The movie, “Twenty Feet From Stardom,” was released in 2013. It focuses on the careers of backup singers, who have shared their voices to support some of the greatest artists of the past several decades. The film is an interview-based documentary. From the film, we meet a serious of amazing and talented vocalists, such as Darlene Love, the first black backup singer; Merry Clayton, a lead backup singer; Lisa Fisher, Tata Vega, and Judith Hill. They all share their stories of enjoyment, happiness, or even struggles in making music with others. There is no doubt on the fact that backup singers take very low credit, sometimes even no credit at all. They often just go there and make the thing sound great, and then go home quickly. It is even worse that sometimes people do not want to pay …show more content…
I knew just a little about American music. This music documentary can be one of the best sources for me to learn more about American music and cultures. In addition, I did not know much about backup singers because they are not very visible, and they are used less and less today. However, after watching this movie, I started to know more about the backup singers and realize that they are important elements featured in a song. Moreover, I really enjoy the songs in the film, they are all full of spirit. Furthermore, I would suggest that the filmmakers should focus on the male backup singers as well. The whole film basically just spotlights on female backup singers. I believe it would be better if it includes male backup singers. Also, the film refers to the relationship between female backup singers and male soloists but does not explore the relationship between female backup singers and female soloists. All in all, I would recommend this film for people who want to get to know more about the music industry. Also, it is a fascinating documentary for people to learn about backup singers. It is a joy to watch this
The movie is very clever, the plan for the sting is very tricky and surprising to the viewer. Hill shows us most of the plan but leaves out small parts for an ending surprise. Johnny and Henry are very witty and smart, they make us like them from the very beginning and they keep it up until the end. The two con-men meet on behalf of the death of a mutual friend. Before Johnny's friend died he told him of a great man who could teach him to work the big con. The great man is referring to Henry and the big con is something larger that pickpocketing and small tricks. Listening to the music gives you the idea of exactly the type of film it is. The Entertainer is played many times throughout the film and is the perfect song. The song fits the pace of the movie and it shows that it is both fun and serious.
... While watching them I am able to learn more about the life an artist had before they became famous as well as their life while they were becoming more successful. These types of films also allow people to have a deeper understanding of the artist’s music. As we saw in the movie, Etta James had a personal connection to the song “ All I do is Cry”, which I would not have known without seeing this film. I think films like Cadillac records allow people to understand musicians a bit better because the audience can actually see what their life was like.
In the book, Half The Sky, author’s Nicholas D. Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn bring to light the oppression of women in the developing world. Anecdotal stories, filled with sadness, anger and hope, collected after years of reporting, depict just a few examples of this global struggle for women. At the end of their book organizations are listed, in alphabetical order, in hopes of creating a starting point for people to further support women in developing countries. With so many organization doing great work to empower women it becomes difficult to decide where money should be distributed. As a grant manager it is important to take a closer look at each of the organizations and their work to better assess where the money should go. However, the
The documentary is narrated by Tony Bennett and includes footage of Ella Fitzgerald singing in concerts all over the world and live interview recordings of her and of her close friends and family.
But lets put that to the side for a second and talk about the show. With fans bellied up against the stage, Buell’s performance became a combination of a deadly backing band (She has stripped it down to a solid four piece) and her believable experience and self-confidence. Watching her grinding the mic stand, I could only wonder which icon was responsible for teaching her th...
Despite the negatives the film to me also had some positives as well. I loved how the director showed the many scenes of people and the scenes of farming as well as dust. Even though there was a lot of music the style went well with the pictures and helped with some of the pictures that were put in there as well. Overall the documentary to me was not so good
I truly enjoyed the movie, because of how honest it is about how people struggle, but never give up. It is a story of family and perseverance that is heart wrenching. I would completely endorse this movie and push it to be in the curriculum in the future. My hope is that students continue to over fill your class as you aloud me to do this semester. The movie explains so much of Deaf Culture that the standard population could really use to know. Which is probably why I whish the movie was more common in movie rental places, Hulu and other video cites. It is a fantastic movie with a fantastic message.
