...West Side Story: Changing the Musical Film Genre The musical film West Side Story (1961) was greatly successful. Nominated for eleven Academy Awards and receiving ten, this movie rose to the top of everyone’s expectations. It changed the genre of musicals and film elevating the story to a new level where it prospered and flourished. This film did something other films and musicals never did before; taking a classical Shakespearian play, Romeo and Juliet and modernizing it. The musical revised a well-known story, connecting viewers personally to musical. By using the current time period, problems within society, and altering the classic play subtly, the film drastically advanced a memorable and now classic movie/musical. Additionally, West...
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...We all know that Romeo and Juliet has countless remakes, but why? Because Romeo and Juliet is considered a classic. Many people of all ages love this play because they can relate to some of the themes, or make connections to the story line. Between the years 1591 and 1596, Shakespeare wrote Romeo and Juliet, along with many other plays. Directors have been writing and directing plays and movies that are all based off of Romeo and Juliet, including Twilight and Titanic. West Side Story is a musical that is more modern example of a Romeo and Juliet, because it has the forbidden love, the feud between both sides, and the most of the main characters sacrifice themselves. Evidently, in Romeo and Juliet, Romeo comes off as a smart, passionate,...
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...Romeo and Juliet tells the story of two young lovers, their romance obstructed by a longstanding family feud. West Side Story retells this narrative with a change in setting. Instead of fair Verona, this musical is set in 1950s New York, and the protagonists come from rival gangs in place of rival families. The original Broadway production of West Side Story was nominated for six Tony awards, winning two (best choreography and best scenic design). By retelling the classics, creators can introduce new themes and perspectives. Each character in Romeo and Juliet has a corresponding character in West Side Story. Romeo and Juliet correspond to Tony and Maria, respectively. Romeo and Tony are very similar. At the beginning of the story, both of...
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...choreography and movement content of West Side Story. You should provide clear examples from the choreographed sections of West Side Story to support your discussion. In 1932 Jerry accompanied his sister into New York and saw her onstage at the Dance Center, Robbins was later invited to join the company after an audition arranged by his sister. The dance centre group comprised of dancers with widely varied backgrounds and individual styles ran by Senia Gluck Sandor and his wife. They were fusing ballet and modern dance in a series of highly theatrical, stylised productions. Attempted to dramatise the political, social and economic struggles of the day. Sandor advised Robbins to study ballet again in which he took the advice and began classes with Ella Daganova. This ballet influence upon Robbins is shown throughout West Side Story remarkably within the Dance at the Gym, the Promenade section. Within the promenade relevé is used precisely in and out of chassés, as well as this, similar to classical ballet, movements are repeated two or three times as Robbins has done with the motif of chassés into the clicking of their fingers followed by the circular knee movement. Furthermore, the way in which Robbins uses non-balletic styled movement such as the knee circles and clicks within the ballet section demonstrates specifically Robbins’ use of Sandor’s training through his use of fussing various styles, jazz and ballet in choreographing West Side Story. Having first taken classes...
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...The classic story of innocent young love doomed by hostile rivalries comes to life at the Houston Grand Opera’s production of West Side Story. West Side Story is a relatable modern take on William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet that is pop culture staple. The retelling began as the brainchild of choreographer-director Jerome Robbins in 1947. There is a popular 1961 movie by the same name, and Steven Spielberg and Tony Kushner currently have a remake film in the works. Our star-crossed lovers Maria (Andrea Carroll) and Tony (Norman Reinhardt) are connected with two rival New York City teenage street gangs: the Sharks and the Jets. Maria’s brother is leader of the Sharks and Tony is one of their hated enemies. Maria is a starry-eyed new arrival from Puerto Rico who sees a...
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...Teach Africa tm World Affairs Council of Houston The Oral Traditions of Africa What are oral traditions? Oral traditions are messages that are transmitted orally from one generation to another. The messages may be passed down through speech or song and may take the form of folktales and fables, epic histories and narrations, proverbs or sayings, and songs. Oral Traditions make it possible for a society to pass knowledge across generations without writing. They help people make sense of the world and are used to teach children and adults about important aspects of their culture. The art of storytelling There is a rich tradition throughout Africa of oral storytelling. Although written history existed for centuries in West Africa, most writing was in Arabic, and the majority of people did not read or write in Arabic. So the transmission of knowledge, history and experience in West Africa was mainly through the oral tradition and performance rather than on written texts. Oral traditions guide social and human morals, giving people a sense of place and purpose. There is often a lesson or a value to instill, and the transmission of wisdom to children is a community responsibility. Parents, grandparents, and relatives take part in the process of passing down the knowledge of culture and history. Storytelling provides entertainment, develops the imagination, and teaches important lessons about everyday life. World Affairs Council of Houston PO Box 920905 Houston, TX 77292-0905 Voice...
