Miyazaki’s Animation and their universal appeal
Introduction
We’re going to present Miyazaki’s animation movies and their universal appeals. Miyazaki’s movies is widely appreciated and warmly discussed among people. And people for all ages are his loyal fans. But why do they have such universal appeals? We think that each of his animation movies gives an incredible depth that touches our heart. And this insightful detail also focuses on one major issue throughout the entire plot which is full of educational significance. We’ve concluded three main issues concerning environmentalism, feminism, and relationship (including family and love relationships.) And we also think that the lyrics appeared in the movies are worth discussing. There are several good and impressive songs played in the movie, and yet we hardly get the chance to know what they truly mean. Therefore, our presentation today will cover the analyses of the three issues, and at last we will analyze the lyrics that are meaningful for you to know. Let’s start with the environmentalism issue.
Environmentalism issue
Among Miyazaki’s movies, the environmental protection issue is best illustrated in the two movies— Nausicaa of the Valley of Wind and Princess Mononoke. In Nausicaa of the Valley of Wind, the world is in a civilized society which is overly developed, and the ecology and the balance of nature have been badly destroyed by the civilization that numerous creatures become extinct. So there creates the Sea of Decay, a forest which will spread toxic fume. The toxic fume is spread everywhere except the Valley of Wind which is shielded by the sea wind. I think Miyazaki produced this movie so as to arouse the awareness of preserving our planet. With civilization progresses, human beings gain the access for better life and living condition. But every inch of the improvement is at the cost of natural environment. And we human being tends to disregard what the nature cares about but do whatever we want. The world in the movie is like the world we live. Development of industrialization causes green-house gases which will cause climate change. But at the moment that we enjoy the better living condition, the nature is suffering from the consequences human made at the same time. We witness the natural revenge that the average temperature is much more higher than before, the sea level rises year by year which will eventually bring us having no place to live. Similarly, the world in the movie is also overly developed that the unusual phenomenon generates, the Sea of Decay which will spread the toxic fume to disorder the living condition and force people having no place to live. It is the human’s misbehavior that leads to the consequences. And Miyazaki personifies what the nature feels to tell us to stop harming the nature that he uses the rage of insects to show us the nature won’t take whatever we’ve done to them. They will rage and revenge to us. Like the movie goes, the giant insect’s eyes turn from blue to red when angry and rush into our territory to destroy us. Those facts show that it is human’s greed that they wants power much more than peace. In the movie, people fight for getting the God Warrior, the artificial beings that have nuclear-like power, to burn the Sea of Decay that they won’t have to suffer from the toxic fume. But those ignorant people fail to know that it is the Sea of Decay that helps them to purify their living condition. Deep at the bottom of the Sea of Decay is a non-toxic world that we know the forest led out the toxic fume to purify the polluted soil and produce clean water and sand. But people only see the bad condition it brings.
The other movie Princess Mononoke is also talking about the environmental issue. The world in Princess Mononoke is also the one that have civilized industrialization. They produce iron and guns by continually clearing the nearby forests, which leads to the deforestation. Again, the human’s selfishness to dominate the power, achieve the goal and fulfill their desire causes the problem. People in the movie continue to destroy the forest in order to mine more iron and they also tried to destroy the Forest Spirit, the god of life and death, who control the forest. And the head of the Forest Spirit is believed to grant immortality that people strives to get it. But different from the Nausicaa of the Valley of Wind, Miyazaki uses the revenge of animal to serve as another example that nature will take revenge to us. In the movie, Miyazaki personifies again the rage of the nature for example, the gorilla said “human takes everything they’ve grow, and it would be impossible that the forest go back to what it used to be. He made them said that they want to eat the human to win the power so as to fight with them, which presents the rage of the animal, and the boar also said that they want to kill human to protect forest. And at the end of the movie when the head of the Forest Spirits was returned, everything went back in order as if the Forest Spirit symbolizes the mother earth who rules over the planet that once she's destroyed, everything went wrong.
All in all, the relationship between human and nature is like that on a balance. If one end goes higher, the other is certain to go lower. But the rule is that it should be kept balance. By this two movie, Miyazaki brings the reality and consequences that if we do not preserve the earth, it is sure to revenge on us and he wants to arouse the public attention to care more about the nature—to love it and respect it instead of only taking what we want. After all, we are one member of the nature and we will certainly fall the victim to suffer if the nature itself show the revenge. We cannot live without the balance of nature; we have to co-exist with it instead of gaining the upper hand and take advantage of it.
Feminism issue
Relationship---Family
Ponyo on the Cliff By The Sea (崖上的波妞)
Like every other film of Shun Miyazaki, whose films are always contain with more than one theme, the movie Ponyo on the Cliff by the sea also has more than just one simple theme. In this movie, it discusses relations including love, friendship, and also the parents’ love. The love of the parents, however, is the main focus and the core shaft of this movie. This movie was originated from the incident happened to Gorō Miyazaki, the son of Miyazaki, during their vacation in Seto Naikai (瀨戶內海) when he was five. Actually, being a workaholic, Shun Miyazaki never pays much attention to his family, especially his relationship with his older son, Gorō Miyazaki. Gorō once said to the press that, to him, his father is a 100% excellent animation director, but he is a zero scored father. In addition, because Miyazaki did not appreciate the movie—Tales from Earthsea—which was produced and directed by Gorō, and this negative comment and disapproval had worsened their relationship. They went on a” cold war” which they rarely talk to each other for many years. So, it is strongly suggested that the father in this film who always travel by the sea and whom seldom take care of his family is the embodiment of Miyazaki himself. This movie is actually the work of his self- introspection, the introspection of being a disappointing father. Therefore, today I would like to focus on the parents—children relationship.
In this movie, Ponyo fell in love with Sōsuke madly from the second she saw him. She kept saying “I love Sōsuke the most” in the film and wanted to become his spouse forever no matter what it took. In order to stay with Sōsuke, Ponyo had tried every possible means to be a human even if she had to give up her position as the princess of her kind (the mermaids) and left her entire family. I think Miyazaki is truly a marvelous artist who not only can draw thousands of beautiful, vivid, and warm animation but also provides many deep thoughts from his story lines. Take this movie as an example; he uses love as cutting point to further discuss the parents-children relationship, which reflects the real situation happened in modern society. Nowadays, there are more and more people, especially young adults, are so impetuous and crazy when it comes to love and willing to do anything to gain their lover’s heart or to stick with their lover, thinking that only by process him / her, their life is complete. However, from parents’ viewpoint, it is a very different story. Before parents have the fully understanding of the person who their children’s love, it is almost impossible for the parents to like that person since there are too many players or deceivers in the world. So, it is understandable why Ponyo’s father was so angry at the beginning when he found out Ponyo was in love, let alone they are not even from the same species, Ponyo is a fish, but Sōsuke is a human being. That’s also why Ponyo’s father choose to cage her when he knew that Ponyo was about to leave the family and entering the human world, the world of unknown. And it is common that sometimes we like to make presumption for others, and usually start with the bad ones. As a result, Ponyo’s father made the conclusion saying it is too dangerous and unrealistic for her to be with Sōsuke, so he brought Ponyo back to the sea and kept her in the fish jar. But, Ponyo had made up her mind to be a human and stayed with Sōsuke forever, so she figured a way to escape. I have to admit that I do not agree all the things her father had done to protect her, but at least the concept of all his behaviors was originated from “love and protection”. In contrast, the reaction of Ponyo’s mother was different from that of her father’s. Although Ponyo’s mother was as worry as her father, however, the way she handle this issue was more moderated. As a woman, she had same experience like her daughter, so her attitude toward this issue was more sympathetic. She understood why her daughter will act like this, and after her talk with Sōsuke, she knew that Sōsuke accepted and liked Ponyo as the way she was and her true identity, therefore, she no longer try to interfere them; instead, she supported Ponyo with the positive attitude. I think the different attitude held by both of Ponyo’s parents is the common reaction parents in Taiwan have. All these actions and reactions are basically the same situation we will encounter in our life.
Q1: Why did this story use Ponyo’s father as the negative force? Why not her mother or somebody else? 為什麼故事要以爸爸來當反對(反叛)的角色?
