Katie's Blog

In the musical Chicago, a young woman kills her boyfriend and is ratted out by her husband, leading her into a whirlwind of staged press conferences and falsely portrayed testimonies. Her husband Amos, a middle aged mechanic, stands by her side throughout the entire ordeal, but is made to look like a fool when Roxie, the muderess, is eventually freed and decides that she no longer wants to be with him. When she thinks that she is leaving the spotlight, she fakes a pregnancy, drawing him in and making him want to be by her side even more, but its only a ploy and she really doesn’t want to be near him at all. (Amos is made to look like a fool, when in reality he is the only redeeming character in the movie.) Roxie’s lawyer, Billy Flinn, mocks Amos, ‘forgetting’  his name and making him feel like a nobody. He lies and steals in order to make women win their trials, and is an all-around bad guy, but is made to look glorified. The musical ends with him saying “There’s fresh blood on the walls” and leaving the courtroom, totally free of Roxie (Chicago). Every person in this movie is horrible with no morals, and it made to look like a famous saint, but Amos, the one good person, is made to look like a fool. Chicago has great music, but if you watch it enough, you will  learn that it is basically just portraying criminals as good guys, and the good guys as fools.

Works Cited:

http://digital.films.com.libnet.swosu.edu/PortalViewVideo.aspx?xtid=34911&psid=0&sid=0&State=&title=Kids%20and%20the%20Media&IsSearch=Y&parentSeriesID=

Clicking the above link will send you to a very informational video about the media and children. In it, doctors and educators attempt to prove that the media influences the lives of every child the instant that they watch it. To a degree I  agree. Dr. Bandura’s experiments with ‘bobo dolls’ in the mid 20th century proved that children copy actions that they see. (After watching a video on people hitting the dolls and yelling certain phrases, the children hit the dolls and yelled the exact same phrases.) I think that children are very influenced by the media, but I don’t think that they would act in a way that they would not have previously just by viewing the types of media. I watch Criminal Minds, and I learn ways to kill people, but I will not act them out, just like I wouldn’t do it if I thought of it on my own. Morality, although easily made questionable by television, will not be molded into something completely new by an advertisement for women’s jeans or by “Sesame Street” being brought to you by the letter Y. It is not a matter of if the media changes us, but instead an issue with how far is the media able to change us. This issue is greatly argued about in almost every area of the world. I believe that it is up to the individual to decide if their children should be desensitized by the media at a young age or if they should just wait until their children are in the more critical adolescent stage to be bombarded by these horrible ads.

Works Cited:

Kids and the Media. Films Media Group, 2000. Films On Demand. Web. 20 April 2010. <http://digital.films.com/play/DPHDWB>.

For as long as there has been media, there have been sexist advertisements.  From pornographic Calvin Klein ads (which, thankfully, were removed from mass media in the mid 1990′s) to ads about dish-soap that only ever involve the ‘Leave it to Beaver’ styled housewife, ads have been telling women how to think and feel about themselves and others, causing severe emotional complexes and forcing women into self loathing.

The article that I read for this blog is entitled “Advertising: Keeping Sexism Alive”, and is written by Cathleen McBride after she had read a writing by world renown feminist and woman’s rights activist Gloria Steinem. Ms. McBride states that advertisements lead her to believe that “feminists were man-hating bra burners who wanted to abandon their homes and families” and spend their lives in narcissistic, egocentric bliss (85). Advertisements such as one that depicts a woman buying her bullied son a giant Hummer to compensate for his sadness not only shows that women can’t solve problems, but also that they feel that money and possessions are the root of all happiness. This is false, as we all know, but advertising agencies (especially in the U.S.) still use ploys that make women feel small and dependent on men and possessions in order to make women feel the need to buy their products. This was precisely the thing that feminists were trying to counteract.

