There is a clear through-line in our nation’s history of blackface. As a detrimental tradition, the practice reflects a collectively low opinion of African-Americans, so much so that it became feasible to reduce an entire group of people to caricatures. When Rondrich describes minstrelsy as the “first truly American band” based on its origin within and its reflection of our past beliefs, I found it a sickeningly accurate statement. It is rather astonishing how music has been used to disseminate racially charged imagery—in this situation, Adorno’s fears of music perpetuating group-thought was startlingly supported.
Rent. Also can be used to describe something torn. No better description for this musical. Written by Jonathon Larson, Rent is a musical, based on Giacomo Puccini’s italian opera, La Boheme, which centers on a group of friends in New York’s East Village in 1989 when an epidemic of HIV/AIDS was spreading around the US, affecting the whole friend group, whether it be from having it or from having a loved one who has it. In this paper, I will be examining how the themes and genre of this play turned movie shows the belief system of both the time and the belief system held by the creator, Jonathon Larson.
The Harlem Renaissance was a world-changing span of years that significantly changed culture, lives, and history forever for African Americans, along with the rest of the world. Well known leaders from this time period include, but are not limited to, Langston Hughes, Louis Armstrong, and Marcus Garvey. All are people who contributed their thoughts and ideals in getting African-American culture to the forefront of society. They all engaged in something bigger than any one person, place, or thing, a movement that would change history. This certainly contributed to making the 20’s a very important time in history, where change was common and new ideals came to light. Almost like Philadelphia being the birthplace of America, Harlem became the
For African Americans during the early 1900’s was a scary place. . People were filled with racism and hate towards those who are black. Ever thought of how much power a group of people have if they all unite for a similar purpose? The Harlem Renaissance shows exactly that. The African Americans of this time came together with the purpose of social change. Digging back into their roots to show the world just how beautiful it is. They chose to express their culture in writing, music, and art.
Many people would consider Tony Award winning composer, lyricist, and actor Lin-Manuel Miranda a genius. With his musicals In the Heights and Hamilton, Miranda has been able to relate to modern audiences. His innovative uses of hip-hop, diverse casts, and commentary about race and immigration in his musicals allow his works to stand out amongst other modern Broadway shows.
Wicked is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz based on a book by Winnie Holzman. The musical is told from the perspective of the witches of the Land of Oz. Wicked celebrated its tenth anniversary on Broadway on 30 October 2013. It is the 9th longest-Broadway show, surpassing Beauty and the Beast. A typical performance runs for approximately two hours and thirty minutes. Wicked is famous for a long history, mighty messages and admirable songs.
It is officially credited with bridging the gap between musical theatre and pop culture. Rent is a contemporary musical revolving around a group of poor, struggling, young artists, or “Bohemians.” It is set in East Side New York City in the height of the 1990s HIV/AIDS epidemic. Despite obstacles of sickness, financial difficulties, and death, the characters locate the ability to remain optimistic and positive. Rent has proceeded to become extremely successful and iconic in modern day musical theatre.
The essay: “Silent Dancing” By Judith Ortiz Cofer reflects on the transitional period in her life where herself and her immediate family made the move from Puerto Rico to the Big Apple, otherwise known as New York city. The timeline for the essay was set in the 1950’s where cultural fusion and blatant racism ran rampant in the streets. A melting pot slowly getting more and more diverse. It describes the struggle which is being foreign in a new land that wants you to assimilate to its lifestyle and habits while on the inside trying to maintain cultural purity.
All the composers, artists, musicians, and poets introduced new ideas in ways of expressing their pride in their race and culture. The Harlem Renaissance was the general notion where it was the time for African Americans to take their place the society and contribute their way of culture.
In the documentary about hip hop culture affecting all aspects of American culture the one scene that stood out to me the most was when the young white male was driving down the street in his truck-playing hip hop music. This scene stood out to me because it reminded me a lot about myself being an avid hip hop fan in America. It made me think about how much hip-hop really has affected my own life. I use this music to escape from reality and learn more about the life of the artist that I am listening to. I think that listening about how some of these artists came from nothing and now they are so successful is so interesting. I think that hip-hop has had a huge effect on pop culture today and it has become very hard for young people to stray away from it because it can be found everywhere in society. These artists are being looked at as icons now and that does not seem to be changing for a long time to come.
The purpose of this essay is to provide a thorough yet concise explanation on the ways in which The Harlem Renaissance helped shaped the culture and perceptions of the “New Negro” in modern era of the 1920s and early 1930s. I will analyze the socioeconomic forces that led to the Harlem Renaissance and describe the motivation behind the outburst of Black American creativity, and the ideas that continue to have a lasting impact on American culture. In addition, I will discuss the effects as well as the failures of the movement in its relationship to power and resistance, highlighting key figures and events that are linked to the renaissance movement.
The Harlem Renaissance was a period of great cultural growth in the black community. It is accepted that it started in 1918 and lasted throughout the 1930s. Though named the ‘Harlem’ Renaissance, it was a country-wide phenomenon of pride and development among black Americans, the likes of which had never existed in such grand scale. Among the varying political actions and movements for equality, a surge of new art appeared: musical, visual, and even theatre. With said surge, many of the most well-known black authors, poets, musicians and actors rose to prevalence including Langston Hughes, Countee Cullen, Louis Armstrong, and Eulalie Spence. The development of many unique styles of such art was also started due to the Harlem Renaissance, much
European colonialism in Africa was a violent process of exploitation and dominance in the political, social, and cultural sphere of native society. Pop culture music and dance are dynamic social products that provide insight into the shifting sociocultural formations of a society. Through this analysis of pop culture I will discuss the classist social hierarchies established by colonialism and defined power by proximity to whiteness. I will explore native actors’ response to colonial social hierarchies in their alliances or resistance to colonialism and their influence on music and dance styles. Finally, we will evaluate ways in which music and dance are forms of resistance that challenge the status quo in colonial societies. Africa became an arena of oppressive white supremacist
This movie was a broad discussion about hip-hop music (or more specifically gangster rap) and what kind of social issues the music not only showcases but seems to promote. The producer of this film, Byron Hunt, interviewed people involved in all aspects of the hip-hop industry, including famous rappers, to try to get to the bottom of this.
Due to the reputation of Herbie Hancock, there are publications about him, ranging from books, journals, interviews to dissertations. Topics of these literatures cover almost everything about him from Herbie Hancock to his language of music.