Essay on African American Representation in Show Boat

The evolution of musical theater in America can be viewed through many lenses. Through the lens of hindsight, it is easy to reflect on the treatment and portrayal of African-Americans in the contextual fruition of live entertainment in the United States. Dating back to the later half to the nineteenth and into the early twentieth century, ethnic representation in musical theater underwent a gradual change paralleling a shift in societal opinion toward racial equality. Though by today’s standards, its depiction of African-Americans may seem archaic at best, Show Boat changed the way audiences viewed musical theater through its success as the first show to deal with racial issues in the United States. In order to fully understand the†¦show more content†¦In her doctoral dissertation, Katherine Axtell examines Show Boat from its novel origins to its inception and creation as a work of musical theater. It is clear from her analysis that even though Hammerstein and Ke rn may not have intended Show Boat to be about race, it was still at the forefront of their minds. Axtell states, â€Å"sources†¦strongly suggest that, page for page and line for line, the composer and librettist expended the greatest energy on the development of material for the romantic leads, Magnolia and Ravenal; that they took inspiration†¦from contemporary African-American musical theater.†6 Axtell also cites Todd Decker, â€Å"who in 2007 included Show Boat in a larger study of ‘black-white encounters’ in selected American stage and film musicals... Decker argues that Kern and Hammerstein concentrated, from the beginning of their collaboration, on the development of interracial encounters and the creation of such numbers as ‘Can’t Help Lovin; Dat Man’ and ‘Ol’ Man River.’†7 It was, in fact, â€Å"Ol’ Man River† that many believed to be the highlight of the show. Sung by the African-American character, Joe, â€Å"Ol’ Man River† represents the overarching theme of Show Boat. The â€Å"river† in the song represents the Mississippi River, but the lyricsShow MoreRelatedAn Analysis Of George Gershwin s An American Folk Opera 1641 Words   |  7 Pagesâ€Å"An American Folk Opera.† George Gershwin’s most successful piece of expansive musical drama was subtitled with this term that no musician or critic had applied to a work of musical drama before the 1935 premiere of Porgy and Bess. Much has been written about the work’s subtitle; its literal meaning, its evolution, and its implications for a changing cultural landscape. Porgy and Bess was the last in a triptych of literature and theater surrounding the character of Porgy, a crippled beggar livingRead MoreIf a Picture Paints...1025 Words   |  5 Pagesportraying history. 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Television News vs. Newspaper - 611 Words

Television news vs. Newspaper When it comes to finding about the news of what’s going on in our world, we want details and facts. We want the juice of what’s actually going on. The debate between the efficiency of newspapers and TV news, TV news is a lot more effective. Watching the news on TV is a lot easier for people to understand and is more convenient than reading it on paper. For the people who are always in a rush in the morning, it’s more convenient to turn on the TV and listen to what’s going on rather than trying to read a paper because it will only slow your task down. Also, for the people who don’t know how to read and for elders whose eyes don’t function properly, the TV is a better source of finding out the news. Not only†¦show more content†¦The smallest story could be the most important; but if you have a newspaper, you won’t be able to find out what’s going on, so you’ll have to rely on the TV news to tell you what you want to know. TV offers more options of news. 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Music in the Industrial Revolution free essay sample