Usually, when daughters get into a relationship, parents will pay much attention, especially the fathers. When a daughter wants to start a relationship, it is often the dad who will interfere and be very picky with the guy whom her daughter is dating with, and, oftentimes, he will become overprotective. From a man’s perspective, a father might be overprotective because he understands men’s behaviors too well, including what they think and how they act. Men usually are more powerful, demanding and resolute, and they don’t like to leave any room for negotiation, so the way for them to show their care is by some drastic measures; whereas women who are more flexible and tender are more likely to use other moderate methods. Therefore, one reason why Miyazaki used the father as the negative force is because he wanted to reflect the reality that dad is always the one who play the role of Antagonist when it comes to daughters’ happiness. Another reason for using the father as the one who opposed Ponyo’s wish is because Miyazaki likes to emphasize the feminism in his work. Almost all his works use female as the leading role instead of the male like what my member had just mention. So, it is very reasonable to let the male be the one who do many crazy things just for blocking the love between Ponyo and Sōsuke.
Trailer with Chinese subtitle:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZP9HWmvJoJI
The official trailer (English version)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lfjww2cA2FE&feature=fvw
Relationship---Love
Love –Howl’s moving castle/ Whisper Heart
Howl’s moving castle—a journey to self discovery and self-facing
The love between Howl and Sophie is dramatic but strong. In the story Sophie was been cursed and turned out to be a 90 year-old lady. Both have built a wall around themselves; Sophie chose to conceal from her true self and Howl chose to hide his fright and coward. However, their love helped Sophie to follow her heart and live out herself, and helped Howl to overcome his fear and to comprehend love, affection and protection.
Here are the major scenes where we can detect Sophie’s love for Howl
When Howl asked Sophie to represent in front of Mrs. Saruman as her mom, she defended for him. As a result she became younger once again, a proof that she unknowingly spoke for love from the bottom of her heart.
The other time for her to be younger was in her dream; she woke up and went to the tunnel where Howl was hiding. Seeing him as a monster she still accepted him as he is and said “But, I love you!” But when she woke up she returned to be the old lady, because in contrast she didn’t show her love towards Howl in the reality.
When she traveled back in time, she witnessed the contract between Calcifer and Howl. This was the timing when she realized Howl needed her and faced her true self.
I think this switch from an old lady to a young lady is the reflection of our own heart. Although this sudden change of appearance won’t happen in our real life, it is still a reminder to us: when you try to live out yourself is the time you are the real you.
So here love led her to face herself, helped Howl and broke both of their curses.
The love led them out of the obscurity.
Whisper Heart—a journey of getting mature and pursuing dream
Love in Whisper Heart is much simpler and more common. It’s the story of two high school students who have their own dream unlike other classmates. The girl wanted to be a writer and Seiji a violin-maker. Seeing Seiji driving closer and closer to his dream, Shizuku started to panic. It must happen to someone when you feel inferior compare to your girlfriend or boyfriend and start to be stressful and eventually end up thinking you’re a burden. But by some encouragement and self-awakening, she woke up from her messy and negative world. Therefore this love turned from burden to a motive power in writing.
Here are some scenes that promote simple but touching puppy love:
Before they met, Seiji knew that Shizuku loves to read, so in order to impress her, he managed to read ahead the genres of book Shizuku might read.
When she watched Seiji making a violin and described about it. Every girl must feel amazed and admire this boy who was seriously doing something with so much passion.
The next one is what happened in every high school, when a boy came to your classroom and ask for you to come out and have a talk. When they are out, their classmates will definitely talk about it and even follow the couple like these scenes.
The next love and touching scene is when Seiji came back after two month and picked Shizuku for a ride. When they were climbing a steep road, Shizuku got off from the bicycle to help Seiji to push the bicycle. We may encounter different pressure in our life; however, Shizuku found out other way to keep being positive.
They watched the sun rise together and Seiji surprisingly propose to her! Actually the audience might expect Seiji to say something like I love you, but rather said: “Will you marry me?” This scene might sound conflict because they are just high school student, but along with the plot, it drew people back to their school life when life was simple just filled with dream and love.
Lyrics---Theme songs
2009年12月13日 星期日
2009年11月22日 星期日
ABBA
A. The name ABBA
At first, the offical name of ABBA was ‘Björn, Benny, Agnetha & Frida’. However, in early 1973, Stig Anderson tired of this unwieldy name, started to refer to the group privately and publicly as ABBA. This was a play on words, as Abba is also the name of a well-known fish-canning company in Sweden. However, since the fish canners were unknown outside Sweden, Anderson came to believe the name would work in international markets. As a coincidence, "abba" exists as a word in the Aramaic and Hebrew languages. It means "father", but in the more informal familiar sense that saying "dad" might connote. Later the group negotiated with the canners for the right to the name. "ABBA" is an acronym formed from the first letters of each group member's name. The first 'B' in the logo version of the name was "mirror-image" reversed on the band's promotional material from 1976 onwards and became the group's registered trademark.
B. The forming of ABBA
Benny Andersson
Benny Andersson became member of a popular Swedish pop-rock group, The Hep Stars at his age of 18. The Hep Stars were known as "The Swedish Beatles.” Andersson played keyboard and eventually started writing original compositions for his band, many of which became major hits, such as "Sunny Girl", "Wedding", "Consolation." All of the songs became the great hits at that time. During the ABBA years, Andersson together with Ulvaeus wrote music to and produced eight studio albums with the ABBA. The group achieved great success globally and scored a chain of #1 hits.
Björn Ulvaeus
Björn Ulvaeus began to play and sing in a skiffle group when he was 11. A few years later, he became a member of the Swedish folk band, Hootenanny Singers. In June 1966, Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus started writing songs together. Their songwriting collaboration has led quite naturally to the very close co-operation which the four friends had during the following years. After ABBA broke up, they still kept a good realtionship and co-composed the musical version of “Mama Mia!”
In 2008, Ulvaeus revealed that he suffered from severe long-term memory loss and now no longer remember many important events in his life. He has little memory of some of the critical events in his professional history. Now he resorted to images of his past and even try hypnotising himself to bring back his memory.
Agnetha Fältskog
艾格妮塔佛絲歌
Agnetha Fältskog won a #1 record in Sweden when she was only 17. She was noted as a talented singer and songwriter of schlager style songs. Schlager style is sweet, highly sentimental ballads with a simple, catchy melody. In 1968, she met Björn Ulvaeus at a concert. Later she met Ulvaeus again, and they were married in 1971.
Anni-Frid Lyngstad (Frida)
安妮佛瑞琳絲塔
Frida sang from the age of thirteen with various dance bands. She first worked mainly in a jazz-oriented cabaret and she attend a competition. In 1967, she won the national talent competition with the song "En ledig dag.“ After she won the contest, she sang this song on TV. In 1969, she met Andersson for the first time, and they soon became a couple.
C. Why they compose for musicals?
Björn and Benny was Influenced by the composer in the 70s, Andrew Lloyd Webber. Their first try is The Girl with The Golden Hair in 1977 ‘s ABBA concert. In 1982, ABBA broke up due to the disagreement on the spirit of music and ABBA. Björn and Benny met a British musical composer, Tim Rice . They decide to work together as the name B & B and started to make songs in musical field, instead of pop music. Later They wrote for the musical Chess but failed. This musical ran for three years in the West End of London. While on Broadway, it opened for only 2 months and closed because of bad reviews. Their masterpiece is Kristina från Duvemåla (Kristina From Duvenata), an epic Swedish musical. This musical ran for more than 5 years. Finally they produced Mamma Mia. They used many hit songs in the past, including Mamma Mia.
Background
Mamma Mia! was a musical which was composed by a British playwright Catherine Johnson. The musical based on the ABBA’s songs, which were composed by Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus, both were the members of ABBA. They not only composed the original music for ABBA bust also got involved in the development of the show from the beginning. Although the name of this musical was taken from ABBA’s 1975 chart-topper Mamma Mia, the plot is fictional, not biographical.
The musical included many hits such as "Super Trouper", "Dancing Queen", "Knowing Me, Knowing You", "SOS" and so on. You will see the song list on another transparency later. Most of the songs were still intact. However, there were still some exceptions such as “Under Attack", "One of Us", and “Knowing Me, Knowing You". Also, ”When All Is Said and Done" was a song which did not used in the musical, but it was added for the film sung by Sam, Donna, and the company.
The musical had been seen by over ten million people worldwide. The first performance was shown in Prince Edward Theatre, London, on 6th April, 1999. Afterwards, there have been different versions of performances in theaters around the world; moreover, there were over 18 thousand people who viewed Mamma Mia! every night.
Box office (musical)
Mama Mia! was first showed on Broadway on May 15,2005. Once, it was showed, it got many positive feedbacks. Also, Mama Mia! surpassed many other musicals that time such as The Sound of Music, The King and I, and Damn Yankees with 1,500 performances. Until August 19, 2009, Mama Mia! was the 13th longest running Broadway musicals of all time with 2,343 performances Besides, until January 2008 Mamma Mia! became the longest daily running show in the history of Russian theatre. As of 2008, Mama Mia! has been performed in eleven languages: English, German, Norwegian, Japanese, , Korean, Spanish, a mix between Catalan and Spanish, Swedish and Russian.
