Quick Review 4/9

1. Quick Review 4/9 • M.Socrative.com – Room #38178 • Questions: • 1. What did Dorothea Lange document in her photographs? • 2. What is another name for Frank Lloyd Wright’s Kaufman House?

2. Dance, Theater, & Cinema

3. Modern Dance – Martha Graham Martha Graham (1893-1991) is the most influential figure in modern dance She famously said, “there are no general rules. Each work of art creates its own code.”

4. Modern Dance Modern dance moved into its own conventions, courtesy of Graham Ballet movements were largely rounded and symmetrical, but modern dancers emphasized angularity and asymmetry Ballet stressed leaps and based its line on toe-work, while modern dance hugged the floor and dancers went barefoot

5. Modern Dance The early works of Graham and others tended to be more fierce and earthy – less graceful Beneath it was the desire to stress emotion Graham described her choreography as “a graph of the heart”

6. Modern Dance Graham’s early works were notorious for their jerks and trembling – she was basing her movements on the act of breathing She translated contractions and releases of inhaling and exhaling into a series of whiplash movements that expressly revealed energy and effort

7. Martha Graham – Appalachian Spring Martha Graham danced as The Bride Appalachian Spring, the ballet, is about a wedding on the American frontier The movement expresses individual character and emotion, and has clarity, spaciousness, and definition that relate to the open frontier

8. Martha Graham – Appalachian Spring Martha Graham's Appalachian Spring Part 3/4 - YouTube

9. Theater The American Musical

10. The American Musical • Musical theater combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting, and dance • Opera did NOT include spoken dialogue, and, in some cases, did not include dance • Opera was still in existence, and the musical grew out of it – they competed with each other initially • Equal importance to the music and dialogue

11. The American Musical Musicals are most commonly presented in large venues They do often tour and are performed by amateur groups in communities or schools

12. The American Musical • Musical productions rely heavily on their set design, costumes, props, lighting, sound, etc. which may change from production to production • Length can range from a short one-act play to several acts and several hours in length • Most range from 1-3 hours

13. The American Musical • They are usually presented in 2 acts with one brief intermission • The first act is usually longer • The first act introduces all of the characters and most of the music and often ends in dramatic conflict • The second act may have a few new songs, but usually reprises numbers from the first • The second act resolves the conflict • Spoken dialogue is interspersed between musical numbers

14. The American Musical • The greatest dramatic moments are generally sung • When the emotion becomes too strong for speech you sing; when it becomes too strong for song, you dance • Songs are ideally crafted to suit the characters involved

15. The American Musical Musical: where songs and dances are fully integrated into a well-made story with serious dramatic goals that evoke genuine emotions other than laughter Three main components – music, lyrics, and books (or stories)

16. Famous Musicals – Pre 1950 Porgy and Bess (1935) - Summertime Oklahoma (1943) South Pacific (1947) The King and I (1951) – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1o1t-PhkFAQ There are several post 1950 that you will probably recognize. They will be part of the project you start tomorrow...

17. Later Next Week we’ll watch: West Side Story • By Leonard Bernstein, Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim • Jazz-influenced music – full orchestra • Based on Romeo and Juliet • Set in the Upper West Side of NYC in the early 1950s • It explores the rivalry between the Jets and Sharks (2 teenage street gangs of different ethnicities) • Tony, a Jet, falls in love with Maria, sister to Bernardo, the leader of the Sharks

18. West Side Story • It opened on Broadway in 1957 and marked Sondheim’s Broadway debut • Sondheim is the mastermind behind “Sweeney Todd” (1980 – movie 2007) – he wrote the music and lyrics • It ran for 732 performances before going on tour • The movie was made in 1961 – we’ll start watching it late next week after the presentations.

19. Cinema

20. Cinema – the Rise of the Studio • Film-making spread rapidly throughout Europe after World War 1 • “silent films” – acting and music, no dialogue yet • The 1920s were the heyday of Hollywood • Its films were silent, but its extravagance, its star system, and its legions of starlets dazzled the world • MGM, Paramount, Universal, Fox, and Warner Brothers all began

21. Cinema – the Rise of the Studio • Although the soundtrack had been invented many years earlier, and short talking films had been released, The Jazz Singer (1927) heralded the age of talkies • “You ain’t heard nothin’ yet!” • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=22NQuPrwbHA

22. Cinema – the Rise of the Studio • The Jazz Singer (released in 1927) is an American musical film. It was the FIRST feature-length motion picture with synchronized dialogue • Its release signified the decline of the silent film era • Based on a play called The Day of Atonement

23. Cinema – the Rise of the Studio • The Jazz Singer Is about a young man, JakieRabinowitz, who defies the traditions of his Jewish family by singing at a bar. • He runs away from home and becomes a famous jazz musician known as Jack Robin. The movie centers around the conflict of his professional ambitions vs. the demands of his home and family

24. Cinema – New Genres • The early 30s produced films about crime and violence • Related to the rise of mobs during prohibition • The gangster genre fell out of favor amid public cries that such glorified violence was harming American youth • Sound familiar?? • The Production Code – or censorship – was strengthened and Hollywood was toned down

25. Cinema – New Genre • The most popular star of the 30s was created by Walt Disney – Mickey Mouse! • Part of the change away from violence • Steamboat Willie - 1928 – YouTube • First appearance of Mickey Mouse!

26. Cinema – New Genres In 1939, John Ford’s classic, Stagecoach, made John Wayne the prototypical cowboy hero and brought the “Western” genre to life! Pilgrim.. – YouTube 1939 also brought the Wizard of Oz

27. Cinema – New Genres • The epic of the decade was David O. Selznick’s Gone with the Wind • Gone with the Wind is a 3.75 hour movie with an improbable plot and stereotypical characters • That’s a long movie even TODAY! • American classic in which a manipulative woman and a dishonest man carry on a turbulent love affair in the American south during the Civil War and Reconstruction.

28. Social Commentary In the midst of World War II, film underwent radical change in form and content In 1940, Darryl Zanuck produced and John Ford directed a film that stunned Hollywood: John Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath (a visualization of Steinbeck’s portrayal of the Depression)

29. Social Commentary • The Grapes of Wrath illustrates the importance of screenwriting in modern cinema • In the novel, Steinbeck frequently gives praise to the Joad family and their toughness of spirit • They were thrown off their farm in the Great Depression and forced to find a new life in California where circumstances proved even more disastrous • In the movie, John Ford chose not to use the device of narration – the characters spoke for themselves, but told the same story

30. Social Commentary • Social commentary appeared again in 1941 with Citizen Kane, a grim view of wealth and power in the US • This film, thought by some as the greatest movie ever produced, blazed a new trail in its cinematic techniques • Find any list of “Best Movies of All Time” and this is probably number 1 (if not, definitely in the top 3) • Citizen Kane was voted #1 in the five Sight & Sound critics' polls from 1962 to 2002.[2] A separate Sight & Sound poll of established film directors, held for the first time in 1992, also placed Citizen Kane at the top in 1992 and 2002.[2]Citizen Kane was also selected as #1 in a Village Voice and in a Time Out critics' poll. It was listed as the greatest American film by the American Film Institute in both the first (1998) and second (2007) versions of its 100 Years... 100 Movies list. • It brilliantly combined deep-focus photography, unique lighting effects, and rapid cutting • Citizen Kane (1941) - YouTube

31. Musical Project Thursday and Friday Presentations Monday and Tuesday