Singin’ in the Rain (1951), choreographed and directed by Gene Kelly and Stanley Donen, is a musical and comedy revolving around the American film industry of the 1920s. Starring characters like Gene Kelly's Don Lockwood and Debbie Reynolds' Kathy Selden, the film shows the hard transition from silent to talking films and how the quickly growing Hollywood was affected. The mise-en-scene of this musical is elaborate, including factors like colorful clothing, varying props, character styles, and so on. Singin’ in the Rain’s musical number “Make ‘em Laugh,” performed by Cosmo Brown, incorporates theatrical facial expressions and over-the-top uses of props to elicit a joyous response from Don Lockwood. The “Make ‘em Laugh” scene comes at a time …show more content…
Don takes these words close to heart, as it not only hints his work is insignificant, but it comes from someone he has developed feelings for, Kathy Selden. In the eyes of Don’s lifelong friend, there is no better way to turn this sullen mood around than with a chuckle-inducing performance. This light-hearted idea of Cosmo results in the energetic and spontaneous musical number perfectly displaying his comedic talent. The first element of Cosmo’s solo number that makes it especially quirky is his use of dramatic facial expressions. Moving his face in arbitrary ways not used on a day-to-day basis, such as contorting his mouth in asymmetrical shapes, creates the goofy mood he is aspiring to convey. A great example of these funky physical movements is Cosmo’s sequence of different facial contortions after running into the door on set. He switches between drawing his lips downwards towards the ground and bringing them up towards his eyes in an exaggerated snarl. Not only does his mouth skillfully move through these amusing expressions, but so does his nose. The nose would often move with the mouth, almost acting as one unit pulled by a
The social, cultural and political history of America as it affects the life course of American citizens became very real to us as the Delany sisters, Sadie and Bessie, recounted their life course spanning a century of living in their book "Having Our Say." The Delany sisters’ lives covered the period of their childhood in Raleigh, North Carolina, after the "Surrender" to their adult lives in Harlem, New York City during the roaring twenties, to a quiet retirement in suburban, New York City, as self-styled "maiden ladies." At the ages of 102 and 104, these ladies have lived long enough to look back over a century of their existence and appreciate the value of a good family life and companionship, also to have the last laugh that in spite of all their struggles with racism, sexism, political and economic changes they triumphed (Having Our Say).
Initially, Elisabeth is the matriarch of the four generations of women talked about in the story. Elisabeth works in the house, but she’s married to a field slave and has three daughters. Not much insight is given on Elisabeth and her feelings, yet through the narration it is as if she lived vicariously through her youngest daughter, Suzette: “It was as if her mother were the one who had just had her first communion not Suzette” (20) Even though Elisabeth too worked in the house, Suzette had more privileges than her mother and the other slaves. Elisabeth represented the strength and the pride of her people: “You have a mother and a father both, and they don’t live up to the [plantation] house” (25). She would constantly remind Suzette of her real family, which signifies the remembrance of a history of people and their roots. It is up to Suzette to keep the heritage even through the latter miscegenation of the generations to come.
Growing up in the projects in hard enough as it is, but throw in the fact that you are a white kid, and you have an idea of what Dalton Conley has had to grow up with. Now a successful sociologist, Dalton Conley explains in his book, the trials and tribulations he had to face in order to survive in the projects and his battle with race.
Country music singer, Reba McIntire, recorded a song called "The Greatest Man I Never Knew." In the song, she speaks of how she never really knew her father. It exemplifies the way I feel about my own father. Everyone has a person who has made a deep impact on his or her life. For me, it was my father Donald Alexander. He was a great man with a wonderful sense of humor. He was the reason I wanted to become an attorney. He said I never lost an argument. I feel tormented that I was unable to know what a great person he really was.
Even though, a person likes to think they are in control, life will show them they are in less control than thought they were. In Flannery O’Connor’s “Good Country People,” the character Hulga is a person that wants to maintain control in every aspect of her life good or bad. To Hulga it seems she is in constant control of her surroundings and her life. However, she does not have control that she thinks has.
“There was a sinking feeling in my stomach and I felt as if the world had turned itself upside down with me in it” (Page 129, Taylor). The author, Mildred Taylor, of Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry has triumphed on writing the book while delivering the painful message of how African Americans were treated in the times of the Great Depression. Cassie has encountered many difficulties when having to accept the way she was treated outdoors along with all the other African-Americans in her society. In the opening, Cassie, along with her siblings, has to collaborate with the complications the bus has caused, and fearing the night men afterward for discovering what they have done. As greed, selfishness, and racism caused misfortune to the Logan family and their land, they stand strong with pride and dignity, willing to do whatever it takes to keep what is most important to their eyes. However, matters only get more and more complex when a lynch mob is determined to lynch Mr. David Logan, Mr. Morrison, and Mr. Jamison along with T.J. the night of the immense incident. Since the story is told through the eyes of a little girl, Cassie reveals all her pain as well as her perspective and point of view of life. As one can see, Mildred Taylor applied the conflict to the story ever so professionally. She did a phenomenal job using a variety of techniques to make many themes fit perfectly within the story; she additionally applied the theme to the conflicts. In addition, the story was recounted through the eyes of the main character, Cassie, which will soon lose her innocence. Cassie’s point of view had a great impact on the marvelous story.