Plot
The story was set on a Greek island. Sophie wanted to know who her father was, but her mother, Donna was not willing to talk about the past. Sophie found her mother's diary, and found that Donna had intimate relationships with three men who were Harley, Bill, and Sam. Sophie thought that there must be a man who was his father among these three. Therefore, she sent each one of them her wedding ceremony invitations without letting her mother know. The three men had different characteristics; they are Harley, Bill and Sam. Tanya and Rosie, two of Donna's special friends were invited to the wedding ceremony, too. These two women and Donna formed the chorus group called Donna and the Dynamos before. Sophie tried very hard to find his real father. However, she couldn't make sure who the real one was. Therefore, there were many interesting things happening in the movie. Finally, Sophie and his fiancé found that they didn't really want to get marry. They gave this chance to Donna and one of the three men. Do you want to know who Donna got married to at last? Who was the real father of Sophie? Go to watch it, and you will know.
Box office (movie)
Mama Mia! made $9,627,000 in its opening day in the United States and Canada and $27,605,376 in its opening weekend. Its box office was the top two at that time; it was only behind The Dark Knight. Mama Mia! was the highest grossing opening weekend for a movie musical. It broke the record that Hairspray set in 2007. As of April 6, 2009, Mamma Mia! had grossed $602,609,487 in total worldwide, and it was the fifth highest grossing film in 2008. Also, it was the 42nd highest grossing film of all time. As of October 26, 2008, it became the highest-grossing movie musical of all time worldwide. It is the third highest-grossing film, which made $458,479,424 in total, of 2008 internationally (North America was not included), and the thirteenth highest gross of 2008 in North America (included US and Canada) with $144,130,063.
The song Mamma Mia
Today, when we hear the title Mamma Mia, we think of the musical and the hit movie that was shown in 2008. But the song that gave the show its name was also the single that established ABBA as an international hit act.
In the summer of 1975, just a few months after ABBA released their third album (simply entitled ABBA), the group were a bit uncertain as to the future of their international career. Things were looking very good in most of Europe, where both their singles and their albums were sold well, but they did not gain so much popularity in Great Britain. Certainly, the group had enjoyed a number one hit with ‘Waterloo’ a year earlier, but since then their singles had just kept flopping, and their albums were routinely dismissed. Because ABBA had achieved their breakthrough through the Eurovision Song Contest, they were automatically regarded as one-hit wonders. They simply weren’t supposed to have any more hits in Great Britain. But things were soon to turn around for the band, thanks to events on the other side of the planet – and thanks to one of the strongest tracks on their latest album – that is Mamma Mia.
“The saying ‘mamma mia’ is used very, very commonly in Swedish and is just as well known a phrase as it would be in English.” This song is a good example of how ABBA would explore the possibilities of the recording studio, with the actual tune of the song being only one of the many things happening on the recording. Mamma Mia’ is one of those typical ABBA songs which really don’t work that well when you play them with just a piano and a guitar. It’s not really a record is it? It’s like four or five guys just trying to play something together.
After the single, Mamma Mia was released, it occupied the number one position for a staggering 10 weeks top. The success in Australia was incredible in itself, but it also had the effect of making ABBA’s British record company sit up and take notice.
Money, money, money
This song, “money, money, money” was released in 1976. It followed the success of their previous single “dancing queen” in UK and also other country like Australia, not in America. Although it is not popular in America, it is still considered to be the classic of ABBA.
“Money, money, money” is a song that contains a sense of musical and is said to be the indication of ABBA’s musical, “Mamma mia”. This song was originally “Gypsy girl” and is used to describe the magic power of money that attracts girls and girls’ longing for money, wealth. We usually hear this from other that money is not everything, but the truth is that “Money isn’t everything but without it you are almost next to nothing.” I think this song reflects the reality of the world we live in and it is also trying to make fun of money! Besides, this song is applied to many TV shows like “The Celebrity Apprentice” and a Japanese program “Golden Legend.”
I Have a Dream
“I Have a Dream” is the last single of ABBA. It is the 7th of the 10 tracks from the album Voulez-Vous and was never originally intended to be a single. It was released as a souvenir for UK fans who had attended the concerts to promote their tour in 1979. ABBA did not film a promotional video for the track, even though they had done for the Spanish version, "Estoy Soñando". So, they recorded their live performance during the tour in Wembley gym as their music video. In this music video, ABBA sang with a children chorus and this song has put a perfect end to International children' Year which is 1979. It is the 26th best selling single of 1999 in UK and also the last best selling one of ABBA. This song is filled with optimism and makes people encouraged when listening to it especially for those who are in their hardest times.
In 2001, the song “I have a dream” was re-recorded with additional vocals by Indonesian child singer for charity as part of a UNICEF fund-rai
Lay all your love on me by ABBA
This song is", originally called "Yarrafat". It’s recorded by Swedish pop group ABBA in 1980 in their Super Trouper album. The writer and the producer of this popular song is Benny Andersson, Bojom Ulvaeus. "Lay All Your Love on me" appears on the group's ABBA Gold: Greatest Hits collection. The singing lead for this electro-disco song was by Benny Andersson and Bjorn Ulvaeus, with Agnetha Faltskog. This song released in 1981 as a 12-inch single only in selected territories, managed to top the Billboard Hot Dance Club Play chart and peaked at 7 on the UK singles chart becoming at the time the highest ever charting 12-inch release in UK chart history.
The album Super Trouper sold 100.000 copies in one day in Great Britain. This song has one of the largest words sung on a pop hit; it was Incomprehensible with 16 letters. ABBA did not film a promotional video for "Lay All Your Love on Me", and so Epic hastily assembled a video by using excerpts from existing Abba videos, which was then shown on British television. It was made available on the ABBA Gold: Greatest Hits VHS video in 1992, followed by the DVD version over 10 years late
Chiquitita
I think this beautiful song is about a girl named chiquitita and she used to dance and sing but her boyfriend break her heart so she is telling it to her mother and her mother is supporting her that she will be ok. It is a very beautiful song because it is not only for the music, but for the fact that it was written by a mother to her daughter on her first love.
Originally, this was called "In The Arms Of Rozellita." Bjorn Ulvaeus, who wrote the song, liked the title but couldn't find a matching story, so it became "Chiquitita.
"Chiquitita" means "little girl" in Spanish was the first single release from Swedish mega pop group ABBA's Voulez-Vous album. After their success with their English version, Abba also recorded “Chiqitita” in Spanish despite the fact the band had never learned the language. Their Spanish version is enhanced their popularity in a number of Latin America countries such as Mexico. Spain, Paraguay. ABBA performed this song in 1999 at the Music for UNICEF Concert. ABBA donated half the proceeds from the song to UNICEF.
In Mamma Mia this is sung to the mother Donna by two of her former band mates when she gets really upset and hides under the covers.
At first, the offical name of ABBA was ‘Björn, Benny, Agnetha & Frida’. However, in early 1973, Stig Anderson tired of this unwieldy name, started to refer to the group privately and publicly as ABBA. This was a play on words, as Abba is also the name of a well-known fish-canning company in Sweden. However, since the fish canners were unknown outside Sweden, Anderson came to believe the name would work in international markets. As a coincidence, "abba" exists as a word in the Aramaic and Hebrew languages. It means "father", but in the more informal familiar sense that saying "dad" might connote. Later the group negotiated with the canners for the right to the name. "ABBA" is an acronym formed from the first letters of each group member's name. The first 'B' in the logo version of the name was "mirror-image" reversed on the band's promotional material from 1976 onwards and became the group's registered trademark.
B. The forming of ABBA
Benny Andersson
Benny Andersson became member of a popular Swedish pop-rock group, The Hep Stars at his age of 18. The Hep Stars were known as "The Swedish Beatles.” Andersson played keyboard and eventually started writing original compositions for his band, many of which became major hits, such as "Sunny Girl", "Wedding", "Consolation." All of the songs became the great hits at that time. During the ABBA years, Andersson together with Ulvaeus wrote music to and produced eight studio albums with the ABBA. The group achieved great success globally and scored a chain of #1 hits.
Björn Ulvaeus
Björn Ulvaeus began to play and sing in a skiffle group when he was 11. A few years later, he became a member of the Swedish folk band, Hootenanny Singers. In June 1966, Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus started writing songs together. Their songwriting collaboration has led quite naturally to the very close co-operation which the four friends had during the following years. After ABBA broke up, they still kept a good realtionship and co-composed the musical version of “Mama Mia!”