I spend a lot of time on Facebook (like almost every college aged girl) and I have found that they have some kind of algorithm that places ads on your page that are about things that you talk about with your ‘friends’. I recently joined weight watchers, and was proud to boast to my friends about my weekly loss, but I noticed that now there are ads with anorexic, unhealthy models trying to sell me pills that will most certainly cause my heart to stop beating from caffeine overdose.  This angers me greatly! Why should women have to look that way? Do the advertising agencies not know that ads like that cause women to develop severe self-hatred and force us to be so judgemental on others? My best friend is supermodel thin, and very beautiful. She eats healthily, and exercises occasionally, and does nothing in particular to be so beautiful. I still find myself so jealous of her. Often I find myself thinking ‘Why can’t I wear tops like that?” and ” I wish the store she got that from made clothes in size fat”. I feel that is is the advertising that I have seen for all of my life that make me feel so horrible about my size 10 frame. I take care of myself, exercising almost every day. I eat very healthily, so why should I feel badly about myself for not being built like a supermodel? I blame advertisements. They place an impossible image of how women should look into our heads.

Advertisements are sexist, and always have been. By boycotting the products in these ads then maybe we as women can help change this horrible epidemic of making women into dependent objects.

Works Cited:

Smith, Allison D., Trixie G. Smith, and Stacia Watkins. “Advertising: Keeping Sexism Alive.” The Pop Culture Zone: Writing Critically About Popular Culture. Boston, MA: Wadsworth Cengage Learning, 2009. 85-88. Print.

Check out Sarah’s blog in my blog roll.

Peace<3

-Katie

Film in the 1960′s portrayed changes in the social structures of
the era. From feminism to racial tensions, sixties films fueled the
fire of many arguments and kept tensions high as they brought forth
more debates and uncovered hidden truths. Musicals such as West Side
Story and Man of La Mancha portrayed the changing roles of women and
the presence of gangs. Horror films such as Night of the Living Dead
showed the change in morality and the change in racial tensions that
were so prevalent in the previous decades. There were many changes in
the social standards of the era, and sixties film portrayed it greatly.

For many years, women were thought of as weak. They were made to
seem like they needed protection and to be treated as damsels in
distress. Often women were viewed only as the needy counterparts to
their male companions. In the 1960′s, however, women became
independent, burning their bras and refusing to shave. They came
closer to being an equal counterpart to men, and they began resenting
the role taht they had played for hundreds of years.  Racial tensions
were a huge part of the 1960′s Civil Rights Movement. More and more
African American and Latin actors acted in major movies, and even
musicals were written to show the plight of the minorities.

West Side Story shows examples of the racial tensions that
plagued the 1960’s. In it, two west side Manhattan gangs of different
races fight over the same streets. The Jets are working class
Caucasians with little to do but fight (rumble) and rule the streets.
The Sharks are Puerto Ricans, new to the country, and looking for
their own turf to lay claim to. The two gangs fight intermittently
throughout the musical, and as the plot progresses the fights become
more brutal. This portrays the real-world increasing tensions as the
races spend more and more time together.  Although a problem in the
1960’s, these struggles were prevalent even in Shakespeare’s
day: “West Side Story created a Broadway sensation as a stunning
amalgamation of Shakespeare, musical theater, and the theme of street
gangs and violence among modern youths” (Mitchell).The musical beings
with a forbidden love and ends with a death. This is very common to
Romeo and Juliet, and although it is thought of in
dependently, the writers relied greatly on the compassion and depth
written into Romeo and Juliet to assist in making people realize the
meaning of West Side Story. with a death of an ex-gang member, and the
other gangsters realize that they have been in the wrong. This common
ground of acceptance is one of the greatest realizations of the 1960’s.

Man of La Mancha is a symbol of every woman’s need to be cared
for. It was the antithesis of the common thought of the 1960’s, but
Man of La Mancha proved that the need for chivalry a universal one.
In it, Alonso, (Don Quixote’s real name) meets a downtrodden ‘bar
maid’ who has little charm and no self esteem. Her name is Aldonza,
and she is rough and very capable of caring for herself.  Alonso sees
past her rough edges, and instead views her as a beautiful princess.
He sings to her, and for a short time she realizes that Alonso is
showing her the same compassion that every girl wants. She feels like
she matters, like she belongs somewhere. Alonso’s singing opened a
whole new world of ideas in her mind. Aldonza soon begins to share
Alonso’s delusions, and lives in his happy world for a short time:
That night, Aldonza is raped, and our chivalrous hero vows to take
control and gain revenge for the defloration of his beloved (Man of La
Mancha). He sings many songs and ca
lms the lady, but the magic has already run out. She no longer
believes that she is worthy. This greatly depicts the belief that most
women in the sixties had that a man could not make you successful, but
I feel that for a moment, Aldonza felt human. That is something that
every girl wants.

