Friday, March 29, 2024

Film, Broadway and Our Culture

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*Oscar season just came to a close and the big winner “Birdman” is a piece that combines both Broadway and film. It won the Oscar for Best Picture, Best Director and Best Original Screenplay. And although “Glory” was the only Oscar win for “Selma,” this year’s Academy Awards proved to be more racially diverse than expected, as seen by director Alejandro González Iñárritu’s closing speech.

This year’s Academy Awards continued to show that film and Broadway still play a large role in the shaping of our culture. If you’re still not convinced, here are a few ways the performing arts shape our society:

Film and Culture

Essence magazine ranks the most iconic black films, including classics like “Carmen Jones” from 1954 and the 1970s pictures “Lady Sings the Blues,” featuring Dianna Ross as the iconic blues singer Billie Holiday, and “Roots.” Some modern day films include “Coming to America,” featuring funny man Eddie Murphy; “Ray,” the story of Ray Charles and “Precious,” starring Academy Award nominated Gabourey Sidebe and Academy Award Winner Mo’Nique.

One thing that all of these films have in common is that they have significantly shaped our culture. African-American culture has made significant progress towards equality in America, as have the films that portray African-American lifestyles. Although Hollywood has yet to abandon all of the stereotypes about race, it’s certainly making strides.

Film is a platform that allows people from all different walks of life to have a dialogue about the issues they see on the screen. This can include political opinions, emotional issues and even social reform. For example, the film “The Help” addresses character views about social reform. Film also is a resource that’s easy to access, and people of all ages can learn from it.

Broadway and Culture

Before film there was Broadway. During the early 1900s, Broadway theaters popped up around New York City. These musical hotspots featured performances of song and dance, and like film, reflected the political views, emotional tumults and social ideas of the time.

A handful of the most iconic musical productions featuring a black cast include “Dreamgirls,” which was adapted to film in 2006 featuring superstar Beyonce Knowles; the 1974 Tony Award winner “Raisin” and the Grammy award nominated musical “Ain’t Misbehavin.”

According to a 2014 Black Voices Huffington Post article, more black cast members than ever before are taking the Broadway stage. For example, Hollywood’s Denzel Washington played a role in the musical “A Raisin in the Sun.” The article also states that many African-American cast members are taking on non-traditional character roles. For example, James Monroe Iglehart, Norm Lewis and Condola Rashad played non-black characters like the genie in “Aladdin,” the phantom in “The Phantom of the Opera” and Juliet in “Romeo and Juliet.” This new trend is called “colorblind casting,” and we’re hoping that it can reach from Broadway to Hollywood.

Today, Broadway is still alive and you can buy a ticket to see a musical like “Hedwig and the Angry Inch,” “The Lion King” or “Kings of Harlem” in New York City.

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