http://www.helium.com/items/1421334-gene-kelly-utopia-esapism-movies-films-musicals-musical-films-richard-dyer-textual-analysis?page=2
"Therefore this is imaginary escapism, for the viewer as much as for the character. There are no real changes for either and escapist needs and their proper fulfilments are to a large extent created by a dominant system in which entertainment operates. Dyer touches on this fact at the start of his essay calling entertainment "a type of performance for profit performed before a generalized audience", he goes on to add that because it is professional entertainers who produce entertainment "it is also largely defined by them"."
"Dyer's relationship between Utopian sensibility and the inadequacies in society as presenting "an instance of the ways in which people may come to invest in their own unhappiness." This would make sense in terms of post-war musicals where most, if not all, of the audience members would be feeling great unhappiness and wishing for something better, living with memories but having hopes and dreams for the future."
"the stars are nicer than us, characters more straightforward than people we know, situations more soluble than those we encounter". Non-representational signs include colour, texture, camera angles, editing, movement and the musical score. These things do not represent anything concrete. They determine the attribution of meaning to a large extent. The non-representational signs actually create more fully the utopian effect as they involve the emotions."
"Indeed deep social needs were essential in the post-war era where musicals became set in exotic places, far from the stresses of New York. The comparison is even shown in parody form on screen in Brigadoon when Tommy (Kelly) returns from Brigadoon/Utopia to New York/Reality, after having experienced the wonder of the Scottish Highlands. His return home is to a place most audience members will recognise as a stereotypical view of New York. Full of noise, activity, plush restaurants, diamonds, furs, latest fashions, alcohol and smoke filled air."
"Entertainment offers the audience the idea of utopia where negative aspects of the real world are eradicated in favour of other sensibilities. He also suggests that specific inadequacies in society are compensated for by utopian sensibilities inherent in mainstream entertainment, which are abundance, energy, intensity, transparency and community. I will now discuss these five sensibilities and relate them to key numbers in the aforementioned musicals."
up to page 5
Wednesday 25 November 2009
2)How is utopia represented in the films?
Singing in The Rain. (notes while watching film - WILL EXPAND)
- Arriving at a film premier
- interview (flashback) on how they got there
- the screening of the show ( gene kelly character is loved and adored within the film)
glamour, tux, fur and diamonds. Slap stick comedy - everyone is happy and flirty
Gene Kelly loved by everyone , man friends women fall in love with him. A charmer.
Celebrity - being mobbed by fans escaping. * thought ( modern day obsessed with celebrity culture follow there life a talking point)
Very fake the set up which make is commerical for watching it in the modern day.
Nosatagic of talking movie - hopeful.
Sounds effects to emphasis the slapstick style
"make 'em laugh" slapstick song, 2 ronnies comedy family programme similar style.
Hairspray
the story line about intergration between the black and white - a serious and a topical subject. However as it is a musical makes it commerical the difference between the two, especially when Penny mother goes the the ghetto, as such, and she runs around with her knife. If it was any other genre it would feel like a serious heavy film to do with race.
The main story is aroun Tracy, who is not the perfect skinny blonde, who is on The Corny Collins show. She gets to to be in the show thanks to corny collins and is the main leader in the intergration of the black and white kids in the show. It is set in the 60s, which was a glam era, and the slightest bit of problems is solved by having a dance. It reminded me of footloose where all the kids wanted to do was dance, it was a way of letting them be young which i think i pushed through the film as well. It is advertising to the audience a dance and a sings and you can forget everything.
Mamma Mia
Set on a greek island it is the perfect summer film- which was one of the factors why it was a big seller in the summer. Many people were like me where they know the story through the theatre show etc. so it was just another form of seeing the story line. The utopia is presented by the characters, who are care free people, where everyone is goodlooking and again the problems is solved by singing. The main attractivness is the characters, as they are big films stars such as pierce bronson and meryl streap, so to see them sing is funny. The island was what everyone dream was to esacpe to. The summer was full of bad weather and no money, so to see this island with blue sea, sun and sand,. for that 1 hour and so you believed you were there.
Wizard Of Oz
Everyone knows the yellow brick road, the whole set is colourful and like a pop up childs book. Which i think is the attractiveness. You get sucked into this world, for the duration of the film, and you beilve that the yellow brick road will lead somewhere and you want the lion to get its courage. The pastle colours is a massive contast to outised your window, and a little bit of me/you wants your steet to look that colourful. And the only problem is the wicked witch of the west.
- Arriving at a film premier
- interview (flashback) on how they got there
- the screening of the show ( gene kelly character is loved and adored within the film)
glamour, tux, fur and diamonds. Slap stick comedy - everyone is happy and flirty
Gene Kelly loved by everyone , man friends women fall in love with him. A charmer.
Celebrity - being mobbed by fans escaping. * thought ( modern day obsessed with celebrity culture follow there life a talking point)
Very fake the set up which make is commerical for watching it in the modern day.
Nosatagic of talking movie - hopeful.
Sounds effects to emphasis the slapstick style
"make 'em laugh" slapstick song, 2 ronnies comedy family programme similar style.
Hairspray
the story line about intergration between the black and white - a serious and a topical subject. However as it is a musical makes it commerical the difference between the two, especially when Penny mother goes the the ghetto, as such, and she runs around with her knife. If it was any other genre it would feel like a serious heavy film to do with race.
