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Harlem Renaissance Masks

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African-Americans surprised everyone during the Harlem Renaissance with their notable talents, especially with their many accomplishments in theater and film. To accurately represent the time period, the importance of costumes and audio used within the video were very crucial. The men in the video were dressed in a base costume that consisted of a dress shirt, black trousers, and suspenders. Different bowties, ties, and hats were matched with each auditioning male to clarify individuality. However, the use of a base costume symbolized uniformity in the theatrical environment. The costumes for the auditioning women depended on what category they were auditioning under (music, acting, dancing, or singing). Although there were common fashion trends of the time, not everyone followed them. The recorder playing woman was an example of a person who didn’t provocatively dress. Singers and actresses were costumed in fashionable attire of the time, provocative and noticeable. Dancers wore flapper dresses and boas to exemplify the extravagance of the time. …show more content…
The two songs used for the singing auditions were songs from the real-life production of, “Shuffle Along.” Scat singing was alluded to in “Digga Doo,” the song sung by the strong singer. The reference led to the decision of making that the good audition, because the creation of scat was well-respected in African-American music. “Gypsy Blues,” was used for the weaker singer to match the sadness of her failing the audition. For the duet dancers, a classic tune, commonly played in speakeasies, was chosen to compliment the situation that involved a man and a woman dancing with each other. The flapper was given Charleston music to do the Charleston, so that the audience would see “the perfect match” between the dancer and the music, just like the director did. Lastly, the weak dancer was given a jazzy piano piece to improvise

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