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...Structuralism Response Paper Structuralism is a literary critique based in the philosophy that structural mechanisms in the human brain make connections in order to make sense out of the world. This is what creates human systems such as language and behavior patterns, that allow humans to understand the stimuli that earth brings us. When applied to literature, however, this criticism concludes that all literature at its core is made up of the same structure, and is virtually the same. Structuralism is focused on grammar and basic concepts, there is no regard for details or specifics. Although this criticism sounds practical in concept, when actually interpreted into works of literature, it takes away many themes and messages that the work...
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...TRANSPORTATION PLANNING STUDY REPORT ZIP CODE AREA: 10024 UPPER WEST SIDE Beatriz Serrano CE-351 Urban Transportation Planning Professor Lennon Lawrence Fall 2015 Table of contents Section 1- Executive summary3 Section 2 – Historical context4 Section 3 – Urban planning and land use6 Section 4 – Socioeconomic characteristics9 List of figures12 List of Tables13 References14 Base Map15 Section 1 – Executive Summary Only in final submittal ------------------------------------------------- Section 2 – Historical context 1024 zip code area is bounded on the South by 76th street, Central Park the East, the Hudson River on the West, and by 91st street on the North. From West to East, the avenues of the zip code area are Riverside Drive, West End Avenue (11th Avenue), Broadway, Amsterdam Avenue (10th Avenue), Columbus Avenue (9th Avenue), and Central Park West (8th Avenue). This area is an affluent, primarily residential area with many of its residents working in more commercial areas in Midtown and Lower Manhattan. It has the reputation of being home to New York City's cultural, intellectual hub (with Columbia University located at the North end of the neighborhood), and artistic workers. Because of his boundary with the Hudson River, the riverfront of this area used to be a shipping, transportation, and manufacturing corridor. The Hudson River Railroad line tight-of-way was granted in the late 1830s to connect New York...
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...Questions about the movie: 1. What Shakespeare play is the movie based on? The movie “West Side Story” is based on the Shakespeare play Romeo and Juliet. The story is parallel in both plays: a young couple (Romeo and Juliet and Maria and Tony) that falls in love in a dance and although the enmity of their respective environments they decide to fight for their own feelings and go ahead with their secret relationships. But a fight that came with the lost of one of the each respective different groups makes them be more rival and makes the relationship between the young couples more difficult. Both stories end up in tragedy and makes those different rivals, to get back in a good relationship. 2. Would you rather be a Jet or a Shark? Why? If I had to choose between being in the Jets gang or in the Sharks gag...
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...uses intertextualitly, they are using an idea they have previously encountered and incorporate it into their own work. Sometimes when an author or an artist chooses to use intertextuality they may only slightly hint to another piece of work to get their point across. They leave it up to the reader to decide if the piece they are reading is completely original or has actually adopted bits and pieces from something else. Other times an author or artist may be heavy handed in the use of intertextuality to make sure their audience receives their message. With the help of the piece an author or artist is borrowing from the audience becomes able to draw a parallel to what they are reading at the moment to something they are familiar with from the past. This gives the audience a better understanding and the ability to interpret what they are reading or witnessing. When using intertextuality someone may refer to more than just literature they may also refer to movies, music, books, speeches or any other pieces of material that the author deems useful. Intertextuality is used so that something can be better understood or interpreted by the audience due to the fact that they...
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...Decline of the West What happens when you get fired from your job, come home to a domineering wife, a self-centered brat of a son and a second material-obsessed son, who all three boss you around making you do their dishes and buy them, what they see as, vital objects? That is right! You reconsider life, but decide to let it all go instead… or that is at least what Mike does in this short story. The short story, The Decline of the West by Hanif Kureishi, takes place in London, where we meet Mike’s family, which consists of his two sons, Tom and Billy, and his wife, Imogen. Mike was a twelve-hours-a-day, hard-working man, yet who is recently fired. Mike is significantly divided between traditional values and modern values. On the first hand he refuses to let his wife, Imogen, work, because he could not imagine a home without a mother, who makes sure the kids behave. “He shows me neither love nor respect.” also he demands respect from his family, even though he literally does not spend time at home, because of his job, however on the other hand he lets them all boss him around, probably because of his declaration of him being the only provider. The short story only elapses over a day; however this day seems to turn out as being the most horrible of Mike’s life. “”My television’s broken,” said Tom. “Why don’t you get it fixed like you promised? What have you ever done for me?”” This is in the middle of a discussion between Tom and Mike. Through-out the entire short story it seems like...