The main story is aroun Tracy, who is not the perfect skinny blonde, who is on The Corny Collins show. She gets to to be in the show thanks to corny collins and is the main leader in the intergration of the black and white kids in the show. It is set in the 60s, which was a glam era, and the slightest bit of problems is solved by having a dance. It reminded me of footloose where all the kids wanted to do was dance, it was a way of letting them be young which i think i pushed through the film as well. It is advertising to the audience a dance and a sings and you can forget everything.
Mamma Mia
Set on a greek island it is the perfect summer film- which was one of the factors why it was a big seller in the summer. Many people were like me where they know the story through the theatre show etc. so it was just another form of seeing the story line. The utopia is presented by the characters, who are care free people, where everyone is goodlooking and again the problems is solved by singing. The main attractivness is the characters, as they are big films stars such as pierce bronson and meryl streap, so to see them sing is funny. The island was what everyone dream was to esacpe to. The summer was full of bad weather and no money, so to see this island with blue sea, sun and sand,. for that 1 hour and so you believed you were there.
Wizard Of Oz
Everyone knows the yellow brick road, the whole set is colourful and like a pop up childs book. Which i think is the attractiveness. You get sucked into this world, for the duration of the film, and you beilve that the yellow brick road will lead somewhere and you want the lion to get its courage. The pastle colours is a massive contast to outised your window, and a little bit of me/you wants your steet to look that colourful. And the only problem is the wicked witch of the west.
Old Musicals today.
A musical is two things - primarly a movie with the addition of a soundtrack. Unlike any other genre the songs becomes the main focus of the film and in some ways becomes more popular than film. Musical channels like TMF have countdowns of the top 100 movie soundtracks and Wizard Of Oz always appears.
Like the last post it regenerates the film as new audiences see the song and want to see the film.
Like Its a Wonderful Life that is all over the musical channels with the classic Dreaming Of A White Christmas. Also many musical films are also broadway shows, whether the film came out first or the show, they work along each other promoting the storyline and songs.
Friday 13 November 2009
Discusses The Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum. Analyzes the character of Dorothy and explores her standing as the story's hero. Provides examples of her heroism from the novel.
When you think about the Wizard of Oz, the first thing that you probably think about is the character Dorothy because she was the hero. Dorothy's home is in Kansas where she lives with Aunt Em and Uncle Henry. She only considers herself as an ordinary girl, but she is more. She liberates or improves nearly everyone who comes into contact with her. Not only does she help the scarecrow, Tin Woodman, and the Cowardly Lion, she defeats the wicked Witch of the West. Throughout the journey that Dorothy had to make to get back home, she made many friends, went through hardships, and followed her guide to achieve her goal.
When a twister comes and picks up Dorothy's house, she ends up in the Land of Oz. The Land of Oz is different and not what she is familiar with, in that case, she starts out to find a way home. The munchkins and the Witch of the North believe that the Wizard can help her and tell her to follow the yellow brick road. Her main goal is to go back home, but before she does that she needs to meet Oz so he can tell her how. Oz states that in order for him to tell her how to get back home, she needs to kill the Witch of the West. Therefore she kills the wicked Witch of the West because she is determined to get back home, and when she returns to him she realizes that he is a humbug and nothing but a little old man.
When Dorothy met the Witch of the North, she gave her a pair of silver shoes or ruby slippers that belonged to the Witch of the East, who Dorothy killed. Dorothy wears them on her journey. The yellow brick road guides Dorothy to Emerald City where the Wizard of Oz lives. At the end, Dorothy figures out that the pair of shoes have been her main guide throughout her long, tough journey.
Throughout Dorothy's journey, she encounters three extraordinary things. The first follower was the Scarecrow. The Scarecrow if full of straw and he needs the Oz to give him a brain. Next the Tin Woodman, who was empty, wants a heart so he can feel things and he believes that Oz can provide a heart for him. Lastly was the Cowardly Lion who was disappointed that he was a coward because lions are supposed to be the king of the jungle. The Cowardly Lion joins Dorothy and the others on their journey to see the Wizard of Oz so he may give him courage.
Although Dorothy made friends, there were many hardships among them. They escaped the deadly fumes of the poppy field with the help of the Queen of Mice. The wicked Witch of the West try to win by sending out wolves, crows, and bees. The witch also doesn't feed the Lion to starve it, but Dorothy secretly feeds it. To put an end to the witch, Dorothy throws water on her and the witch dissolves.
In the end, Dorothy returns home with the help of the good Witch of the North telling her to use the silver shoes because they were her guide all along. Although a young girl, she is a sturdy, determined, and a modern hero. Dorothy's journey to get back home was difficult for a young girl, never the less, she endured the hardship, helped her friends, and followed the guides to master her goal to see Oz and get back home.
Wizard of Oz
"Based on The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, the turn-of-the-century childrens novel by L.Frank Baum, this evergreen classic is one of the great film fairy tales, also a first rate musical and the vehicle that turned Judy Garland from a talented child performer into a lasting and iconic movie star. Not hugely profitable on its first release, prehaps because it was such an expensive production . The Wizard of Oz has become beloved by successive generation. Like Its' a Wonderful Life (1946), its populatity was boosted in the 1950s with annaul christmas television screenings, where it was established it as among the most beloved all movies" 1001 movie book
Look more into -
- Stars like Judy Garland and the popularity it brings being in a musical
- The genre and how no consistant it is but songs are always played like in musical channels.
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