Auditions are the pride of music television and the bane of every auditionee. Every time you open up your browser, the latest and greatest news on our favorite contestants riddles the headlines. Whether it be The Voice, all the way down to the recently-ended American Idol series, we all enjoy a good story of success. Musicals, plays, and operas follow a similar grueling tryout process but typically miss the headlines due to a more local influence, rather than national. The harsh reality that auditionees face, however, is something to be noted. Carol Wolfe (The Soprano, 93), and Diana Griffith (The Contestant, 105) are just two examples of how similar, and different, the branches of the music industry are. While Wolfe resides in New York, Griffith goes to Philly; two major auditioning and performing art cities. New York features a variety of artistic license from Broadway to the CBGB's mentioned in The Frontman (163). Philly, however, welcomes the influence of The Voice, the late American Idol, and The Big Bad Musical, and interactive comedic play in where the audience participates in deciding the events.
When my mom asked if I wanted to see this year’s Lakeside musical, I honestly was a bit unwilling. It’s not that I didn’t want to support my two or three friends up on stage and in the crew; I just don’t have a very good track record with high school performances. I’m a critic: I have always been very critical of myself, and very critical of others. I unwittingly judge the actors onstage, and end up feeling guilty because I probably could have done no better. On top of this warped superiority/inferiority was the nature of the musical they were performing; all throughout third grade I had been obsessed with the movie-musical Hairspray. I knew all the songs, most of the lines, and wasn’t sure if anyone could top Queen Latifah. But I was mistaken.
The most important events of this film all revolve around the female characters. While there are some male charac...
Have you ever heard a song once and was never able to get the tune out of your head no matter how hard you tried? I know that has happened to me on several occasions. Whether we enjoy the songs or not, there is something about music within popular culture that drives the American public wild. Sadly, for quite sometime the music industry was largely closed off to women. Of course there were obvious exceptions to this, since talented female artists have existed through the ages, but on the whole there were not many female artists that got a lot of airplay and certainly none were considered significantly influential in the music industry.
Their playing together were nicely insync with each other. It wasn’t badly off key or anything you might call music that isn’t insync. I specifically liked katie’s singining better than Jim’s. Larry’s ws alright. He sang one song a little better than alright at one point. But she sound like she had a perfect country music voice. I just thought of country music when I heard her. Her guiltar playing fit well with that thought too. Both of them played some of country music song. The last performances were Oren, Gabriel & Avery, a trio of people which consists of two men playing guiltars and a woman who sang. One was a steel guitar. One of the men sang as well. Their voices were okay. But what I really like the best about the group is their
Beyoncé first started singing when she was 7 years old on “Star” a famous show for finding people with talent like “American idol”. In 1990 she started a group called “Gyrls Tyme” with Kelly Rowland, LeToya Luckett, and LaTavia Roberson. Beyoncé’s father quit his job in 1996 to make her most famous group “Destiny’s Child” and a record deal for “Columbia Records”. The group’s second album “The writing on the Wall” hit No.6 on the “Billboard” After hit singles “Say my name” and “Jumpin, Jumpin”. Apart from music, the singing sensation also launched her acting career with her 2001 debut film Carmen: A Hip Hopera. Beyoncé’s musical career along with other major and minor assignments has made her one of the wealthiest celebrities in the world. Be...
In Bright Star, Keats utilises a mixture of the Shakespearean and Petrarchan sonnet forms to vividly portray his thoughts on the conflict between his longing to be immortal like the steadfast star, and his longing to be together with his love. The contrast between the loneliness of forever and the intenseness of the temporary are presented in the rich natural imagery and sensuous descriptions of his true wishes with Fanny Brawne.
Movie stars. They are celebrated. They are perfect. They are larger than life. The ideas that we have formed in our minds centered on the stars that we idolize make these people seem inhuman. We know everything about them and we know nothing about them; it is this conflicting concept that leaves audiences thirsty for a drink of insight into the lifestyles of the icons that dominate movie theater screens across the nation. This fascination and desire for connection with celebrities whom we have never met stems from a concept elaborated on by Richard Dyer. He speculates about stardom in terms of appearances; those that are representations of reality, and those that are manufactured constructs. Stardom is a result of these appearances—we actually know nothing about them beyond what we see and hear from the information presented to us. The media’s construction of stars encourages us to question these appearances in terms of “really”—what is that actor really like (Dyer, 2)? This enduring query is what keeps audiences coming back for more, in an attempt to decipher which construction of a star is “real”. Is it the character he played in his most recent film? Is it the version of him that graced the latest tabloid cover? Is it a hidden self that we do not know about? Each of these varied and fluctuating presentations of stars that we are forced to analyze create different meanings and effects that frame audience’s opinions about a star and ignite cultural conversations.