The unprecedented success of Lin-Manuel Miranda's "Hamilton" has brought the musical live action play into the spotlight. Its innovative use of rap to quickly deliver information on complex topics (such as the first cabinet debate over Hamilton's financial plan) is fantastic. It also brought new faces to the roles of famous American heroes, bringing a new diversity to the stage. As the title says, does "Hamilton" represent a point that all plays after it will be heavily influenced by its style.
Not only a new age for the stage, I think, but for American history and politics, as well. It is showing an entirely new generation that history and politics can be fun and learning doesn't have to be dry or by rote. As a political scientist, that is refreshing to me. Great topic! – Lee Williams8 years ago
The integration of hip-hop in particular will be interesting – Darcy Griffin8 years ago
If anything, I hope that other musicals take the cast as inspiration. Lin-Manuel Miranda has said that the majority POC cast was a deliberate move to better reflect the diversity of today's America, and include POC in 'mainstream' history. – chrischan8 years ago
My friend is a very big fan of the new stage show Hamilton. I think it will start a new trend to musical style. Hamilton's music is very much a blend of rap, pop, and more classical theatre styles, so I think new musicals will incorporate more styles of music.
– birdienumnum178 years ago
What is the root of the "return to vinyl"? Is it a fetish? Is it simply a bleary-eyed, melancholic yearning for a past that never existed? When vinyl audiophiles stoutly proclaim the "superiority" of the sound, the eyebrows of many audiologists raise in direct opposition to the idea. So, is the rebirth of vinyl simply a fetish in the midst of non-material digital downloads, or is it a longing for a different experience of engaging with recorded music, an experience steeped in romantic notions of the past?
Personally, I buy vinyl because, if I am to purchase music nowadays, I want something tangible that I can hold, look at, and talk about. There's no connection beyond a click and a drag with digital files, and forming one requires, generally, investment in the music beyond simply purchasing (favourite artist, writing about it, etc.). Having a vinyl, taking it out of the sleeve, spinning it and meeting with the needle are all, albeit minute, ways to get to know the record, and that's invaluable. – thomasjdjohnson8 years ago
I think vinyl is considered a different engagement experience - putting on a vinyl is an intent to hear a specific artist, song, album. Its physicality gives us a sense of permanence. – sheishistoric8 years ago
I heard Neil Young is associated somehow with technology that makes CD's sound like LP's, and Dylan has commented that music's not supposed to sound like it does on CD's. – Tigey8 years ago
Millennials are typically regarded by the older generations as entitled and cynical. Personally, I come from the millennial generation, and resent the idea that we are entitled and cynical without reason or cause. I just completed a class discussing changes and experimentation in literature during the Modernist era from 1900-1945 in America specifically. What I would hope to inspire from this topic is to circumvent the allegations that Millennials are entitled, perhaps showcase some artwork from Millennial artists or authors, and perhaps even speculate on what a historian might dub the period of artistry created by Millennials
Don't be discouraged by people criticizing Millennial. BTW my tablet keeps correcting my writing of millennial from plural to singular. I can tell you as someone who has worked with Baby Boomers all my life that they are not a group who should be shutting down the next generation. In fact since the 80s, the Boomers have been getting richer and richer to keep wealth in the top 1%. Ironic that the same generation that fought for many egalitarian ideas has become the exact opposite of their ideals. I would just think every time the older generation criticizes Millennial that it is just an expression of their guilty social conscience. Sellout much? – Munjeera9 years ago
This is a good topic, so don't degrade it by getting political and start blaming others (especially other generations). Stay on topic and keep it moving forward in a positive manner. Simply and clearly state "why" Millennials are not cynical or entitled and then give evidence of this through the artwork they have produced. – bergland8 years ago
Munjeera, contradiction alert: if boomers are hoarding wealth, I'm pretty sure they're more than one-percent, so a lot if them aren't getting wealthy. Let's us poor ants quit fighting over one crumb at the bottom of the hill. The problem with every generation is its unwillingness to suffer, let alone die, for what is right. We're all pretty much sheep. – Tigey8 years ago
I think in the notes we're getting a bit away from the message I originally made, which is what contributions artists specifically from the Millennial generation have or will contribute in the future and what future analysis of those artworks and pieces of literature might look like. It is not taking a jab at Baby Boomers or Generation X or anything of that sort. – Nayr12308 years ago
Consider how popular T.V shows and films (such as Star Trek, Avatar and "The Wheel of Time" novels – to name a few) critique and engage discourses on politics, socioeconomics, gender and war. Analyze the potential for these genres to disrupt and subvert current ideologies by engaging in counter-cultural discourse. For instance, how does Star Trek's prime directive critique modern imperialism? How does fantasy and sci-fi genres provide an opportunity to propose counter-cultural thoughts on so called "hot topics?"
