"Across the Universe" Incorporates Revisionist Narrative

The 2007 revisionist musical “Across the Universe” incorporates thirty-three Beatles numbers into a storyline celebrating the counter-culture of the 1960s and posing a social critique of the Vietnam War. Protagonist Lucy is a bright-eyed, innocent schoolgirl thriving in suburbia until her boyfriend dies at war. Devastated by his death, Lucy resolves to go to New York City to spend the summer with her brother Max and his friend Jude. Jude is also doing some soul-searching in NYC after travelling from England to America to explore his father’s roots only to discover that his father has started a family. Lucy and Jude, who initially met when Max brought Jude home for Thanksgiving, bond quickly, reveling in each other and the psychedelic spirit that NYC offers them. However, when Max, who has dropped out of college, gets drafted into the army, the carefree dynamic between Lucy and Jude shifts. Lucy starts working as a waitress and spends her spare time engaging in anti-war protests. Jude, on the other hand, is perfectly content to remain in the apartment they previously shared with Max and a host of other colorful hippie-like characters and cultivate his artwork. Jude grows steadily jealous of a protest organizer that Lucy works closely with, and eventually storms into the protest headquarters to confront him. Jude and the protest organizer get into a fight, prompting Lucy to leave Jude. Jude attempts to intervene and save Lucy from a protest that gets out of hand, but ultimately gets arrested himself and is deported back to England. Lucy becomes disheartened by the violent tactics her fellow protesters are using to make an impact, and severs ties with the protest organizer. Jude sees in the paper that some protesters Lucy was involved with were killed after trying to craft homemade bombs, and believes that Lucy is dead. However, Max, who has recently returned home from the war with profuse psychological damage, reaches out to Jude in a daydream sequence and assures him that Lucy is alive, encouraging Jude to return to the United States. At the end of the movie, Lucy and Jude reunite.

“Across the Universe” proves a revisionist musical in its distinctive narrative. Classical Hollywood musicals follow a linear sequence of events and adhere to a formulaic storyline. “42^nd Street,” for example, follows the typical backstage musical storyline, outlining the struggles of a group of actors, directors and producers to produce a successful show and incorporating romantic plotlines. “Across the Universe,” on the other hand, is episodic. The musical weaves together several characters’ unique experiences through a variety of spontaneous musical sequences. “Across the Universe” even infuses psychedelic, drug-induced musical numbers that deviate entirely from the plotline in nonsensical bursts of color. The musical further deviates from the Classical Hollywood musical narrative by adding cultural critiques to the typical romantic storyline. The film uses the Vietnam War as an allegory to denounce the Iraq War by demonstrating war’s radical impact on young generations, whereas a movie like “42^nd Street” serves no greater purpose than to entertain audiences with a trivial love story. Thus, “Across the Universe” boasts a revisionist interpretation of the Classical Hollywood musical.