Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
Importance of masks in african art
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Lion King: The Musical
The original Disney cartoon of a lion cub blamed for his father’s death has been remade into a Broadway musical acclaimed all over the world. Seen by over twenty five million people in over 15 thousand performances this intricately designed wonder has taken over 37 thousand hours just to build the puppets and masks. Julie Taymor the director and costume designer was faced with a problem of whether to create humans or animals playing the part and she decided to make masks that show the animal face, as well as, show the human face giving the character his or her personality. As for expressing other animals that are not part of the main cast or to express a certain theme, 2 different kinds of puppetry were used to express an African theme.
Masks are considered “functional works of art” and play a social purpose in Africa. They are used in storytelling and ceremonies and are made to be worn over the head rather than cover the face. This technique is also used in The Lion King so that the human facial expression is not lost and to support the beadwork, corsets and armor used to show the human qualities of a lion. The costumes on the other hand are made of silk cloth to hide the human form, break the shoulder line and to enhance the powerful joints and thighs. The masks are made in such a way that the actor can control the facial expression of the mask through cables ...
Through dance and movement, the storyline were expanded with the assistance of choreographer, Garth Fagan. A well-renowned choreographer for his innovative choreography primarily for Garth Fagan dance, Fagan used his unique style of choreography to the Lion King by combining a variety of Ballet, Jazz, Modern Dance, African Dance and Balinese Dance to suggest representations of nature without making a replica itself and use dance to help tell the story (Exploring the Lion King, 2010). Taymor’s idea of expanding the film by adding in choreographic elements not only will set the overall concept, it would additionally guide the visual aesthetic by allowing dance as the main element that balances musical numbers in all categories: effects, music and so on into the choreography (Bluemental et al 210:1999). Both Fagan and Taymor gave major contributions to the different styles of dance and performance techniques from around the world creating the precision and versatility that is being portrayed in the musical. In order to create the ideal staging of the hunting lionesses, flying dancers in the aerial ballet to the takeover of the hyenas at Pridelands, the collaboration between Fagan and Taymor gave suggestions of how these movements being performed with grace and poise using different dance styles and are cultural based be the forefront of the production(Taymor 148:1997). By looking at three notable dances in the musical, this chapter will analyse the presence of dance and movement being portrayed in the musical and how are these dances create the drama, still giving the idea of moving in an African Savannah. Furthermore, this will give an insight to all challenges and pitfalls both Fagan and Taymor endured during the development of the...
Wearing a mask helps create a hidden identity. When wearing one, you disclose who you truly are. Your social status can no longer be revealed. Your family is unknown. You are able to act freely. Throughout centuries Venetian masks have been used on many occasions for such purposes. The mask wearer can carry about freely and interact with others without the boundaries of their identity and social structure to keep them apart. The mask has an extensive history in Venice, Italy. There are several designs, all serving different purposes. Shakespeare often incorporated masks into his plays, including Romeo and Juliet and Othello. In Othello, Shakespeare uses the concept of a mask throughout the play to reveal the different identities of Iago and his true intentions. In Romeo and Juliet, however, actual masks are worn to conceal the identity of Romeo at the Capulet Ball and Juliet metaphorically wears a mask to create a façade about her relationship with Romeo. The tradition of the mask is one that still lives on in Venice today with the annual celebration of Carnival.
Women would often die days later after having an abortion done at a clinic due to improper procedures performed in the abortion process ( Agresti, N.P). In a clinic abortion, the most common type of abortion performed during the first trimester of the pregnancy is called an “aspiration abortion” (In-Clinic Abortion Procedures at a Glance, N.P). During this procedure, the fetus’s heart needs to stop and would be done by an injection. Afterwards, the fetus is removed through the cervix with a vacuum and the rest is scraped with a curette. This can be unruly to witness as the tissues are discarded afterwards. In addition to aborting the child, the woman would have feelings of regret and they have the tendency to commit suicide more than a woman if she was suffering from post-mortem depression. The court case of “Roe vs Wade” legalizes abortion allowing more rights for the women but pro-life supporters argue that it counters the argument that all living things have their natural right protected. This right does not extend to the fetus and that is what pro-life supporters want to change. Abortion should not be legal as it violates the natural right of the unborn, can be considered murder and meddles with the morals and values of
Many perceive The Lion King, Disney's most successful movie to date, as Disney's only original movie; the only movie not previously a fairy tale from one country or another. This, however, is not the case. While The Lion King seems not to be beased on a fairy tale, it is in fact strongly based on the play Hamlet by William Shakespeare. Disney writers cleverly conceal the basic character archetypes and simplified storyline in a children's tale of cute lions in Africa. To the seasoned reader, however, Hamlet comes screaming out of the screenplay as obviously as Hamlet performed onstage.
A mask makes one unknown, unrecognized, and mysterious. When the first mask was put on, Jack "looked no longer at himself but at an awesome stranger" (Golding page #). At the formation of Jack's tribe, all who join wear a mask from that time on and become a part of the savages. As three savages return to steal fire, they are driven because they are "demoniac figures with faces of white and red" (Golding page #) not individual boys. The mask becomes such an anonymous symbol that, towards the end of the story, Ralph "gazed at the green and black mask before him trying to remember what Jack looked like" (Golding page #). Whether stealing, fighting, or hunting, the savages found their courage because they "looked like something else" "hidden behind the mask of paint" (Golding page #).