Night of the Living Dead brought sixties counter cultural values
into the horror movie. Though it was the first movie to do this, it
was the only one whose potent social commentary still reverberates
today. Shot in grainy black and white by director George Romero, Night
of the Living Dead is a claustrophobic, low-budget, horror film about
a group of people holed up in a farmhouse as they fend off flesh-
eating ghouls. Romero has said in interviews that the ghouls
represented a new society overtaking the old one, mirroring the social
and cultural shifts that were occurring during the sixties as a
younger generation was rejecting the values and mores of its parent
(Thehorrorblog). This statement couldn’t be blatant than in the
Hollywood system, a bloated wreck of its past glories that was being
dismantled by younger filmmakers, such as Romero, who were introducing
new stories and attitudes into the theaters. Night of the Living Dead
takes the conventions of the horror genre a
nd turns them on its head. Unlike other horror films, the heroine
Barbara, played by Judith O’Dea, is a catatonic wreck after her
brother is murdered by one of the zombies during a visit to a local
cemetery. The two middle class characters, Harry and Helen Cooper,
represented the older generation, stuck in its ways and unable to cope
with a changing society. But the most progressive aspect of the film
was making its leading hero a black man (GoreGirl blog). Played by
Duane Jones, Ben was uncompromising and resourceful as he fought off
the zombies. What made Ben such a revolutionary character was the fact
that in the past black men were always portrayed as cowardly and
inefficient, whose bulging eyes and lazy demeanor were counterpoints
to the white heroes who came in to rescue the day. While Ben’s
struggle for survival would turn out to be ill-fated, his battle
against the zombies and the belligerence of Harry Cooper, who fought
against his decisions every step of the way, s
howed him to be a man of conscious, decision, forthrightness, and
strength. Ben’s death at the end of the film was shocking in so much
that heroes in horror pictures almost always prevail against evil. But
here, Romero seems to suggest that the heroism Ben exhibits is that
most shocking and therefore far more frightening than the zombies
terrorizing the countryside (Horror Film History). This last social
comment pushes Night of the Living Dead above the usual grind house
fare of gore and blood. Night of the Living Dead spelled a dawning of
new political and social realities that would overtake American
values, sometimes ending in the deaths of those who fought and
struggled for those new realities, but opening ways for changes that
would redefine America in the coming decades.

Sixties films show us how the social standards of the eras before
the 1960′s changed, and how they continued changing through the era.
Horror films and musicals showed racial tensions fly away, and also
how women’s roles changed drastically. Films from that decade are
almost like documentaries on the ebb and flow of roles of people.
Those roles are still changing today.

Works Cited:

Bradford, Wade. “Review of Man of La Mancha – Musical of Don Quixote.”
Plays / Drama. Web. 12 Feb. 2010.
http://plays.about.com/od/reviews/fr/lamancha.htm.

“Horror Film History.” Web. 23 Feb 2010. <http://www.horrorfilmhistory.com/index.php?pageID=1960s>.

Mitchell, Charles P. “West Side Story 1961.” Pop Culture Universe.
Greenwood Publishing Group, 2004. Web. 5 Feb. 2010.
http://pop.greenwood.com.libnet.swosu.edu/document.aspx?id=GR2037-
1331&q=west%20side%20story.

“Night of the Living Dead – The Dungeon Review!” [Weblog entry.] Gore Girl. 26 Oct. 2009. (http://goregirl.wordpress.com/2009/10/26/night-of-the-living-dead-the-dungeon-review/). 23 Feb. 2010.

“Top Ten – Richard Crouse” [Weblog entry.] The Horror Blog. 26 Oct. 2009. (http://thehorrorblog.com/). 23 Feb. 2010.

Check out the blogs in my blogroll.

-Katie

     West Side Story is one of the most beloved musicals of all time. The impact is leaves on it’s viewers lasts a lifetime. However, the film and stage versions differ greatly. The film version has translation errors and failed attempts to paraphrase what is said in the original, yet it is still one of the most beloved and famous film versions of all of the Broadway musicals. The stage version has won many awards and is still as loved as it was on opening week. The two have the same plot line, but the directors have taken completely different creative licenses on them.

