beckyjohnston

There's a moment in the dance, halfway through, where Ginger starts calling the steps and Fred follows. This is the first time I've noticed and it charmed the heck out of me. Moreso than any other clip this week, these two felt like equals, as Dr. Ament mentioned. They are geninely engaged in play and nothing about this scene feels romantic or sexual - just fun. I think I'm with the consensus where - in this clip at least- I don't see a battle but the end of one. the scene earlier in the film- at the weird dance studio/ bull fighting ring- feels a little more combative; then the 'never gonna dance' waltz is tragic, but here everything just feels kind of 'right' and magical.

In watching the clip from 'The Great Zigfield' and seeking a comparison to a movie similar in tone and subject but without the code, I thought of the most recent musical, box office smash - coincidentially, also a super softened look at an early leader in show business "The Greatest Showman". https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rQWZK5U233s The differences here are subtle, but are- to me- interesting. In the Zigfield clip, the subtext is flirtatious and a little ridiculous. As the professor mentioned, it is kind of silly - the song, the actors' double takes and movements, even the song and 'Little Bo Peep' costume. In the more recent film, the subtext is a little darker - it hints at (spoilers here) possible infidelity and possibly sex. Elsewhere in the more recent film, we have two characters who, we can assume, might be an inter-racial couple. Even the songs- from the flirtatious older song to the more adult, heavier song in the updated film - everything in the new film feels more comfortable with emotions (even if those emotions are suuppper clumsily portrayed).

Hi everybody! It's amazing how many of us there are! I know the focus of this course will be on the classic Hollywood musicals, but I thought it would be fun to shine the light on some new favorites as well. For me, what makes a musical 're-watch-a-ble' is a certain sense of incredulous joy. A 'how did they get away with "x"' sense of movie wonder. So, with that in mind, some favorites are. *Top Hat: ignoring the cool-back-then/not-great-now-but-we-get-it "Bojangles" scene, this movie is magic. Every single move Fred and Ginger made in 'Never Gonna Dance' floored me. *An American In Paris: Leslie Carron's introduction was the most charming thing. *Cabaret: Oh, Liza.... *Moulin Rouge!: Every single time they cut to a different song in 'Elephant Love Medley', my jaw dropped a little more. *Passing Strange: I'm not a huge fan of a lot of 2010s musical adaptations, but this one by Spike Lee is fierce, passionate, and has a you-are-in-the-theater quality to it that's incredible. Happy movie-watching everybody1