A Jukebox is more than just a beautiful piece of machinery

A Jukebox is more than just a beautiful piece of machinery that can play incredible music: it is an icon of the splendour of the era when they were most popular, in the 1940s and 1950s. There is nothing like a jukebox to set the tone and belt out some of your favourite tunes. However, a good quality jukebox is also perfect to set the scene for amazing moments, and that is why, if you look carefully, you will often see jukeboxes in the corners of famous films!

Some of the films that jukeboxes appear in are key to the plot. Great examples of these include the musical Grease, where the jukebox is a central part of the place that all the kids go to every day after school. You also see this in the time-travelling epic film Back to the Future. Another example of this is in the film Sister Act, when the rebellious nuns decide that during one of their breaks for freedom, they’ve just got to have a dance.

Other jukeboxes appear in films that allow the story to really move forward. For example, in the film 27 Dresses, it is not until the two main characters sing and dance together to a sing they pick on a jukebox that they truly realise their feelings for each other. A similar thing happens in the pilot film Top Gun. At the end of the film, just when everything seems lost, it is the comforting sound of a jukebox playing their favourite song that brings the two lovers back together.

There are obviously cases in movies where the jukebox is just a feature of the background. Brilliant examples of this include Catch Me If You Can, Golden Girls, Rain Man, and The Dark Knight. Television also shows a deep love of the jukebox, and many television series include a jukebox as part of their set. If you are eagle eyed enough, you can see a jukebox in the corner of some episodes of Doctor Who, Friends, and Family Guy.

So why do we think so many films and television shows include a jukebox within their scenes? Well, there are many reasons, but the main one is probably because there is nothing that can beat a good honest jukebox sound. It releases something child-like and happy within all of us, and what is not to love about that?