In 2008, Ulvaeus revealed that he suffered from severe long-term memory loss and now no longer remember many important events in his life. He has little memory of some of the critical events in his professional history. Now he resorted to images of his past and even try hypnotising himself to bring back his memory.
Agnetha Fältskog
艾格妮塔佛絲歌
Agnetha Fältskog won a #1 record in Sweden when she was only 17. She was noted as a talented singer and songwriter of schlager style songs. Schlager style is sweet, highly sentimental ballads with a simple, catchy melody. In 1968, she met Björn Ulvaeus at a concert. Later she met Ulvaeus again, and they were married in 1971.
Anni-Frid Lyngstad (Frida)
安妮佛瑞琳絲塔
Frida sang from the age of thirteen with various dance bands. She first worked mainly in a jazz-oriented cabaret and she attend a competition. In 1967, she won the national talent competition with the song "En ledig dag.“ After she won the contest, she sang this song on TV. In 1969, she met Andersson for the first time, and they soon became a couple.
C. Why they compose for musicals?
Björn and Benny was Influenced by the composer in the 70s, Andrew Lloyd Webber. Their first try is The Girl with The Golden Hair in 1977 ‘s ABBA concert. In 1982, ABBA broke up due to the disagreement on the spirit of music and ABBA. Björn and Benny met a British musical composer, Tim Rice . They decide to work together as the name B & B and started to make songs in musical field, instead of pop music. Later They wrote for the musical Chess but failed. This musical ran for three years in the West End of London. While on Broadway, it opened for only 2 months and closed because of bad reviews. Their masterpiece is Kristina från Duvemåla (Kristina From Duvenata), an epic Swedish musical. This musical ran for more than 5 years. Finally they produced Mamma Mia. They used many hit songs in the past, including Mamma Mia.
Background
Mamma Mia! was a musical which was composed by a British playwright Catherine Johnson. The musical based on the ABBA’s songs, which were composed by Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus, both were the members of ABBA. They not only composed the original music for ABBA bust also got involved in the development of the show from the beginning. Although the name of this musical was taken from ABBA’s 1975 chart-topper Mamma Mia, the plot is fictional, not biographical.
The musical included many hits such as "Super Trouper", "Dancing Queen", "Knowing Me, Knowing You", "SOS" and so on. You will see the song list on another transparency later. Most of the songs were still intact. However, there were still some exceptions such as “Under Attack", "One of Us", and “Knowing Me, Knowing You". Also, ”When All Is Said and Done" was a song which did not used in the musical, but it was added for the film sung by Sam, Donna, and the company.
The musical had been seen by over ten million people worldwide. The first performance was shown in Prince Edward Theatre, London, on 6th April, 1999. Afterwards, there have been different versions of performances in theaters around the world; moreover, there were over 18 thousand people who viewed Mamma Mia! every night.
Box office (musical)
Mama Mia! was first showed on Broadway on May 15,2005. Once, it was showed, it got many positive feedbacks. Also, Mama Mia! surpassed many other musicals that time such as The Sound of Music, The King and I, and Damn Yankees with 1,500 performances. Until August 19, 2009, Mama Mia! was the 13th longest running Broadway musicals of all time with 2,343 performances Besides, until January 2008 Mamma Mia! became the longest daily running show in the history of Russian theatre. As of 2008, Mama Mia! has been performed in eleven languages: English, German, Norwegian, Japanese, , Korean, Spanish, a mix between Catalan and Spanish, Swedish and Russian.
Plot
The story was set on a Greek island. Sophie wanted to know who her father was, but her mother, Donna was not willing to talk about the past. Sophie found her mother's diary, and found that Donna had intimate relationships with three men who were Harley, Bill, and Sam. Sophie thought that there must be a man who was his father among these three. Therefore, she sent each one of them her wedding ceremony invitations without letting her mother know. The three men had different characteristics; they are Harley, Bill and Sam. Tanya and Rosie, two of Donna's special friends were invited to the wedding ceremony, too. These two women and Donna formed the chorus group called Donna and the Dynamos before. Sophie tried very hard to find his real father. However, she couldn't make sure who the real one was. Therefore, there were many interesting things happening in the movie. Finally, Sophie and his fiancé found that they didn't really want to get marry. They gave this chance to Donna and one of the three men. Do you want to know who Donna got married to at last? Who was the real father of Sophie? Go to watch it, and you will know.
Box office (movie)
Mama Mia! made $9,627,000 in its opening day in the United States and Canada and $27,605,376 in its opening weekend. Its box office was the top two at that time; it was only behind The Dark Knight. Mama Mia! was the highest grossing opening weekend for a movie musical. It broke the record that Hairspray set in 2007. As of April 6, 2009, Mamma Mia! had grossed $602,609,487 in total worldwide, and it was the fifth highest grossing film in 2008. Also, it was the 42nd highest grossing film of all time. As of October 26, 2008, it became the highest-grossing movie musical of all time worldwide. It is the third highest-grossing film, which made $458,479,424 in total, of 2008 internationally (North America was not included), and the thirteenth highest gross of 2008 in North America (included US and Canada) with $144,130,063.
The song Mamma Mia
Today, when we hear the title Mamma Mia, we think of the musical and the hit movie that was shown in 2008. But the song that gave the show its name was also the single that established ABBA as an international hit act.
In the summer of 1975, just a few months after ABBA released their third album (simply entitled ABBA), the group were a bit uncertain as to the future of their international career. Things were looking very good in most of Europe, where both their singles and their albums were sold well, but they did not gain so much popularity in Great Britain. Certainly, the group had enjoyed a number one hit with ‘Waterloo’ a year earlier, but since then their singles had just kept flopping, and their albums were routinely dismissed. Because ABBA had achieved their breakthrough through the Eurovision Song Contest, they were automatically regarded as one-hit wonders. They simply weren’t supposed to have any more hits in Great Britain. But things were soon to turn around for the band, thanks to events on the other side of the planet – and thanks to one of the strongest tracks on their latest album – that is Mamma Mia.
“The saying ‘mamma mia’ is used very, very commonly in Swedish and is just as well known a phrase as it would be in English.” This song is a good example of how ABBA would explore the possibilities of the recording studio, with the actual tune of the song being only one of the many things happening on the recording. Mamma Mia’ is one of those typical ABBA songs which really don’t work that well when you play them with just a piano and a guitar. It’s not really a record is it? It’s like four or five guys just trying to play something together.
After the single, Mamma Mia was released, it occupied the number one position for a staggering 10 weeks top. The success in Australia was incredible in itself, but it also had the effect of making ABBA’s British record company sit up and take notice.
Money, money, money
This song, “money, money, money” was released in 1976. It followed the success of their previous single “dancing queen” in UK and also other country like Australia, not in America. Although it is not popular in America, it is still considered to be the classic of ABBA.
“Money, money, money” is a song that contains a sense of musical and is said to be the indication of ABBA’s musical, “Mamma mia”. This song was originally “Gypsy girl” and is used to describe the magic power of money that attracts girls and girls’ longing for money, wealth. We usually hear this from other that money is not everything, but the truth is that “Money isn’t everything but without it you are almost next to nothing.” I think this song reflects the reality of the world we live in and it is also trying to make fun of money! Besides, this song is applied to many TV shows like “The Celebrity Apprentice” and a Japanese program “Golden Legend.”
I Have a Dream
“I Have a Dream” is the last single of ABBA. It is the 7th of the 10 tracks from the album Voulez-Vous and was never originally intended to be a single. It was released as a souvenir for UK fans who had attended the concerts to promote their tour in 1979. ABBA did not film a promotional video for the track, even though they had done for the Spanish version, "Estoy Soñando". So, they recorded their live performance during the tour in Wembley gym as their music video. In this music video, ABBA sang with a children chorus and this song has put a perfect end to International children' Year which is 1979. It is the 26th best selling single of 1999 in UK and also the last best selling one of ABBA. This song is filled with optimism and makes people encouraged when listening to it especially for those who are in their hardest times.
In 2001, the song “I have a dream” was re-recorded with additional vocals by Indonesian child singer for charity as part of a UNICEF fund-rai
Lay all your love on me by ABBA
This song is", originally called "Yarrafat". It’s recorded by Swedish pop group ABBA in 1980 in their Super Trouper album. The writer and the producer of this popular song is Benny Andersson, Bojom Ulvaeus. "Lay All Your Love on me" appears on the group's ABBA Gold: Greatest Hits collection. The singing lead for this electro-disco song was by Benny Andersson and Bjorn Ulvaeus, with Agnetha Faltskog. This song released in 1981 as a 12-inch single only in selected territories, managed to top the Billboard Hot Dance Club Play chart and peaked at 7 on the UK singles chart becoming at the time the highest ever charting 12-inch release in UK chart history.