     I have found two blogs on West Side Story, one on the film and the other on the stage version. The Film blog, an SBCC movie review, is written by Byron Potau. It is long-winded and very hard to read, even though his knowledge of the topic is evident. He uses many run on sentences, and the white font on black background strains my eyes. He contradicts himself many times, saying things like: the musical is the best compilation of music and choreography, but the songs are annoying and there are flaws in the lyrics (Potau). It makes it difficult to understand his opinion on the film.

     The second blog is written by Hope Baugh. It has a beautiful layout with tans and reds bordering a white background, and is very aesthetically appealing. Her writing is what I’d like to call ‘friendly formal’, she invites you in with her speech while simultaneously informing you. Phrases like this frequent her writing: “At another point, during a full ensemble dance number, someone’s frilly petticoat fell off!  I’m sorry: it made me laugh” (Baugh). The font is easier to read than that of the latter blog, and her use of a single photo helps us envision the type of actors that act in that theatres productions.

     The fact that it is loosely based off of Romeo and Juliet is brought up in both blogs, and even in many articles based on the play:

Originally produced on Broadway in 1957 (with showstopper Chita Rivera as Anita). the show is set in the gang-ridden Upper West Side of NYC during the 1950s. Although the Puerto Rican Sharks and Caucasian Jets are bitter rivals, Maria and Tony, from respective sides, fall in love, just like Romeo and Juliet (Kay)

Although this topic seems to be overdone, West Side Story is still viewed as new and exciting, and is even being remade: the newest version is to be suited for the younger audiences of today (Kay.) In this new version, the gang members won’t be the rough-and-tumble adolescants that we are used to. Instead, they will be vicious killers like most of the gangs today, and more of the Spanish language will be included in the lyrics and lines. (A much needed change, because as we all know people speak the language that they are most used to more often than their second language.) This both worries and excites me, because I know that the original was the best thing that I have ever seen, but a new spin on it might be just enough to keep the idea fresh in the minds of Broadway veterans.

     This musical is one of the best written and most loved musicals of all time. The writer, Jerome Robbins, has done an amazing job weaving this web of dance, music, lyrics, and dialogue (Kay). If you haven’t seen it, you should. If you have seen it, you already love it and know exactly what I’m talking about. Broadway would not be what it is today without West Side Story, because West Side Story made Broadway a hot topic again, and has continued doing so since the 1950′s.

 To read about awesome classic cars, please click on Dalton’s Blog link in my blogroll.

Works Cited

Man of La Mancha- Dulcinea

     A very long time ago, in an area of Spain known as La Mancha, lived a fictional character named Don Quixote. He was everything a woman could want in a man, caring and chivalrous, but with one minor drawback. He thought he was a knight in the times of medieval Spain. Many movies are based off of the novel of this man’s life, but none compare to the beauty and grace of Man of La Mancha. With excellent writing and impeccable taste in costumes and actors, it’s no wonder that the musical is one of the longest running Broadway stage shows ever. In the opening scenes, Miguel de Cervantes is imprisoned for allegedly producing entertainment that has negative connotations towards the Spanish Inquisition (Moreno). He is thrown in to a small, dark dungeon in Seville: “In the dungeon, he is subjected to a mock trial, and the other prisoners confiscate many of Cervantes’s belongings, but he seeks to save a mysterious manuscript” (critic-2). After some time, he convinces the prisoners to allow him to entertain them, and the story of Don Quixote begins.

     Alonso Quijano, a retired man in his golden years, is endangered by his delight in reading: ”He eventually goes mad from reading too many books of chivalry, and decides to become a knight-errant himself – Don Quixote de la Mancha” (critic-2). Leaving home, he travels central Spain with the aide of his closest friend and squire, Sancho Panza. Don Quixote rides a horse, and wears makeshift armor, while Sancho Panza rides a donkey and wears his normal clothing (that of an impoverished Spaniard). They eventually come across a roadside inn, and the hero of La Mancha, convinced that it is a castle, enters it and sees the Lady Dulcinea. Actually a down-trodden whore named Aldonza, the Lady Dulcinea is not amused by the hero’s antics. The song in this video shows the love and compassion he shares for this woman: It portrays that he sees her for the beautiful person inside, not for the person the world has caused her to be (Bradford). Every woman in the world wants someone to see them in that manner.

