I guess I'm a little jaded about New York and Broadway. Watching that video was almost laughable as it's hard to see NYC as this glorious town of arts, as it was where I was mugged, went broke, and probably got most of my nerousis. I also avoided Time Square with every fiber of my being. It was especially laughable when in the video they mentioned the Bowery, as it was where I lived for my two years in NYC (between a homeless shelter and...an OPERA HOUSE!) Hard to imagine the graffiti covered buildings as a haven of culture.
Here's a picture of my old apartment (the building on the left) and the Opera house (the white building)
Anyways, I digress. I guess as jaded as I am, Broadway still definetly has some sort of magical pull. I'll give an anecdote. I work in a dance store, where I fit pointe shoes, and various other dance shoes. The other day I had a young girl and her mother come in to the store for shoes for the girl. Obviously hard on their luck, I wondered why they would be spending hundreds of dollars on shoes. I struck up a conversation with them, and found out that the girl had relocated from Colorado with her family, so as to attend the Patel Conservatorvy (this is a dance/theater/music program at the Straz Center). Her goal was to make it to Broadway, and her and her mother were dead-set that this was going to happen.
My favorite discussion about Broadway today was the talk about womens liberation! There's something I can get behind! I think women looked more free then than they do now!
Also, I nearly swooned when we mentioned Dita Von Teese. Be still my heart!
Jazz
Let's talk about Jazz. Which, I'm going to be honest, I don't know much about. So I had to do a little research before I begin here. Which was difficult as jazz has so many genres, and sub genres, and sub sub genres, it's hard to sum it up. Jazz, from what I gathered, seems to have originated in the South, specifically New Orlean. I was confused as to why they kept stating jazz was "birthed" in NYC, as I beleived it to be popular in Chicago before New York. And my research seems to have confirmed this. Jazz went to Chicago and was popular their during the 1920s, and was also gaining momentum in NYC. I think it would be a travesty to overlook the jazz culture developing in Chicago, and saying the New York was jazz's only haven.
Also, fuck New York.
Todays Entertainment
I'd have to say that since the recession, todays entertainment has become less creative and original. Seems like there's an influx of sequels, prequels, trequels, "Released in 3D!", and so forth. I think now people in Hollywood and show business don't really want to take gambles on something that might not succeceed. So their solution is to churn out things they know have already been successful in hopes of simply making money. We were talking about in class how Disney movies are now being made for Broadway...and why? For money!!
And has anyone seen that Finding Nemo is going to be released in 3D now? Just because.
The only original content I've seen recently was ParaNorman which is AMAZING and everyone should go see it. But aside from that, I can't name one other original movie I've seen recently.
Back to Broadway
I'll end the blog entry on a happier note, a Broadway song! Which is my favorite broadway song ever, and I wish it had been discussed more in the video we watched. Perhaps not a happier note afterall...
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