The album Super Trouper sold 100.000 copies in one day in Great Britain. This song has one of the largest words sung on a pop hit; it was Incomprehensible with 16 letters. ABBA did not film a promotional video for "Lay All Your Love on Me", and so Epic hastily assembled a video by using excerpts from existing Abba videos, which was then shown on British television. It was made available on the ABBA Gold: Greatest Hits VHS video in 1992, followed by the DVD version over 10 years late
Chiquitita
I think this beautiful song is about a girl named chiquitita and she used to dance and sing but her boyfriend break her heart so she is telling it to her mother and her mother is supporting her that she will be ok. It is a very beautiful song because it is not only for the music, but for the fact that it was written by a mother to her daughter on her first love.
Originally, this was called "In The Arms Of Rozellita." Bjorn Ulvaeus, who wrote the song, liked the title but couldn't find a matching story, so it became "Chiquitita.
"Chiquitita" means "little girl" in Spanish was the first single release from Swedish mega pop group ABBA's Voulez-Vous album. After their success with their English version, Abba also recorded “Chiqitita” in Spanish despite the fact the band had never learned the language. Their Spanish version is enhanced their popularity in a number of Latin America countries such as Mexico. Spain, Paraguay. ABBA performed this song in 1999 at the Music for UNICEF Concert. ABBA donated half the proceeds from the song to UNICEF.
In Mamma Mia this is sung to the mother Donna by two of her former band mates when she gets really upset and hides under the covers.
2009年11月15日 星期日
High School Musical
Why High School Musical is so popular? (Ronne)
• Emmy Award-Winning American television film A. The first Disney movie has a theatrical sequel.
• A universal story
A. A subculture echoes with the reality.
B. It includes friendship, love, and dream
C. It captures what teenagers’ thoughts
a. Shows the identity what teenagers always pursue.
D. Touching lyrics and lively melodies
a. Make people get involved in the plots imperceptibly.
b. A connection for the adults to memorize the past
Introducing Sub-culture (Angela &Millia)
We are going to talk about Mainstream Culture & Subculture.
What is a Mainstream Culture? It is accepted by most of people in this society such as Confucianism.
Subculture is a group of people create a particular culture with distinct features such as Youth Subculture. This is the table of comparison between Mainstream Culture and Subculture. We can see the whole members in society participate in Mainstream Culture, and they accept the value and the faith. Subculture is particular members develop their own features such as clothing, music, interest, and so on. Sometimes the Subculture against the morality and law, but it reflects that Mainstream cannot satisfy what they want.
Mainstream Culture Subculture
----------------------------------------------------------------
We are going to talk about Youth Subculture. There are four Features:
1. Strong self-consciousness—The most evident feature in Youth Subculture is that teenagers strive for their own rights and start to against their elders and teachers. Furthermore, teenagers will get the social status and identity by their own way.
2. Gang- Teenagers emphasize the sense of belonging, so they develop the friendship into a group and support each other with loyalty.
3. Distinctness- In order to show differences from others, teenagers start to pay attention to appearance such as tattoos, hair-dying, and nail art.
4. Fancy to Idols- Teenagers are easily influenced by mass media, so they may pursue famous brand or something good by others’ recognition.
We connect the Youth Subculture with High School Musical.
1. Strong self-consciousness
Troy is going to graduate from high school, he worries about his future. He is good at sports and leadership, so his family hope him to study in a famous college. Troy has his own opinion and quarrels with his family. It indicates that teenagers do no want other people to dominate their own lives.
2.Gang
Gabriella has many good friends; they not only pursue dreams together and encourage each other, but also get confidence by owning friendship. In this case, teenagers emphasize the sense of belonging, so they support and help each other as a team. They can acquire the identity through being a team
3.Distinctness
Sharpay is a princess in the rich family. She is so self-centered that on one want to be her friends, and can not gain other’s respect; therefore, Sharpay packages herself by money to show her difference to others.
5. Fancy to idols
In High School Musical, most graduates want to join the famous colleges because of the influence of mass media. These people think they can get the same achievement and fame as famous colleges after entering. It indicates teenagers tend to repeat what other say without their own thoughts.
Analyzing: Adolescents’ View Points towards Friendship and Family (Betty &Daisy)
In the movies, every character expresses their emotions by singing and dancing, having specifically personalities, and they have their own interests and desires which they can’t express due to the status quo. Just like the song “stick in the status quo” in the first episode.
Adolescents are eager to be realized and to be accepted by their peers, in order to confirm individual thoughts strongly. They evaluate themselves according to people’s compliments. Once they meet people have the same notion, they will gather together to become intimate friends.
Take Troy, Gabriella, and Sharpay, these main characters, as examples. Troy as wildcat “the basketball team” leader, is struggling whether or not to join the singing audition instead of taking competition of basketball. At the beginning, Troy’s singing process is obstructed by his wildcat teammates. His friends request him to concentrate on ball game, so he gives his singing up in the halfway. However, Gabriella still encourages him never stop singing. With the support of Gabriella, he agrees with his singing talent. So as Gabriella, she is a hard working student without any extracurricular entertainment. However, when finding Troy’s voice is so matched with her, she devotes herself to singing. The other character, Sharpay is overbearing and arrogant, and she thinks that she is the center of the whole world. She uses money and her appearance to package herself to reach herself identity. Nevertheless, when she joins the competition of audition, having the negotiation with those singing peers, she gets peers’ attention and supports.
People in the same status quo, they encourage and support each other, and they have strong confidence because of friends’ supports. Adolescents need peers’ attention and assistant. Without their advice, they are afraid of taking the next step. Without peers’ accompany, they will lose their confidence to catch their dreams.
Adolescents are confused when making the future decisions and choices. There are many factors they should face and also should care for. One is which university is better for their future careers; the other is which university is suitable for their true desire.
This is the part concerning to their family. In the movie, Troy is worried about his future, and Sharpay’s father is willing to help Troy to enter famous college which is better for his basketball career. Of course, Troy’s father take 100 percent supports and insists to let Troy enter famous basketball college. Troy is very confused at that moment, because of the two sides (friendship and basketball) of desires. He is wondering which the decision is right to choose. When making decision, Troy has a quarrel with his father. Having quarrels with parents about making future decision is an important process for teenagers to go through. After this, they can start to think independently and become mature.
Conclusion: (Joy)
Learning how to make the right decisions is an important lesson in our life. Adolescents represent a sub-culture which is in the middle and embarrassing stage. Sometime, there will be discrepancies between their thoughts and parents’. After watching this musical, I think it gives adolescents a new thought for how to value the decisions between their interests and life reality.
• Emmy Award-Winning American television film A. The first Disney movie has a theatrical sequel.
• A universal story
A. A subculture echoes with the reality.
B. It includes friendship, love, and dream
C. It captures what teenagers’ thoughts
a. Shows the identity what teenagers always pursue.
D. Touching lyrics and lively melodies
a. Make people get involved in the plots imperceptibly.
b. A connection for the adults to memorize the past
Introducing Sub-culture (Angela &Millia)
We are going to talk about Mainstream Culture & Subculture.
What is a Mainstream Culture? It is accepted by most of people in this society such as Confucianism.
Subculture is a group of people create a particular culture with distinct features such as Youth Subculture. This is the table of comparison between Mainstream Culture and Subculture. We can see the whole members in society participate in Mainstream Culture, and they accept the value and the faith. Subculture is particular members develop their own features such as clothing, music, interest, and so on. Sometimes the Subculture against the morality and law, but it reflects that Mainstream cannot satisfy what they want.
Mainstream Culture Subculture
Value &Faith Whole society Particular
Members Whole society Particular
Morality&Law Follow morality and law Sometimes against morality and law
Example Confucianism Youth subculture----------------------------------------------------------------
We are going to talk about Youth Subculture. There are four Features:
1. Strong self-consciousness—The most evident feature in Youth Subculture is that teenagers strive for their own rights and start to against their elders and teachers. Furthermore, teenagers will get the social status and identity by their own way.
2. Gang- Teenagers emphasize the sense of belonging, so they develop the friendship into a group and support each other with loyalty.
3. Distinctness- In order to show differences from others, teenagers start to pay attention to appearance such as tattoos, hair-dying, and nail art.
4. Fancy to Idols- Teenagers are easily influenced by mass media, so they may pursue famous brand or something good by others’ recognition.