My Papa’s Waltz My Papa’s Waltz has been compared to a generational litmus test. Depending on what generation the reader was born, could determine how the reader would interpret this poem. Each generation has its own views that have been developed in them for the language used to describe Papa in this poem. The whiskey on his breath and Papa’s hand beating on his head, both sound like a negative connotation.
In Green Grass, Running Water by Thomas King, King intertwines stories to create a satire that pokes fun at Indian culture compared to European culture. The book attempts to also poke fun at Judeo-Cristian beliefs by examining the creation story. King makes fun of the story of Adam and Eve. He pokes fun at western civilization and government. Although the book made me laugh some of the meanings behind kings writing puzzled me and made me question king's motives. The book is truly a puzzle that can be hard to decipher for most. I found the book to be challenging but entertaining and interesting.
Singin’ in the Rain adheres to these conventions, chronicling Don Lockwood’s transition into a new age of film. The threat of a prematurely ended career truly challenges Lockwood, while Lina Lamont acts as corporealization of this antagonistic force. The resolution sees the acquisition of Lockwood’s goals: The Singing Cavalier proves successful, and he goes on to star in a film with Kathy, a true romantic interest. Lockwood’s drastic transition from an imaginary high-pro...
In the novel Ragtime, many aspects of the American society are explored. The reader gets an understanding of the history and hardships of different social classes, races, and cultures during the last century. A persistent theme established is the existence of the American dream. Doctorow expresses his fascination of the social mobility since it includes the impoverished and underprivileged. However, he highlights that when attempting to reach success, one is required to make sacrifices, negotiating his morality and identity. Tateh and Coalhouse are crucial examples of how the demands, prejudices, and opportunities of the American society can change a man’s mentality.
The first thing I noticed about Kate Chopin’s “The Storm,” is that it is utterly dripping with sexual imagery and symbolism. Our heroine, if you will, seems to be a woman with normally restrained passions and a well-defined sense of propriety, who finds herself in a situation that tears down her restraint and reveals the vixen within. I wonder if it was intentional that the name Calixta makes me think of Calypso – the nymph from Greek mythology. If half of the sexual symbolism I found in this story was intentional, Chopin was a genius. I was quite taken with the sexual imagery of the colors mentioned: white, and red. There is also mention a place called Assumption, while there’s nothing written on it in the bible, I believe it’s the popular opinion of those of Christian faiths, that Mary (Jesus’ mother) going to heaven was called “The Assumption.” Again, I cannot accept that as merely a happy coincidence, I believe its mention in the story was intentional. Finally, we have the storm, so central to the theme of the story that it was named for it. In this work, as well as others by Chopin, there is a recurring theme of infidelity, or women behaving in ways that society generally doesn’t accept, women behaving badly, if you will, I cannot help but wonder if Kate Chopin used her writing to express desires that she would not otherwise have expressed.
Mrs Kay firstly asks Carol why she does not and go and look round the
The hit musical "Singin' in the Rain" may possibly be one of if not the greatest musicals of all time. With it's tale of the film world of the mid 1920's and its creative underlining love story between Don Lockwood (Gene Kelly) and Kathy Selden (Debbie Reynolds), it provokes the interest of someone who would not generally be attracted to a musical. It is a classic masterpiece that set the standards that musical films of today will be judged by. It is a classic performance by the great Gene Kelly and displays outstanding performances by Debbie Reynolds and Donald O'Connor. As well as starring in this brilliant movie, Gene Kelly teams up with Stanley Donen to make their mark in film history.
Research Essay Proposal In this essay I analyze the term ‘global care chain’ coined by Arlie Hochschild with scholars’ critiques and elaborate on its impact. International migration has been made much easier with the advancement of technology. Many women in developed countries become migrant workers to support their families back home. They take jobs in families as domestic workers, doing household chores and caring for the children while the mothers enter the workforce.
In the novel When Rain Clouds Gather, by Bessie Head, the protagonist, Makhaya, deals with suffering, trauma and eventual healing, particularly when he arrives in Golema Mmidi. At the same time, the novel deals with problems of tribalism, greed and hate in a postcolonial state. Throughout the novel, Makhaya attempts to resolve these struggles and create a new future for himself.