¶ … BLUES Leadbelly told Alan Lomax, "It a man blues sing blues," statement -- a truth blues -- leads a number things worth thinking exploring. For thing, side Leadbelly's statement true: One blues hear blues understand .
Blues and the American experience
It is a very well-known fact that music is one of the oldest means of expression in human civilization. It represents the way through which some of the deepest feelings and emotions have been expressed along the history of mankind. Whether it is through music and instruments, such as symphonic music, or whether this music includes words and lyrics, all musical creations aim at sending a message about the world their creators lived in, their emotions, and their feelings related to that world, or its surrounding elements.
The Blues has provided music lovers and not only them a comprehensive image of different experiences of the American history particularly because this music genre is a creation of the American history. One of the important aspects of the American history is the "American dream" theme. It is rather well-known the fact that especially during the 19th and 20th century, all those in search for a better life and a brighter future saw the United States as a Promise Land. At the same time, the 19th century, the slavery issue, then the racism and eventually the segregation were all part of a dark aspect of the American history for the African-American...
" (Blow, Kurtis) The entire movement revolved around a new way to dress, dance, talk and even walk. "The way they danced, dressed, walked, and talked was unique, as opposed to most of the disco artists and fans of the time, which were not as in touch with the urban streets of America." (Blow, Kurtis) Hip-hop represented the new generation of blacks suffering in urban poverty. The passion and truth generated
American Musical Genres: Rhythm and Blues Rhythm and Blues, or R&B, is an American musical genre largely attributed to the African-American community. Originating in the 1940s, the term was first used by record companies to describe recordings "marketed predominantly to urban African-Americans," at a time when "urbane, rocking, jazz-based music with a heavy, insistent beat" was becoming increasingly popular (Palmer 5). Though the genre has evolved dramatically since its inception, certain
While this was progressive for its age, the current opinion is generally that references such as the word "nigger" in the lyrics of the play make it unsuitable for current tastes. The show does however remain important in its pioneering of the new form of musical drama. Oklahoma Like Show Boat, Oklahoma! was a pioneer of the musical in its time. This 1943 production was the first musical play created by
Review: Chicago (2002) The long-running and successful theatre piece Chicago was moved to the big screen in 2002 with a lavish and high-budget production that indulged in the work's color, flash and musical excess. This would widely be considered one of the most successful film adaptations of a stage musical to yet be released. Indeed, it would receive wide critical acclaim, winning the Best Picture Oscar that year and experiencing considerable
Genre: The Conventions of Connection" by Leo Braudy is a bold and well-written article which acknowledges how too often in film theory and criticism, genre films are dismissed as fluff and all-together one-dimensional pieces of art. Braudy makes a strong case for genre films explaining how they actually represent intricate subversions or indictments of reality and he uses specific examples from westerns or musicals to support his case. Braudy acknowledges that
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind The genre of a movie is the label that is supposed to be applied to that film. For example, a mystery movie is labeled in that genre because it has certain characteristics which fit in with what comes to mind with the word "mystery." Genre labels are also applied to comedies, dramas, musicals, horror films, and children's movies. Some movies however do not fit neatly
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