We connect the Youth Subculture with High School Musical.
1. Strong self-consciousness
Troy is going to graduate from high school, he worries about his future. He is good at sports and leadership, so his family hope him to study in a famous college. Troy has his own opinion and quarrels with his family. It indicates that teenagers do no want other people to dominate their own lives.
2.Gang
Gabriella has many good friends; they not only pursue dreams together and encourage each other, but also get confidence by owning friendship. In this case, teenagers emphasize the sense of belonging, so they support and help each other as a team. They can acquire the identity through being a team
3.Distinctness
Sharpay is a princess in the rich family. She is so self-centered that on one want to be her friends, and can not gain other’s respect; therefore, Sharpay packages herself by money to show her difference to others.
5. Fancy to idols
In High School Musical, most graduates want to join the famous colleges because of the influence of mass media. These people think they can get the same achievement and fame as famous colleges after entering. It indicates teenagers tend to repeat what other say without their own thoughts.
Analyzing: Adolescents’ View Points towards Friendship and Family (Betty &Daisy)
In the movies, every character expresses their emotions by singing and dancing, having specifically personalities, and they have their own interests and desires which they can’t express due to the status quo. Just like the song “stick in the status quo” in the first episode.
Adolescents are eager to be realized and to be accepted by their peers, in order to confirm individual thoughts strongly. They evaluate themselves according to people’s compliments. Once they meet people have the same notion, they will gather together to become intimate friends.
Take Troy, Gabriella, and Sharpay, these main characters, as examples. Troy as wildcat “the basketball team” leader, is struggling whether or not to join the singing audition instead of taking competition of basketball. At the beginning, Troy’s singing process is obstructed by his wildcat teammates. His friends request him to concentrate on ball game, so he gives his singing up in the halfway. However, Gabriella still encourages him never stop singing. With the support of Gabriella, he agrees with his singing talent. So as Gabriella, she is a hard working student without any extracurricular entertainment. However, when finding Troy’s voice is so matched with her, she devotes herself to singing. The other character, Sharpay is overbearing and arrogant, and she thinks that she is the center of the whole world. She uses money and her appearance to package herself to reach herself identity. Nevertheless, when she joins the competition of audition, having the negotiation with those singing peers, she gets peers’ attention and supports.
People in the same status quo, they encourage and support each other, and they have strong confidence because of friends’ supports. Adolescents need peers’ attention and assistant. Without their advice, they are afraid of taking the next step. Without peers’ accompany, they will lose their confidence to catch their dreams.
Adolescents are confused when making the future decisions and choices. There are many factors they should face and also should care for. One is which university is better for their future careers; the other is which university is suitable for their true desire.
This is the part concerning to their family. In the movie, Troy is worried about his future, and Sharpay’s father is willing to help Troy to enter famous college which is better for his basketball career. Of course, Troy’s father take 100 percent supports and insists to let Troy enter famous basketball college. Troy is very confused at that moment, because of the two sides (friendship and basketball) of desires. He is wondering which the decision is right to choose. When making decision, Troy has a quarrel with his father. Having quarrels with parents about making future decision is an important process for teenagers to go through. After this, they can start to think independently and become mature.
Conclusion: (Joy)
Learning how to make the right decisions is an important lesson in our life. Adolescents represent a sub-culture which is in the middle and embarrassing stage. Sometime, there will be discrepancies between their thoughts and parents’. After watching this musical, I think it gives adolescents a new thought for how to value the decisions between their interests and life reality.
2009年10月25日 星期日
2009.10.26.Super Sports Star: Michael Jordan
Miachael Jordan as a Super Star in Sports
Frank
Why Jordan is so famous that everyone knows his name? In the past, I always watched Jordan’s basketball game with my family every Sunday. I knew about him because of his fantastic skill and his passion toward basketball. Nowadays, when we talked about basketball, everyone will know who he is.
Actually, Jordan is the best all-round player in the National Basketball Association, and I think the reason why everyone calls Jordan as “God of basketball” is that he never gives up. First, he always cooperates with his teammates and practices as much as he can with his teammates in order to make the team get the best honor in National Basketball Association, namely National Championship. In fact, Jordan trains him and teammates severely and tells everyone they should play for the team, not for personal purpose. When it is time to practice, Jordan always appears on time and seldom leaves earlier than his teammates. Some of men say that Jordan is a genius; however, I think he is the genius of practice. Because he doesn’t have a good figure, all he can do is practice again and again so that he can defeat plenty of rivals. Second, Jordan is so humble that he will not order his teammates as if he is a hero of Chicago Bulls. Instead, he will do thing quietly and then others will follow his suggestion. That is his leadership. Finally, Chicago Bulls is always the candidate for National Championship, and they get the championship six times.
Moreover, I think the data really can’t represent Jordan’s skills and his personal achievements in basketball. The data is just records because it can’t stand for his attribution toward basketball. His passion and his attitude in basketball are the reason why everybody loves him so much.
Also, I think Jordan influences people in our society. Because of his perseverance and his attitude, people all know succeed needs to give. This principle can adapt in all field in the world. And, Jordan not only promotes himself, but also makes everyone know about basketball and NBA. Furthermore, the process of success is the best thing that Michael Jordan wants to tell to us.
Gary
Being the greatest basketball player in the world, Michael’s skill is focus on the speed, the accuracy of the shot, the strength, and jumping ability. He plays as shooting guard, and he is good at changing direction with the cross-over. He can judge the way which the defense is going to be with the step and make the quick changing within a second, and if you play basketball, you will know that it’s difficult to make a sudden judgement in just a few second. Another ability is his middle distance jump shot. Although his three points shooting ability is the most controversial one in his career, his middle distance jump shot is the most famous and outstanding one in the game. He can always make the jump shot as soon as he get the ball. Besides, he will always make it. His career field goal percentage is 49.7. Field goal means the basket scored on any shot, even the free throw and dunk are counting. And that’s really a high percentage. The best known thing of Michael Jordan is his jumping ability. He can do a double pump to avoid three defenses in the air which is one of the greatest moves in the basketball history. To do this move, you have to stay in the air for more than two seconds. Imagine that you use your entire strength to jump up high, and how long will you stay in the sky? You will know that how amaing Jordan is. That’s why everyone calls him “air jordan”
Before 1970s, center is the main position to do the offense, so the rhythm in the game is slow and lengthy, becaue the offence depends on the whether center gets the ball or not, and if he has a good chance to shoot the ball is important. There is not always a chance for him to make a shoot. After 1970’s, the entire situation has been changed. The guard becomes the one to make the call. He can choose to make the shot on his own, or to pass the ball to the others. The rhythm becomes faster that each offence takes no longer than ten or fiften seconds. Dr.J is the first one created the new moves in basketball. The most famous one is to jump from the free throw line to make a dunk, but Jordan is the one who enhace and glorify it. He makes many creative and incredible moves in the game, like double pump, fade away, and the whole series of unbelievable dunk. He is the one who makes these moves involving in the game, and he is the one to push the entire basketball skill to a new age that no one can imagine at that time.
Annon
Now I am going to introduce the Jordan shoes. Maybe you haven’t seen Michael Jordan playing basketball; however, you must have ever seen the Jordan shoes especially Jordan 1. Jordan 1 is worthy to know. Also, it’s the one you can’t miss if you want know Michael Jordan. It has been one of the hottest pair of basketball shoes since 1985 which is the time Jordan 1 was produced. In fact, the Jordan 1 was chosen to be the most classic one of all Jordan shoes. There are several features made the Jordan 1 to be the legend. Those are its color combination. “Black, white and red,” made Jordan 1 to stand out from all that time. It led the trend and started a new generation of basketball shoes design. The NBA even once prohibited Jordan wearing Jordan 1 on the basketball court. The reason was that Jordan 1 was inappropriate. This prohibition caused the Jordan 1 fever gone even higher. Everyone wanted a pair of Jordan 1. Nike published the reproduction of Jordan 1 in 1994 and 2001. Of course, Jordan 1 fevers again. Although the following Jordan series also created excellent record, those still couldn’t go beyond Jordan 1. In most Jordan fans’ mind, Jordan 1 is surely the best ever.