Michael Ondaatje's In the Skin of a Lion is a text that is given new meaning when viewed from differing perspectives. Readers approach the text with their own unique past and experience, which influences their perception and interpretation of the novel. Two such interpretations are the Post-Modern and Post-Colonial readings of In the Skin of a Lion. These two readings give the text more dimension, and with the awareness that this novel can be interpreted in numerous ways, a reader's understanding is strengthened and deepened.
Piatti-Farnell (2013) stresses the symbolic value of costume in cinema, and its effect on characterisation and the relationship between a character and its audience. Morpheus once lived as a human in the matrix, he wears mostly black, including full length leather trench coat, mirrored sunglasses and black combat boots. Street (2001) talks of costumes that power to make individuals stand out and to show an individual’s affiliation to a group. Although we are first meeting Morpheus, we are able to establish a lot about his character. We can link him to the matrix, and his coat makes us feel fearful of his authority and power.
Within the last few decades we've seen a huge resurgence in the popularity of the musical. With shows like Hamilton, Wicked, and Once, musicals have become more modern, edgy, and overall more accessible to a wide range of patrons of the arts. In this, the movie musical has also seen a regrowth in popularity – with reinventions of classic musicals like Hairspray (2007), Sweeny Todd (2007), and Les Miserables (2012) and original movie musicals like La La Land (2016) and Across the Universe (2007).
The protagonists in this book are the Pevensie children: Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy. Even though they have just stumbled into the realm of Narnia, they are quick to protect it from the hands of the White Witch. Peter is fair and just. Even though he is a little bit of a control freak, he always does the right thing. Susan is beautiful and gentle. There is more to her than meets the eye. Edmund is stubborn and does not like to be told what to do. Even though he betrays his siblings and follows the White Witch. he does what is right in the end. Lucy is very kind and faithful. She believes in Narnia even when no one else does. She always does what is right.
Through the use of Christian symbolism, conflicts, and imagery, C. S. Lewis implements his religious background into his literary works.
The Lion King musical is a well-known musical that has taken the stages of Broadway, West End and the rest of the world by storm (The Lion King, 1997). Regarding the process of the musical, Artistic Director Julie Taymor’s first thoughts for choosing the Lion King as the next big thing on stage, was classed as ‘impossible’ due to the film’s lack of theatrical material (The Lion King, 1997). Therefore, staging this particular work contained a great deal of uncertainty and the need for taking huge risks. Taymor (1997) suggests how ‘the Lion King was the worst idea possible to create a stage show.’ It has become evident that a number of significant barriers had to be overcome to secure the practicality of the production. In view of this controversy, this dissertation will critically analyse the success of the Lion King by exploring two significant aspects that have helped to make the musical a success. Firstly, the essential components that make up this theatrical production will be explored and secondly, the roles of each producer within the Lion King and their combined and individual influences they have had from the production will be evaluated. By analysing these two central themes, this paper will show how and why this musical has developed and achieved its phenomenal success.
Homeschool versus public school has been the age old debate. The argument has always been whether homeschooling can be more beneficial to a child than attending public school. There are always some advantages for a child who is homeschooling but there are also a lot of disadvantages to. The decision on whether a family chooses homeschooling over public-school is always up to the parent to make. Whichever one they choose they have to make sure it’s the right choice for their child. When parent decides that homeschooling is right for them, not only is that parents give me up their freedoms and any spare time they would have. The parent also has to have the ability to switch their hats for parent to teacher. This is a very important skill to have
In today’s American society, quality education is important for one to succeed. Without proper education, a person will find it extremely difficult to apply for college, a job, or to pursue his or her dream. Typically when Americans think of education, public education is the first to come to mind. Public education has been around for centuries and is provided to most children throughout the United States. Due to this fact, public education has been the go to education source for years. Though, this trend is slowly changing with many parents deciding to home school their children instead. Many factors are the cause for this issue, but the common arguments arise from a certain few. For students, public school provides many opportunities ranging from social connections, school sports, and the exposure to teachers who are experts in their fields. But homeschooling is often superior because it offers additional time for students to participate in various extracurricular activities and community service, allows for more individual attention, personal character development, and it offers less exposure to discrimination that is received in the public school environment.
The face is a central organ to personal identity. With it we can communicate human expression, feelings and characters with as little as the blink of an eye. On a deeper level, the face can be an art form that speaks to a universal understanding of the mind. Olivier De Sagazan uses the face to challenge conventions. He exposes human rawness and looks at cultural taboos. Sagazan’s artwork cannot be pinned down by language but by raw emotion. His unsettling performances represent visions of primitivism, agony, occult and other ancient cultural art forms that cover or deform the face in ways that can be both beautiful and confronting. Leading us to question, “What are we? Humans? Or animals? Or savages?
The public schooling vs. homeschooling debate has become one of the most discussed and perhaps controversial topics that parents have to think about when choosing how they wish to educate their children. Most parents choose to go the route of public school education but both are not without their advantages and drawbacks. The most obvious differences between the two types of schooling reside within the atmosphere, roles of parents and teachers, and social interactions between children.