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...spoken dialogue (drama) and dance. The emotional content of the piece – humour, sadness, love, anger – as well as the story itself, is communicated through the words, music, movement and technical aspects of the entertainment as an integrated whole. Since the early 20th century, musical theatre stage works have generally been simply called "musicals". There are two periods in the history of Musicals: The first from 1920-1960, and the second from 1960 up to the present. The first musical, Flora, took place in 1735 in a courtroom in Charleston, South Carolina. This was what was known as an English Ballad Opera. In the 19th century musical comedy developed...
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...The popular 1961 film, West Side Story, follows the adventure and triumph in New York City, of two star-crossed lovers, born into opposing dichotomies. Although the movie may seem like nothing more than a musical about two feuding gangs in the 1950s, this story dates back to the sixteenth century, during the Dark Ages. It is perhaps even more ancient, developed by Ancient Greeks. The exact tale did not originate that far into the past, but its basic plot of a literary tragedy was invented long ago, and was adopted to modern times. West Side Story qualifies as a literary tragedy because the established tragic hero impacts the rise, climax, fall, and ultimate inescapable disaster of the story. The plot structure of a literary tragedy follows a very specific and necessary path throughout the story. The tale begins with hatred, fighting, and conflict, at nobody’s ideal. The plot requires a reason to escalate or rise, which is the Tony, the tragic hero, and his desire to reach his ideal of love. Other characters’ ideals are also attempted to be achieved. The individual members of the Jets and Sharks strive to gain superiority and territory from each other. The gangs start the path to their ideals by arranging a fight to decide who the victorious and superior gang will be. Tony rises towards his ideal when he meets Maria, and makes a proud and willful decision to pursue a relationship, despite forces acting against them. Uncontrollable forces act upon our hero, such as his circumstance...
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...Sixteen years after a sixteen-year-old wrote this book, Francis Ford Coppola turned this novel into a movie. The book is a coming-of-age novel, but the movie focuses on the characters' loss of innocence. The movie follows the story line very closely. The reader is only told that this story takes place in the southwest, but the movie places it in Tulsa, Oklahoma, in the year 1966. It also changes the conflict from the East Side versus the West side to the northside versus the southside. This minor directional change was probably made due to the relative time proximity to the musical West Side Story, which won the best picture Academy Award in l961. However, as with all movies, character insight that is critical to understanding the story is lost when the format goes from the written word to the screen. Ponyboy is telling us the story, the same as in the book, but the 91-minute film only glosses over many character relationships. <a href="http://ad.doubleclick.net/jump/CNSite/;navArea=CLIFFSNOTES2_LITERATURE;type=Lit_Note;kword=SE_Hinton;kword=The_Outsiders;contentItemId=139;tile=3;sz=300x250;ord=123456789?" target="_blank"><img src="http://ad.doubleclick.net/ad/CNSite/;navArea=CLIFFSNOTES2_LITERATURE;type=Lit_Note;kword=SE_Hinton;kword=The_Outsiders;contentItemId=139;tile=3;sz=300x250;ord=123456789?" width="300" height="250" border="0" alt="" /></a> With the exception of Ponyboy, the viewer misses out on knowing most of the novel's characters. Darry and Soda...
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...on the West Side at 32nd W. Monroe after my grandmother arrived in 1958 with my mother to rejoin my grandfather. My grandfather explained that it was almost impossible to find decent housing on the South Side due to overcrowding, exorbitant rent costs, dilapidated housing, and the challenges that came with moving into surrounding areas. Some of the Black house kids shared stories about their parents and grandparents who also arrived on the West Side during the second wave after 1940 including Duane’s father and grandmother while Todd and Ray—who were born on the West Side—stressed their family’s deep roots in East Garfield Park and West Garfield Park; both community areas on the West Side. Miss Priss offered similar sentiments about her family’s history on the West Side as...
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