Once we were safely at the semi-finals, we had our second blow of the day when the Footnotes – another a cappella group that Aubrey said we did not have to worry about – apparently had a new lead who was amazing. At that point we were faced with the impossible: beating both the Footnotes and the Treblemakers in order to advance to the finals. Once we were on stage, we sang the same old tired set and, I kid you not, the audience started falling asleep.
So in a last-ditch attempt to save our chances I improvised a little bit. All I really did was start singing “Titanium” to mix it with “The Sign” for something a little new. It really was only a one-part harmony to make it a bit more exciting, and it didn’t really mess anybody up. Once we were offstage though, Aubrey let loose. She said I was making it the “Beca show” and that I was trying to sabotage the other Bellas – really? Like, she had to of been joking. AND to top it all off she accused me of hooking up with Jesse – a Treblemaker – and thus breaking that silly oath! Obviously I haven’t been, but she had the nerve to call me out just then, when of course the Treblemakers were passing by so Jesse could jump in and try to defend me! So, I snapped at him again.
I don’t need Jesse, and I surely don’t need the Bellas.
So, I quit. I can find some other way to buy my time at Barden for my dad. Besides, I don’t care about the Bellas. Right?
As another test of their knightly a cappella abilities, the next level of the competition is crucial for the Bellas, and Beca, to advance to the finals. The tension amid Aubrey and Beca in this entry is the culmination of the quest expectation seen throughout this entire quest, the experienced verses the inexperienced/innocent knight. Aubrey has had familiarity with the a cappella community and competition, whereas Beca is naturally gifted musically. Their fight after the performance is that tension being vocalized – from a methodological standpoint this power struggle could have only been produced through performance and competition. Beca was the first to strike while they were performing, and Aubrey counter-attacked while the competition was still not finalized – she did not know whether or not Beca’s improvisations had hurt their chances to win. As discussed in class, the protagonist in the Story of the Grail is unclear: is it Gawain or Perceval? Seen here, it is unclear who the leader should be, Aubrey or Beca? The women diverge from the quest literature because Aubrey is the Arthur figure, rather than the Gawain figure.
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