious tone. For the first 15 seconds, it teases what’s about to come then hits us with a strong tune that establishes that this film is not messing around. It’s signifying and representing the impressive power of S.H.I.E.L.D and what it stands for the protection of humanity. It is appropriately used when Nick Fury shows Steve the impressive might of the 3 Helicarriers that are intended to be used for Project Insight. As S.H.I.E.L.D. is a powerful agency just like the C.I.A. and the F.B.I., it needs a theme that means business, to watch out and fear and respect it. It’s not an authority organization that will be pushed around. It holds a reputation.
Then, at just about 50 seconds in, the tune changes. Rightly so, as it is a political/conspiracy spy-thriller, the tune doesn’t become quite ‘sinister’ so to speak but it begins to bring doubt. Doubt about the trust in S.H.I.E.L.D. . Something is hiding under the skin but we don’t know what. It makes us paranoid. There’s something more going on in the shadows than we thought. The old enemy has resurfaced and they need to be stopped. It’s the spirit and legacy of the Strategic Scientific Reserve to protect and defend humanity vs the spirit and legacy of Red Skull’s idea of domination and absolute power through Hydra.
Then the piano hits at 2:52. The emotional section. This part symbolizes Bucky. The friend that Steve lost in WW2. He’s still in there somewhere as we saw when the music played as Bucky pulled Steve out of the Potomac. All that Bucky knows is that he knows the man somehow at this very point. He doesn’t know his name or that they are friends. There is a tinge of sadness that represents the man that longs to be who he was yet is lost but goes on a journey of self-discovery.
At around 3:40, the tempo picks up speed and plays the same tune as the beginning half but more dramatically. The theme repeats itself as the tune crescendos then at 4:40 and for a full minute up to 5:40, an instrument in the brass family (either French horns or trumpets) come in and play longing notes (I don’t know exactly which ones but I’m gonna take a good guess it’s around 5) that signify the sombre truth that there’s been evil sowed and reaped inside this organization that was supposed to represent good and coming to terms with it. They were overtaken by the enemy and nobody saw it coming which is why they are deer caught in headlights and puppies with their tails between their legs. They feel shocked that nobody could have seen this coming and know something has to be done. At 5:45, the violins (or some other instrument in the violin family) go up an octave symbolizing the high stakes of taking down this enemy and the consequences of what will happen if they don’t and the brass play ever so dramatically and louder than before.
At 6:40 begins my favourite part of the piece. The reality that not all is at it seems and the good guys need to come together to take this threat down. This is the culmination of two sides of a coin, as Baron Von Strucker put it- S.H.I.E.L.D. and Hydra. Two organizations born from the Second World War and representing absolute opposite ideals. One’s mission is to take people’s freedoms while the other wishes to protect and preserve those freedoms. S.H.I.E.L.D. may be gone but there will always be those who fight to protect and will stand up to Hydra as long as they exist which I am sure that they still do. Just because the big dogs are gone, doesn’t mean there aren’t still worms underground working in the dark.