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Racism in west side story
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The music in West Side Story expresses the real feeling of how people felt about each other from The Jets Song” to “ Officer K”. If you listen closely to the songs lyrics you can hear about topics of segregation and racism in them changing the meaning of the songs and the whole musical. Just like the song “ A Boy Like That” Anita sings the lyrics that goes “ one of your own kind/ Stick with your own kind” (YOUTUBE). In the song she indicates that she doesn't approve of Maria’s choice of falling in love with Tony ,an american boy ,“ He'll murder your love/ He murder mine” especially when the gang he was involved killed her brother. She is saying how can you chose someone who is in a gang that killed your brother if he can murder someone then
The live theatrical production I chose to see was 9 to 5 The Musical. The production was performed by Fayetteville Technical Community College’s very own Fine Arts Department. The musical is based on the film released by Fox in 1980. Collin Higgins adapted the film from the book 9 to 5 written by Patricia Resnick. It wasn’t until 2008 that the film was adapted to a theatrical production. The production was originally brought to broadway by Robert Greenbait and Dolly Parton wrote the lyrics and the music for the Musical. The run on broadway was very short but the production later toured in other countries around the around the world.
The Wiz is a musical/movie released in 1978 that was an adaptation of the popular film “Wizard of Oz”. It included several very popular stars of the time, which were Diana Ross, Michael Jackson and Nipsey Russell. The movie set place in New York City where the main character, Dorothy, suddenly is swept by a tornado in the middle of a snowstorm. She later then found herself lost in a city she had no clue about and curious as to how she could return home. After meeting 3 other characters during her journey that share similarities, they all embarked on a trip to OZ to fix each of their problems. Throughout the movie characters apply their own soundtrack through singing songs in harmony that compliment the mood of each scene.
In 1949, choreographer Jerome Robbins decided to retell Brooke and Shakespeare’s romantic tragedy using song and dance, elements of racism and nationalism, and a modern vernacular. Robbins called upon the musical talents of composer Leonard Bernstein and the words of Arthur Laurents for the script and book. The love story proved to have universal appeal throughout all artistic forms, as it had already been adjusted for opera and ballet. The contemporary adaptation of this timeless classic alters details and deepens the message of hatred, but maintains Brooke and Shakespeare’s vision. The relationships between the characters, plot sequence, and theme of hatred in West Side Story and Romeo and Juliet intertwine resulting in two similar, yet varying versions of the most famous love story of all time.
Granted, instead of tension between feuding families (Montaguesand Capulets), West Side Story offers prejudice between races, as illustrated between street gangs (Jets and Sharks). Some of the characters in West Side Story are carbon copies of those in Romeo and Juliet: Maria (Juliet), Tony (Romeo), Bernardo (Tybalt), Lt. Schrank (Prince), and Anita (Nurse). Others appear to be a composite of characters, namely Riff, a combination of Benvolio and Mercutio, and Doc, who appears to fulfill the role of Friar Laurence (possessed somewhat of a peacekeeping nature: "You couldn't play basketball?", he asks, when informed of their upcoming "war council" [Laurents 57]) yet, at the same time, it is implied (in the film version, not the play) that he is a pharmacist, and there was, after all, an apothecary in Romeo and Juliet . The tomboyish Anybodys, a Jet wannabe, would best fit into the role of Balthasar (although Doc's character fits into this role marginally, as well), since it was she who aided Tony in escaping after the rumble (which resulted in the d...
Romeo and Juliet is a classic, well known tale, and has been remade in almost every form of media. Two star-crossed lovers, torn apart by fate-- an iconic, tragic love story. One of the most popular remakes is West Side Story, a musical turned movie. With catchy tunes, an amazing cast, and dances like works of art, it quickly picked up a large following, and is now almost just as popular as the original itself. What isn’t well known is that the movie is extremely close to the original play, and is probably the most accurate retelling of Romeo and Juliet. Most of the characters, themes, and even scenes are almost identical, mostly keeping Shakespeare’s original meaning. West Side Story has a new element the original didn’t have-- racism, which affects the story in little ways. One of the main characters, Maria, who is meant to be Juliet, is exactly like her counterpart. Tony, who is meant to be Romeo, is different in many ways. The iconic balcony scene is kept the same, of course. No Romeo and Juliet retelling is complete without it.