At first Picard's pontification on the Prime Directive seemed unnecessary. But after Roddenberry's death and with Rick Berman taking over, I realized how important the PD is and I think that the topic could focus solely on this. – Munjeera9 years ago
There are some sci-fi comedies, Guardians of the Galaxy, for example, that often portray a deeply flawed world (one that its storytellers find rich comedic ground in). It would be interesting to write about how these movies don't deal with the deep flaws, only the consequences it creates as an analogy for life in our own deeply flawed world (not to be melodramatic here). – Aaron9 years ago
The artist collective Liberate Tate ((link) has been campaigning against the funding of the Tate museums by BP (oil company) since 2010. They have staged multiple controversial and somewhat harrowing performance pieces in protest against their funding of the arts, many of which have been staged in Tate museums themselves. One piece staged an 'exorcism' of the 'evil spirit' of BP from Tate by a priest and his choir. But does the issue really justify these terms? Can funding by an oil company really be considered the 'evil spirit' in these arts institutions when, surely, even when it is 'expelled', the arts doesn't become a holy realm, considering historical tendencies of the Western art tradition in general towards elitism, sexism, racial discrimination etc etc.? If BP is an 'evil' company, what is a good one? who can be considered worthy of funding the arts? And considering the widespread cuts to government art funding, can the art world afford to be picky about its funding? Ultimately, is it better not to have funding in the arts than to have the arts funded by an oil company? The efforts of Liberate Tate could be used as a springboard into a discussion regarding the funding of the arts, and even particular exhibitions, in general – an aspect that isn't often considered – examining the ethical problems that may arise depending who the funding is provided by and how that might or should affect our reception of the art.
(latest development: http://www.theguardian.com/culture/2016/apr/29/museums-ethics-investigation-influence-sponsor-bp-british-museum) – lizzyhajos9 years ago
The problem with funding is that it guides the agenda of whatever it funds: a political candidacy, and and exhibition. More often than not, funding is conditional upon referring to certain themes o framing the thesis of the exhibition in a specific way. – AnaMRuiz8 years ago
Is it correct when people say that a musical must have a basis on stage? What, by definition is a musical? Should Disney movies count as musicals? Must musicals be live-action or can they be animated? Does Mary Poppins count? What strictly, is a musical?
I think for this it's important that the writer take all different examples of animation, live action, stage, film, different genres, etc. etc. etc. and compare and contrast them. Also, it'd be a good idea to look at musicals across the world, as well as, check out a good old-fashioned dictionary entry. – Jaye Freeland9 years ago
Musicals make for great topics. Especially when you look at context. During times of economic recession, war and great instability, musicals flourish as a genre. I love musicals as a genre and am so happy that it has been revived. I think Disney should definitely count as musicals, since they have contributed so many songs. – Munjeera9 years ago
It could be useful to compare the musical to the operetta (See Works of Gilbert & Sullivan). – JDJankowski9 years ago
It might also be interesting to show a possible connection between musicals and music videos. – green169 years ago
What would be interesting is a comparison with musicals and movies with signing and see how they differ. If they really are different in any way. – VeeTee89 years ago
Musicals for the stage and musicals that are animated or made as a live action movie do tend to differ in a few ways- these are often referred to as movie musicals, as acting for the screen is very different from acting on stage. Subtle differences do validate subgenres within musicals, and it would be worth looking into. Try looking into musicals that originally aired as a movie then moved to the stage (I believe Newsies was one of them, and there's many more) or vice versa. – HeartofAvalon9 years ago
Looking at the current USA Singles Top 40, what causes a song to be a huge hit? Are there similar musical characteristics? Does it have to do with marketing? Are certain themes prevalent? Based on these popular songs, what would you say the "formula" to having a hit is? If the songs share many characteristics, would you say that this is positive or negative?
If anything, I think there has to be something in the beat, the tune, and the tempo. Because often times the lyrics are pretty "by-the-numbers," and have been used countless times for decades, always saying the same things. Some songs change it up with modern concepts and modern slang, and even build the whole song's hook on it: which can make a song fun strictly because of it's hook. But most times, I think it's just the tune and how it grabs you. That's the main reason why I love J-pop. I can't understand a word that's being said, nor do I usually need to know: I just love the beat and the tune. I'll even sing along as best as I can because of how energetic the songs often are. – Jonathan Leiter9 years ago
The writer of this article should check out scoreahit.com. The site explains the "Hit Equation" and has scientific formula on how to create a hit song. – Lexzie9 years ago
There's a lot of controversy among fans of many media as to whether the buying and selling of fanwork, art, fiction, and other marketables using the intellectual property of the main author, is legal and/or moral. Is selling character redrawings, spinoff doujinshi, etc. for profit considered stealing? If it is illegal, how can the original artist protect their work? Can art and media based off a preexisting character or universe be considered high art? Consider the relationship most Renaissance paintings have with the Bible. Can that be considered 'fan art?'
You could also consider Bleedman and his Powerpuff Girl Dojinshi comics and Grom Adventures comics, both of which are quite popular. – Adnan Bey9 years ago
This is a very interesting topic, but I think it might be a good idea to narrow down the work to a degree. For example, fitting different forms of art into one article maybe too large of an undertaken. The visual arts category itself is huge. I think one approach maybe to see how artists of the Renaissance protected themselves in comparison to the system we have today in western societies. – Arazoo Ferozan9 years ago