     Aldonza soon begins to share Alonso’s delusions, and lives in his happy world for a short time: That night, Aldonza is raped, and our chivalrous hero vows to take control and gain revenge for the deflorati0n of his beloved (Man of La Mancha). He sings many songs and calms the lady, but the magic has already run out.  Aldonza is no longer Dulcinea. Don returns home to live the rest of his life is peace, but the love and compassion that he showed Aldonza during the singing of this song stays with her. She arrives at his house at the time of his death and shares the magic again. The actions returns to the jail cell, and Cervates is granted permission to keep his manuscript. The prisoners serenade him as he leaves the cell for his trial- the musical then ends.

     “Dulcinea” shows comapssion, love, purity, and faith in the human race. I feel inspired by this song to help others and to be a better person, viewing others not for their 0utward appearance, but for the beauty within. Every time I hear this song, I begin to cry, because I know that every girl in the world has wanted someone to feel this way about her. This song sums up the needs of every young woman. We all just want to be ‘beautiful’.

Works Cited

Please read the blogs of my group members. There are links provided for you in my blogroll.

-Katie

     The article “West Side Story (1961)” by Charles P. Mitchell not only summarizes both the stage show and film, it gives detailed descriptions on the topics that link the musical with modern life in West-Side Manhattan. It shows how drugs, alcohol, racism, and even prostitution are a common thread between this musical and real life.

     There are two gangs in the west side.  The Jets are working class Caucasians with little to do but fight (rumble) and rule the streets. The Sharks are Puerto Ricans, new to the country, and looking for their own turf to lay claim to.  Although drama has plagued the two groups for some time, the real drama starts when Riff, the leader of the Jets, decides that its time for differences to be settled. He enlists the help of Tony, the retired founder of the Jets, and the two begin to plan the rumble.

     They decide to invite the Sharks to the rumble at a local dance. Bernardo, the leader of the Sharks, arrives with his younger brother Chino and Chino’s date Maria. Maria shows no interest in dancing with Chino, and soon she lays eyes on Tony. The two fall in love, much like Romeo and Juliet did, from across the crowded dance floor. Bernardo catches the two dancing, and in a fit of rage accepts the invitation to rumble (Mitchell). The two later meet outside of Maria’s apartment, and they reveal their love for each other. The audience now fears for and loves this unlikely couple.

     Later, Bernardo and Riff meet at Doc’s Candy Store to talk out the terms of the upcoming fight. Tony makes them agree to have a clean fight (no weapons):

The next day, when Tony meets Maria at the bridal shop where she works, Anita (Rita Moreno), Bernardo’s girlfriend, learns of their liaison, but agrees to keep quiet. Maria asks Tony to try to stop the planned fight. Tony heads to the scene of the battle, and tries to get the fight called off, but Riff and Bernardo get into a knife fight. Tony interferes, and Riff is stabbed. Dying, he hands his knife to Tony, who kills Bernardo as a full-fledged rumble breaks out. (Mitchell)

When Chino tells Maria of Bernardo’s death, he is enraged to find that Maria cares more about Tony than Bernardo. Chino then vows to kill Tony.  Maria is soon questioned by a cop about the recent deaths, and sends Anita to tell Tony of the delay. Some of the Jets start bothering her, however, and she lies to Tony that Maria has been shot. In a fit of sadness, he runs the streets, yelling for the Sharks to kill him too, and at the last minute sees Maria from across a park. He is shot, and dies in her arms. The musical ends with both Sharks and Jets carrying Tony’s body off of the stage. A pause in music signifies that the gangs have reached a truce.

     This musical is one of the best ever created: “West Side Story created a Broadway sensation as a stunning amalgamation of Shakespeare, musical theater, and the theme of street gangs and violence among modern youths” (Mitchell). There are many significant ties that lead from lyrics to philosophic thought, such as in the song “America”. It truly is a musical that everyone must see at least once, although I guarantee that you will want to see if over and over again. The choreographer, Jerome Robbins, used vivid and difficult dancing that required the casting of very experienced performers. He did this to emulate the sense of choreography and rhythm in the real street fights of Manhattan. The lyrics in the stage version were very provocative, and they had to be tamed down for the film version. They do, however, show a sense of the vulgarity and roughness in the manner of speech of Manhattan gangs. The gangs, much like gangs today, had their own colors.  It seemed that the creators of this musical were very knowledgeable of the stuggles and ways of gangs.