The musicals that were produced around that time period were meant to be strictly for entertainment, for the most part. It was a very brave move for the creative team of this musical to tackle themes like racism, violence, and death. The risk definitely paid off, because even today West Side Story still remains a very popular musical. The main message that this show is trying to convey to the audience is that it shouldn’t take a horrible tragedy to finally unite people. Just because someone may not look the same way you do, or act the same way, or share your same belief system, that doesn’t mean you have to be fearful of them. Instead we should try our hardest to embrace the fact that this world would be a very boring place without a little diversity, and it’s ok to celebrate the things that make us
West Side Story is set in the late 1950’s and portrays the times and racism found in New York City caused by the immigration at the time. The song found during this scene, ‘America’ jokingly represents the current situation. The scene shows the Sharks with their girlfriends comparing the advantages of Puerto Rico and the United States when Anita argues with Bernardo that he is too overprotective of Maria. There are two groups- Bernardo and the other boys and Anita and the other girls have an argument whilst singing and dancing trying to prove whether America or Puerto Rico is better.
During the nineteen thirties and nineteen forties a certain style of music became very popular. This style of music became known as "swing". It was performed using rhythmic 'riffs' and is referred to a style of dance and band arrangements. America maintained swing's popularity throughout the World War Two years when both large and small ensembles toured Army and Navy camps both at home and abroad. At home, swing was heard at bond sale rallies and community concerts. The new sub-culture of women workers also adapted boogie-woogie and other novelty and jive styles.
West Side Story tells the tale of a battle between two street gangs in New York, both competing to be the best, while also incorporating the impossible love between two people destined to hate each other, which ends in tragedy. The streets of New York are ran by an American gang
On September 28th, 1791, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart completed his second to last piece with the support of Emanuel Schikaneder, a well known theatrical figure. The premiere took place two days after Mozart completed this work (Kennedy Center). The Magic Flute, one of Mozart’s most praised works, is an enduring allegory about the dichotomy of good versus evil. This well-known opera tells the story of a young prince who searches for true love, while another character, Papageno, acquires pleasures such as food and wine to gain happiness (Sherrane).
The play West Side Story takes place in a suburb on the West Side of
Upon an initial examination of William Shakespeare’s play, The Merchant of Venice, a reader is provided with superficial details regarding the moral dilemmas embedded in the text. Further analysis allows a reader to recognize the multi-faceted issues each character faces as an individual in response to his or her surroundings and/or situations. Nevertheless, the subtle yet vital motif of music is ingrained in the play in order to offer a unique approach to understanding the plot and its relationship with the characters. Whether the appearance of music be an actual song or an allusion to music in a mythological or social context, the world of Venice and Belmont that Shakespeare was writing about was teeming with music. The acceptance or denunciation
The best Disney’s movie to watch as a family is The Lion King. The Lion King is for all ages. This movie talks about our society. Some of the themes, coming of age, society and class, still affects us. Even the music affects us in so many ways, that you are speechless. This movie has a lot of african music. The music of The Lion King has improvisation and call and response which makes the music in the movie even better. Now enough of the movie lets talk about the music.
Some people may say that West Side Story and Romeo and Juliet are different, but that’s not true. West Side Story is an interpretation of Romeo and Juliet’s Balcony scene because they both talk about the sun, moon and the stars, in both someone like Maria's father and Juliet's nurse is constantly calling to them when they are on the balcony and finally the both confess their undying love to one another.
The Magic Flute, written in 1791, was made just 3 months before Mozart's death. The Magic Flute was composed as a specific form of opera called Singspiel, which means “sing and talk”. To sum up, it includes both spoken monologue and dialog in addition to sung recitatives, arias and ensemble pieces. The text in The Magic Flute was written in German by an old friend of Mozart names Emanuel Schikaneder. Mozart’s creation of The Magic Flute became one of the most popular examples of Singspiel opera. The pitch some of the characters were able to reach were extremely impressive in the performance. For example, the queen of the night in “Der Holle Rache” was able to reach some extremely impressive pitches in the performance. It's weird that such