This chaptertraces the connections between a prevailing mode of “authenticity” in Cecil B. DeMille’s 1956 film The Ten Commandments and the music Elmer Bernstein wrote for the film. It describes how Bernstein’s musical score for the riot around the Golden Calf created the necessary orgiastic impression and how DeMille’s narration created the distance that freed the scene from any risk of censorly reproach. It also considers the devotional and political elements of the film and its religious and social impact.
