Keep the Beat!

Hairspray is a musical that was originally released in 1988. Then in 2007 director Adam Shankman decided to make it over with more some familiar faces. The movie stars Nikki Blonsky,John Travolta,Michelle Pfeiffer, and Queen Latifah to name the very few. Hairspray is another one of my favorite musicals because it is set in the 60's. The 60's was full of fun times and great music and fashion but there were a lot of other things going on in the 60's as well. Discrimination and racism were just some of the issues that the movies touched on. The movie has a great message. It teaches that no matter what color, size, or creed you are, you can still find love and happiness! The songs in the movie are great and so are the dances and clothes!


If you haven't seen the new Hairspray I suggest that you do. No disrespect to the old one I just like this one better but they are both good. Here is one of my favorite numbers from the movie Hairspray(2007)

Some Sing Alongs

I've been on the topic of musicals lately and one of my all time favorites comes to mind. THE WIZ! I love The Wiz. It is a musical that was adapted from The Wizard of Oz that features an all star studded African American cast. The cast featured Diana Ross, Michael Jackson, Nipsey Russell, and Ted Ross just to name a few. I like the film because it was something I could relate to. I love The Wizard of Oz as well, but The Wiz had people that looked like me in it. As a child that grabbed my attention and from then on out I feel in love with it. I like the songs in the movie. I caught myself singing them sometimes even today.



I love Diana Ross and Michael Jackson so it made it easy for me to watch. The movie also starred Lena Horne( whom is one of my sorority sisters), and Richard Pryor, both of who are legends in their craft. The Wiz is a film for people of all ages and color and I think you should watch it as soon as you get a chance!

Here is one of my favorite scenes from the movie The Wiz

Music, Moives, Musical!!!

Musicals have been around for a while. I personally love musicals. I like good musicals though, some of the one's I've seen were.....different to say the least and I like different. Being different it to be original but in my opinion some musicals are just better than others. Mitch Glazer, author of "Singin' in the Rain" which was featured in The New Yorker wrote about musicals such as "Across the Universe", and "Sweeny Todd". He also talked about the rise of popularity when it comes to musicals.



Hair is another good musical. When I first saw it I didn’t really understand it but as I watched the movie more I realized what was going on. It's definitely a film of the times and it reflected what was going on during the time the movie took place. A story of love, freedom, courage, and self-righteousness, Hair is one of my favorite movies because it reminds me of a time when things could be really good and peaceful in times of fear and turmoil. If you haven't seen it I suggest that you check it out! And watch it more than once to get the meaning. Or maybe you a smarter than I am and won't have to.

Music Anyone?

While browsing the internet I came across an article that talked about the importance of music in movies. What is Film Music? By Hyesu Shin deals with the anger that the author has with today’s music in films. The author feels as though people today have taken the wonderful art form of music and has misused it in today’s cinema.





Shin wrote, “It is necessary to be clear about the reason why music should accompany (really accompany!!!) or illustrate a film. The essence of an accompaniment reinforces the synthesis of the materials; the essence of an illustration reinforces the acoustic markers of the events taking place and their forms of articulation.” Which basically means that a film should be accompanied with music to add to its great artistic value.

Here in my opinion is a good example of the argument above from one of my favorite movies and soundtracks, Dead Presidents