Personally, I love Jordan 17 most, though I haven’t owned it. Its black, white and blue attracted me more than other Jordan shoes did. Its hidden-shoelace design makes it simple and looking good. It’s out of production now. In addition, I once owned Jordan 6 and 7. They were really different from others. Actually, Jordan 2009 look like this…Go and buy it, you will know how it makes you feel
Andy
In Oct. 6 1993, Jordan decided to retire from NBA. He said “ I have nothing to prove on basketball court.”, but we all know that there has the other major factor, his father was murdered. Though the investigation said that murders didn’t know that the victim was Jordan’s father, but Jordan still believed his father’s death was due to his identity of being a basketball star. And after he left the basketball court, he joined the Chicago White Sox baseball team. Being a baseball player was his father’s dream when Jordan was a kid. And this was Jordan’s first retire.
March 19 1995, he was back to the court with a new number. No. 45. But this was not last to long, after Nick Anderson, the guard of wizard said, “No. 45 it’s easier to defeat than No. 23”, Jordan started to wear his jersey with no.23 again and never changed.
Jan. 14 1999, Jordan retired again.
Before he returned to the court as a player of wizard in 2002, he was the chairman of wizard. After 2002-2003 season’s fight as a player of wizard, Jordan retired. This time, Air Jordan will no longer play basketball in NBA anymore.
I think a sequence of Jordan’s retire is also a very important part of why Michael Jordan is popular around the world. Every time he announced that he wants to retire or return to court always be the hottest news around the world.
Steven
When he was forty, he retired from Washington Wizards. Although he has had great passion for basketball, he age did not allow him to play anymore. I think that it is a pity that age is an important element to decide whether he can play or not, because he doesn’t have physical strength as before.
But now, he also has success in other careers, like invest Casino, run his restaurants and manage Jordan Brand. So, he put all his heart emphasizing on his wife, children and careers. However, he still wants to go back to NBA, but he doesn’t want to be a sportsman rather than to be a basketball team of boss. I remember one of his interviews. He said “the principal factors of his success are passion, insistence and attitude. People don’t know how he loves basketball,” and said “if you get the same element in your career, you will get the same success like him.” So, I think that is the reason why he gets great achievement in both NBA and his business. it is good concept for us to know that whatever what we do, we want to love it, and we need to have enough passion on it. If we can to that way, I believe that one day, we will be success too.
Mark
There are three requirements for a basketball player to be into the Hall of fame. First, he has to at least play for ten years. Second, he must have fully retired from play for at least five years. Third, he needs to get 75 percent of all votes cast. I believe that many people are wondering why Michael Jordan, the god in the basketball, just get into the Hall of fame recently. Shouldn’t he have been a member of that for a long time ago? Well, for Michael Jordan, the only problem he has is the second rule. He’s last game is in 2009. So, that is the reason why.
Then, I am going to talk about what I feel about Michael Jordan. What I admire him the most is his leader ability and humbleness. It is almost impossible that someone is the best in every single way. Everything is good for something. There must be something that others are better than you. But, we don’t have to be shame about it because it is natural. I mean. Our own ability is pretty small. A great man is the one who can unite all the power together.
The last thing I want to talk about is the third rule. I have seen one movie called Mr. 3000. It says that there is a great baseball player who is good at hitting a single. In fact, he is really good. He is the best in his team. However, because of that, he becomes super arrogant. He even thinks that all the fans that come to see the ball game are only for him. And, he says that the team only needs him. All of his teammates are garbage. After he is retired, he cannot go into the Baseball Hall of Fame because everyone hates him. Although great power comes great responsibility, at the same time, we should know that without others we won’t be what we are or get what we get today.
Lester
As far as I am concerned, among those precursor conditions which should be met before entering Basketball Hall of Fame, being permitted by basketball reporters is the most essential element in the sporting world. I mean, even someone is strong enough but not shining among the cameras taken by reports. That someone would just be a good athlete but not a star. The consensus agrees with his achievement. His specific sporting character stands out. As Jordan, he shined, shining, and will shine for his entire life.
In Taiwan sporting world, we don’t have hall of fame, however, the consensus still spare no effort to honor those magnificent athletes. We may not have international sport stars, but those spiritual models would remain a diligent image in our society, just like Jordan.
Frank
Why Jordan is so famous that everyone knows his name? In the past, I always watched Jordan’s basketball game with my family every Sunday. I knew about him because of his fantastic skill and his passion toward basketball. Nowadays, when we talked about basketball, everyone will know who he is.
Actually, Jordan is the best all-round player in the National Basketball Association, and I think the reason why everyone calls Jordan as “God of basketball” is that he never gives up. First, he always cooperates with his teammates and practices as much as he can with his teammates in order to make the team get the best honor in National Basketball Association, namely National Championship. In fact, Jordan trains him and teammates severely and tells everyone they should play for the team, not for personal purpose. When it is time to practice, Jordan always appears on time and seldom leaves earlier than his teammates. Some of men say that Jordan is a genius; however, I think he is the genius of practice. Because he doesn’t have a good figure, all he can do is practice again and again so that he can defeat plenty of rivals. Second, Jordan is so humble that he will not order his teammates as if he is a hero of Chicago Bulls. Instead, he will do thing quietly and then others will follow his suggestion. That is his leadership. Finally, Chicago Bulls is always the candidate for National Championship, and they get the championship six times.
Moreover, I think the data really can’t represent Jordan’s skills and his personal achievements in basketball. The data is just records because it can’t stand for his attribution toward basketball. His passion and his attitude in basketball are the reason why everybody loves him so much.
Also, I think Jordan influences people in our society. Because of his perseverance and his attitude, people all know succeed needs to give. This principle can adapt in all field in the world. And, Jordan not only promotes himself, but also makes everyone know about basketball and NBA. Furthermore, the process of success is the best thing that Michael Jordan wants to tell to us.
Gary
Being the greatest basketball player in the world, Michael’s skill is focus on the speed, the accuracy of the shot, the strength, and jumping ability. He plays as shooting guard, and he is good at changing direction with the cross-over. He can judge the way which the defense is going to be with the step and make the quick changing within a second, and if you play basketball, you will know that it’s difficult to make a sudden judgement in just a few second. Another ability is his middle distance jump shot. Although his three points shooting ability is the most controversial one in his career, his middle distance jump shot is the most famous and outstanding one in the game. He can always make the jump shot as soon as he get the ball. Besides, he will always make it. His career field goal percentage is 49.7. Field goal means the basket scored on any shot, even the free throw and dunk are counting. And that’s really a high percentage. The best known thing of Michael Jordan is his jumping ability. He can do a double pump to avoid three defenses in the air which is one of the greatest moves in the basketball history. To do this move, you have to stay in the air for more than two seconds. Imagine that you use your entire strength to jump up high, and how long will you stay in the sky? You will know that how amaing Jordan is. That’s why everyone calls him “air jordan”
Before 1970s, center is the main position to do the offense, so the rhythm in the game is slow and lengthy, becaue the offence depends on the whether center gets the ball or not, and if he has a good chance to shoot the ball is important. There is not always a chance for him to make a shoot. After 1970’s, the entire situation has been changed. The guard becomes the one to make the call. He can choose to make the shot on his own, or to pass the ball to the others. The rhythm becomes faster that each offence takes no longer than ten or fiften seconds. Dr.J is the first one created the new moves in basketball. The most famous one is to jump from the free throw line to make a dunk, but Jordan is the one who enhace and glorify it. He makes many creative and incredible moves in the game, like double pump, fade away, and the whole series of unbelievable dunk. He is the one who makes these moves involving in the game, and he is the one to push the entire basketball skill to a new age that no one can imagine at that time.
Annon
Now I am going to introduce the Jordan shoes. Maybe you haven’t seen Michael Jordan playing basketball; however, you must have ever seen the Jordan shoes especially Jordan 1. Jordan 1 is worthy to know. Also, it’s the one you can’t miss if you want know Michael Jordan. It has been one of the hottest pair of basketball shoes since 1985 which is the time Jordan 1 was produced. In fact, the Jordan 1 was chosen to be the most classic one of all Jordan shoes. There are several features made the Jordan 1 to be the legend. Those are its color combination. “Black, white and red,” made Jordan 1 to stand out from all that time. It led the trend and started a new generation of basketball shoes design. The NBA even once prohibited Jordan wearing Jordan 1 on the basketball court. The reason was that Jordan 1 was inappropriate. This prohibition caused the Jordan 1 fever gone even higher. Everyone wanted a pair of Jordan 1. Nike published the reproduction of Jordan 1 in 1994 and 2001. Of course, Jordan 1 fevers again. Although the following Jordan series also created excellent record, those still couldn’t go beyond Jordan 1. In most Jordan fans’ mind, Jordan 1 is surely the best ever.
