The main discourse in The Great Train Robbery was embodied through visual means. The score of the film provided viewers with peaks of emotion through climactic changes in the music's tone. John H. Lawson defined movies as audiovisual texts, relying on visual and audio means to establish meaning. This was upheld in The Great Train Robbery, as each scene presented through visual means was accompanied with music that radiated emotion.
The establishing shot in the train stations office upheld a meandering theme, setting the groundwork for what would be the most neutral scene as well as music. The smoothly orchestrated song quickened pace while becoming more ridged when the film cut to the second shot.
Looking ahead to when the hostages are being counted, a tame melody accompanies this harmless task, the flute and oboe as utilized as counterparts playfully intermingling with each other until one hostage attempts to escape. The music takes an emotionally rallying tone, with a melody which is initially established with the execution of a hostage.

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During our class discussion today, one thing in particular stood out in my mind: music as a language. Questions and opinions were tossed about in debate as to whether or not music is capable of being substituted for a language while maintaining its significance. Professor Whalen summed up his response to a student's question by stating that, "It's difficult to substitute music for dialogue without somehow first 'programming' it with a meaning."

Without a visual, or some other means of making the point clear, it is very difficult to what is going on by relying on a music note or a song as a character or event. A great example of music being potentially misinterpreted would be to listen to the score from "The Great Train Robbery". Without watching the motion picture, one would never realize from the score that a train robbery is taking place. Even while looking at the video, the score seems odd when compared to the events taking place.

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I have just finished watching The Great Train Robbery (1903). I have never seen it before, nor have I seen many silent movies in general. What struck me most about this short film is everything that happens in approximately ten minutes without a single bit of dialogue. Moreover, I was struck by how clearly it was portrayed. I never found myself confused as to what was happening, which surprised me since dialogue was absent. I am an avid reader, and I find dialogue to be an essential element of just about every book I have read. This makes sense considering the form of the narrative being used. With film, however, I am beginning to sense a flexibility absent in books. The story portrayed in a book is limited to the text, whereas a story can be told in a variety of different ways in film--using visual, audio, and speaking elements, but not necessarily each one of those elements at one time.

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