Revolution In the Industrial Revolution, the invention of the Plano and other more advanced instruments called for the composing of more refined music as well, and these composers blossomed In Italy, France, England and Germany. Three Italian barnacles from Ceremony made the violin and their work has not been surpassed even to this day. Violin sonatas were written in Italy. Also, harpsichords and clavichords had been perfected which were the forerunners of the piano.In 1685; 1 750 Johann Sebastian Bach became one of the most famous musicians the world has ever known. This man was an organist, violinist, and player of both the harpsichord and clavichord. He composed music, taught it and directed choirs in Leipzig; wrote over 300 cantatas and numerous accomplishments for the organ, harpsichord, clavichord and for small orchestras! George Handel (1685-1759) was a composer, as Bach, but was most well known for composing Italian operas and English oratorios. Joseph Haydn (1732-1809) has often been called the father of the symphony and string quartet. We will write a custom essay sample on Music in the Industrial Revolution or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791 ) who was considered to be the greatest musical genius f all time by many was a classical writer as well as Ludwig Van Beethoven (1770-1827) who wrote Classical and Romanticism. Mozart was known throughout Europe as an Infant prodigy and died very young, leaving behind numerous compositions for symphony, sonatas, string quartets, concertos, Masses, and operas. Franz Schubert (1797-1828) was another musical genius. He wrote symphonies, chamber music, piano sonatas and short romantic pieces. He actually wrote more than 600 romantic songs. Karl Maria von Weber (1786-1826) is named the Father ofGerman Opera, and was the first to write them in German romantic as opposed to Italian style. From 1809 to 1 81 3 there were five marvelous composers who really influenced the history of music. Felix Mendelssohn-Birthday (1809-1847) was famous for his piano writings and orchestral music. Robert Schumann (1810-1856) wrote romantic Plano with descriptive titles. Frederic Chopin (1810-1849) was of Polish orally and wrote outstanding Plano music. Franz List (1811-1886) from Hungry wrote orchestral worksshorter symphonies with descriptive titles; and known to be one of e greatest pianists in the entire world. He and Hector Burlier (1803-1869) a Frenchman, aided the development of program music which was inspired by a story, legend, event, picture or scene. Burlier is sometimes called the Father of modern orchestra. Richard Wagner (1813-1883) was the greatest German opera composer music reflected the great drama it enhanced. Johannes Brahms (1833-1897) His music reflected that of Beethoven, but was called a neoclassicist that disapproved of romanticism. He was one of the greatest writers of the 180s. In the late sasss,Burner, Mailer, Wolf, Strauss, and Sublime were great composers of various styles and Sir Arthur Sullivan, Sir William S. Gilbert and Sir Edward Legal and Frederick Delis wrote Important music. None of this music would have been possible without the Introduction of new technology In the design and manufacture of new and more sophisticated musical Instruments In the Industrial Revolution. Ay benevolence In the Industrial Revolution, the invention of the Piano and other more advanced instruments called for the composing of more refined music as well, and these imposers blossomed in Italy, France, England and Germany.

The Soul Descartes And Locke Essays - Philosophy Of Mind

The Soul: Descartes And Locke Out of all the philosophers we have examined in this unit, Ren? Descartes (On Thinking and the Soul) presents the best argument about what a soul and body are. In contrast, I believe that Locke's interpretation of the body, mind, soul and self was my least favorite interpretation. Ren? Descartes believed the soul is a pure, unitary thinking thing that has no weight and occupies no space. The soul, according to Descartes, has clear and distinct ideas of matters that can be conceived of in mathematical terms. The body, according to Descartes, is a material thing that operates mechanically, in accordance of cause and effect. The body moves mechanically through muscles and nerves and generates its own heat. Identity, Descartes believed, comes from the soul. The body acts as a container for the soul and is completely separate from a person's identity. Descartes also believed that thoughts in the soul depend only on the soul and not on the body. Therefore, since the only thing that the sou l can do is think than he must be a soul. Locke believed that Descartes equation of the soul is completely false. Locke noted that if the soul left the body during sleep (Descartes) than it could body hop into other individual. This outcome of Descartes theory is completely absurd to Locke. Locke believed that the identity of a person comes from his/her body. According to Locke, the ?same soul? criterion used by Descartes won't do as an explanation. He believed that same matter could not be used as a criterion for human identity because matter in ones body turns over through the death of old cells and the birth of new ones. I agree with Descartes notion of self-identity because the soul is separate from the body. I believe that ones body is plagued with several particulars such as hair, arms, legs etc. The soul is a universal entity, meaning everyone has one. I disagree with Locke's account of the body as a person's identity because he believed that people could lose consciousness o r memory over parts of their lives. This lost part of someone's life would cause that person to change his/her identity. I believe that if the soul is the thinking agent and if it is universal, than it could not and would not lose consciousness or memory, causing a person to keep his/her original identity. Rather, when consciousness or memory is lost, it is lost due to the imperfections found in a person's material shell, the body I believe, thanks to Descartes, that a person has two separate entities. The first is the body. The body is made up of particulars and other matter that allows it to function like a container. The second entity is the soul. Here, all thinking processes are done, the function of the brain is to separate the sensations throughout the body. Psychology