     West Side Story is not just a musical ‘thrown together’ with dancing, music, Shakespearian references, and gangs. It is a well organized piece of theatrical history, and without it, modern film would not be what it is today. Thanks to the hard work and time spent by the 1960′s filmmakers that turned the stage version into a video masterpiece, we can enjoy West Side Story without having to travel to New York City. That is, to me, the best thing that has happened for the promotion of on stage musicals.

Works Cited:

The Official West Side Story Website is a good read too.

Oh, And also,  Sarah’s Blog is golden for more information on Sixties Film.

-Katie

     One of our nations greatest social and political upheavals took place in the 1960′s. Things that were taboo in previous decades became everyday normalities, and morality itself took a drastic turn. Racial segregation and sexual repression were topics of hot discussion, and soon young audiences began rejecting what had been the norms of the film industry: “Foreign films, with their frank portrayals of sexuality, gained fresh currency… [directors] weilded a great influence on a new generation of filmmakers who were also filmgoers” (Morris). Young people wanted their cinema shocking and full of brilliant colors, like the pop art that was so popular at the time. These fresh social changes greatly influenced film.

     I personally believe that without the uprising of the youth of the 60′s, modern cinema would be void of any colorful, expressive things that make movies so enjoyable for us. Even my insanely religious grandmother has stated multiple times that without the ability to shoot movies in the way that they were intended their meanings would be lost. Take Precious for example, with such a strong message to convey it never would have been created without the influence of the 60′s filmmakers.

     A popular way for an independent filmmaker to convey his message in the 60′s was to use black and white film and untrained actors in non-studio locations. This was a drastic change from filming methods in the previous decades, which included a set stage that actors would enter and exit from as the story progressed. This practice is very similar to what occurs in modern day theatre. However, not all filmmakers used strictly new techniques:

Adolfas Mekas’s Hallelujah the Hills(1963), for example, absorbs cinematic history into a modernist framework, skewing the narrative by resurrecting visual and aural strategies as old as cinema itself: iris shots, sped-up movements, real location shooting, novice actors, and a use of music that recalls the silent film — not merely commenting on the action, but working with the visuals to create the film’s mood. (Morris)

 It seemed that filmmakers were using any technique necessary to catch the attention of the youth.

     The vibrant distractions that are so common in modern films was founded by 60′s filmmakers. With the fast paced lives we live today, I can say without a doubt that most American’s interest in film could not exist without the blatent showmanship that both intrigues and bothers us. Odd camera angles and strange colors are a part of almost all of my generations favorite movies. The 6th Sense used the color red to signify death, giving the entire movie a very eerie feeling. This idea of visual redundancies started in the 1960′s.

     Even childrens shows began to see drastic changes. Art Clokey , an american filmmaker, made an animated film called Gumbasia, “with shapes of clay moving to music playing in the background” (Nicole). It was created with a form of stop-motion animation called claymation. In claymation, clay characters are moved gradually between still shots in order to create a life-like movement when the film is put together. This type of animation became very popular in childrens movies and television shows. Several Christmas specials were made this way, many of which are still viewed by children today. Claymation is one of my favorite forms of 1960′s film. Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas is recent proof that stop-motion art is still important. I am glad that Art Clokey put forth the effort he did to make Claymation a key part in our lives today.

     I personally am glad that the filmmakers in the 1960′s took risks and tried new things. From claymation to reviving old techniques,  they paved the long road that lead to cinema today. I know that I would not enjoy films had it not been for the innovations of the early filmmakers, and I hope after reading this you gain a better understanding of the foundations of modern film through leaps made in the 1960′s.

 Works Cited:

Morris, Gary. “American Independant Narrative Cinema of the 60′s.” Bright Lights Cinema. Jan. 2000. Web. 22 Jan. 2010. http://www.brightlightsfilm.com/27/sixtiescinema1.html.

Nicole. “Gumby, 53 Years of Entertaining America.” RetroPlanet.com. 23 July 2008. Web. 22 Jan. 2010. http://www.retroplanet.com/blog/character-of-the-week/gumby-americas-beloved-claymation-character/.

Bibliography: