Incidental music in film is background music that enhances the mood and emotional impact of a scene without being part of the story's world. In the movies, the characters are not assumed to be hearing it.
Just as on the screen, life’s incidental music could create atmosphere and highlight action, emphasising key moments, such as a sudden shift in music to signal danger.
Only unlike in the films, where the characters don’t hear the music, I want to hear it. It would have been so useful the other day, for instance, when I went into my bathroom only to find one frog trying to squeeze up through the drain, and another one trying and failing to scale the toilet bowl. The music from Hitchcock’s ‘Psycho’ shower scene would have sufficed here.
It isn’t that I am scared of frogs necessarily, it is just that they are not warm and relatable like Kermit from The Muppet Show. Instead, they are small, scaly and in my case menacing.
On The Muppet Show, Kermit was a kind of pragmatic Everyman protagonist of the numerous Muppet productions. My two were like scouts ahead of a hostile takeover.
Had there been incidental music playing, I would have had less of a shock, as the tune would have warned me that something was horribly wrong.Instead, I was left thinking that some sort of biblical Aaron figure had been stretching his walking stick and hands over my humble abode, just like the plague of frogs in the Book of Exodus.
For those who have no reason to know this Old Testament tale, Aaron was the mysterious, witch doctor-type brother of Moses of the 10 Commandments fame. Some sources suggest that Aaron may have been raised in Pharaoh's palace and so knew the ins and outs of the sorcery or whatever was practised there.
The Bible describes the frog invasion of Egypt as a divine event. However, less suggestible types like scholars argue that the frogs were a natural phenomenon caused by the flooding of the River Nile and Aaron was just lucky.
The biblical plague, we are told, occurred after Pharaoh refused to release the Israelites, and involved frogs swarming the land, entering homes and even invading the palace.
As far as I am aware, there is nobody I am holding hostage in any way, shape or form. And so if it is a spell from somebody out there, may I suggest you have the wrong number? It sure as heck wasn’t me.
Anyway, after feeling very targeted for a day or so, three friends of mine in different parts of the country also reported a similar infestation of frogs. So now I am left wondering if it was a national curse, a coincidence or just my friends and I being singled out for some sort of scare.
But who would have the resources, the diabolical mind and the time and effort to target me and these pals of mine? Also, what did we do to deserve this sort of punishment?
Anyway, I don’t believe any of us separately or together are that important to anyone. My logical mind, aided by a bit of Internet research, tells me that “frogs enter houses seeking shelter, moisture or food, and are often attracted by lights that draw in insects. They also enter through pipes and drains, or slip in through open doors and windows”.
Meanwhile, I have now discovered that to prevent home invasions by frogs, I should get the handyman where I live to work with the gardener to seal cracks and fix whatever leaky pipes there may be. We should also try and manage moisture around my flat as best we can.
As a bonus, it would be great if any insect infestations were addressed while they were at it. Lest we forget, the Book of Exodus also mentions a plague of insects, which included swarms of flies, gnats and a massive swarm of locusts. May the ancestors forbid this.
