To me, turning a historical figure or classic literature texts into modern day film
with upbeat soundtracks, good looking cast, although it would be an insult to those “stick in the muds” i say GO FOR IT! Sometimes the words in musty old books, no matter how brilliant the language, and narrative… still can’t beat AUDIO AND VISUAL PLEASURE!!
I mean people, will watch the movie, fall in love with the soundtrack not to mention… and at the same time, they may get interested and hopefully research up on it, learn more and in a way,the film has managed to get one more person to be interested in world history…
More directors should try to convert historical epics or “dry boring” lit classics into pieces of well ”pop movies” like “pop art and pop music” to get the general population to tune in…one never knows what will come out of it!
On the note about music…i think Baz Lurhman’s
moulin rouge
and 
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0117509/
are GREAT examples of movies based histories/text combined with modern day changes and music…you get a hit!:)
As written in the second reading “The issue is not how a particular piece of music or performance reflects a people but how it produces them, how it creates and constructs an experience-a musical experience-an aesthetic experience-that we can only make sense of by taking on both a subjective and collective identity”
And ”According to Frith, these “moods” are internal qualities of music, but they learned and signified through emotional, cultural and dramatic codes (qualitites of ”matter” and “mind” go together)
Films like Marie Antoniette, Moulin Rouge, Romeo Juliet have elaborate sets, colorful costumes, major sensory experience but most importantly the sound track keeps the movie going!
[...] Cognitive: More directors should try to convert historical epics or “dry boring” lit classics into [...]