Personally, I love Jordan 17 most, though I haven’t owned it. Its black, white and blue attracted me more than other Jordan shoes did. Its hidden-shoelace design makes it simple and looking good. It’s out of production now. In addition, I once owned Jordan 6 and 7. They were really different from others. Actually, Jordan 2009 look like this…Go and buy it, you will know how it makes you feel
Andy
In Oct. 6 1993, Jordan decided to retire from NBA. He said “ I have nothing to prove on basketball court.”, but we all know that there has the other major factor, his father was murdered. Though the investigation said that murders didn’t know that the victim was Jordan’s father, but Jordan still believed his father’s death was due to his identity of being a basketball star. And after he left the basketball court, he joined the Chicago White Sox baseball team. Being a baseball player was his father’s dream when Jordan was a kid. And this was Jordan’s first retire.
March 19 1995, he was back to the court with a new number. No. 45. But this was not last to long, after Nick Anderson, the guard of wizard said, “No. 45 it’s easier to defeat than No. 23”, Jordan started to wear his jersey with no.23 again and never changed.
Jan. 14 1999, Jordan retired again.
Before he returned to the court as a player of wizard in 2002, he was the chairman of wizard. After 2002-2003 season’s fight as a player of wizard, Jordan retired. This time, Air Jordan will no longer play basketball in NBA anymore.
I think a sequence of Jordan’s retire is also a very important part of why Michael Jordan is popular around the world. Every time he announced that he wants to retire or return to court always be the hottest news around the world.
Steven
When he was forty, he retired from Washington Wizards. Although he has had great passion for basketball, he age did not allow him to play anymore. I think that it is a pity that age is an important element to decide whether he can play or not, because he doesn’t have physical strength as before.
But now, he also has success in other careers, like invest Casino, run his restaurants and manage Jordan Brand. So, he put all his heart emphasizing on his wife, children and careers. However, he still wants to go back to NBA, but he doesn’t want to be a sportsman rather than to be a basketball team of boss. I remember one of his interviews. He said “the principal factors of his success are passion, insistence and attitude. People don’t know how he loves basketball,” and said “if you get the same element in your career, you will get the same success like him.” So, I think that is the reason why he gets great achievement in both NBA and his business. it is good concept for us to know that whatever what we do, we want to love it, and we need to have enough passion on it. If we can to that way, I believe that one day, we will be success too.
Mark
There are three requirements for a basketball player to be into the Hall of fame. First, he has to at least play for ten years. Second, he must have fully retired from play for at least five years. Third, he needs to get 75 percent of all votes cast. I believe that many people are wondering why Michael Jordan, the god in the basketball, just get into the Hall of fame recently. Shouldn’t he have been a member of that for a long time ago? Well, for Michael Jordan, the only problem he has is the second rule. He’s last game is in 2009. So, that is the reason why.
Then, I am going to talk about what I feel about Michael Jordan. What I admire him the most is his leader ability and humbleness. It is almost impossible that someone is the best in every single way. Everything is good for something. There must be something that others are better than you. But, we don’t have to be shame about it because it is natural. I mean. Our own ability is pretty small. A great man is the one who can unite all the power together.
The last thing I want to talk about is the third rule. I have seen one movie called Mr. 3000. It says that there is a great baseball player who is good at hitting a single. In fact, he is really good. He is the best in his team. However, because of that, he becomes super arrogant. He even thinks that all the fans that come to see the ball game are only for him. And, he says that the team only needs him. All of his teammates are garbage. After he is retired, he cannot go into the Baseball Hall of Fame because everyone hates him. Although great power comes great responsibility, at the same time, we should know that without others we won’t be what we are or get what we get today.
Lester
As far as I am concerned, among those precursor conditions which should be met before entering Basketball Hall of Fame, being permitted by basketball reporters is the most essential element in the sporting world. I mean, even someone is strong enough but not shining among the cameras taken by reports. That someone would just be a good athlete but not a star. The consensus agrees with his achievement. His specific sporting character stands out. As Jordan, he shined, shining, and will shine for his entire life.
In Taiwan sporting world, we don’t have hall of fame, however, the consensus still spare no effort to honor those magnificent athletes. We may not have international sport stars, but those spiritual models would remain a diligent image in our society, just like Jordan.
2009年10月11日 星期日
2009.10.19. Romantic Musicals: Moulin Rouge
Romantic Musicals: Moulin Rouge (2001)
Presentation Script
PPT slide 1 Introduction
The main story line of the movie, Moulin Rouge, is about love, but we are going to focus on its background to investigate the culture at that time, instead of the love story.
PPT slide 2 Inspiration
The director got the inspiration from the Greek Story – Orpheus and Eurydice. Orpheus is a poet and musician; the director gave the actor (Christian) in Moulin Rouge the same role as Orpheus. Both Orpheus and Christian tried their best to save their lovers from the danger. Orpheus went to the hell to bring his wife back to life, and in the movie, Christian tried to help his lover, Satine, fly way from the Moulin Rouge. Although Satine was the most popular singer, no one really cared about her. At first, she considered Moulin Rouge was like her home as her charms made every man fall in love with her. The owner of the Moulin Rouge treated her well, providing all the things she wanted in the best quaqlity. However, till she met Christian, she realized what she wanted was true love, not indulging in the fame. Hence, Christian planned to take Satine away from Moulin Rouge and start a new life with her. In 2001, the famous song Orpheus in the Underworld was applied to the movie, Moulin Rouge. The end of song was also the well-known Can-can dance song.
PPT slide 3 Background:
The failure of Franco-Prussian War caused a huge depression in France. There were many scandals at that time, and economy crisis was one of the problems, too. Hence, people couldn’t keep the faith in such a decadent life. People had hard time then. In order to find a way to unleash, people learnt to replace their empty heart by the Hedonism. They pursued luxurious life and indulged themselves in sensual pleasure. Hence, going to a night club had become common phenomena in Paris at that time. But this kind of life did not represent that they could escape from the depression, they did not truly enjoy their lives at all. People gathered in a night club, talking without eye-contact and absent-minded showed endless sorrows and desperation even more.
PPT slide 4 Background:
The Moulin Rouge was built because of the international exposition. By building Moulin Rouge the French wanted to boost their tourism. Montmartre was famous for its vineyard; hence, there were bars (pubs) and Moulin (Moulin is the combination of club and café concert.) appeared. In the late 19 century, Montmartre has become the perfect place for people to enjoy nightlife. The creation of Moulin Rouge brought up the entertainment industry. Thieves, prostitutes, writers, dancers, singers, and Gypsy all gathered in the Moulin Rouge. Thieves, artist and writers wanted to have fun. Dancers and singers searched the chance to become a real actress. The Gypsy wanted to pursue their beliefs. Moulin became not only a place to dance but also a place for the young to socialize.
PPT slide 5 Artist-Renoir:
Famous artists like Renoir once stayed in here for about half year to enjoy the joyful atmosphere. Here is one of the paintings about the Moulin and it is also the most remarkable one.
PPT slide 6 Features-Red windmill:
The red windmill is the most identifiable feature of the Moulin Rouge. Till now, it is still working with the seasons changes, it evoke people’s memories of the old time and their desires.
PPT slide 7 Features-Elephant house:
There are a lot of scenes which presented in the elephant house. There are two possible explanations for the meaning of the elephant. Traced back to the Min dynasty, there are lion house, leopard house, elephant house and so on. They used to be places to keep dangerous animals but later on they became a place for the emperor to have fun with women. Maybe in the Moulin Rouge, the Duke is the symbolic emperor who has the power to dominate the financial support of Moulin Rouge. Another explanation is that the elephant is a symbol of dignity. In order to show his cherish for Satine so Zidler arranged Satine to live in the elephant house because Satine is the most popular singer in the Moulin Rouge. And for the duke, he is in the high class of the social rank. Zidler wanted to show his reverence for the duke hence he arranged the duke to use the elephant house.
PPT slide 8-13 Beauty, Truth, and Freedom
The movie is about Freedom, beauty, truth, and love. Freedom from Moulin Rouge and beauty belong to satin, true for Christian and the love is the greatest love between satin and Christian.
Satin was always beautiful, seeing her sparkling like a diamond on the velvet of the swing. She had smooth skin, her vibrant red hair, and her full lips. All she has to do is send a single glance in their direction, and they're lost forever to dream of possessing her. When, in fact, it is her eyes that possess them. And so it continues for many years, and she is as cold and lovely as the diamonds they compare her to and shower her with.
Until one day, she meets an eager young poet Christine. The warmth of his breath is a spring breeze to melt the last of winter's frost. She feels herself being caught in that same web with which she has trapped many others.
Nicole Kidman went from being just another actress to me to one of my favorites - she takes on the role of Satin so honestly and proves that she not only has a comedic side but a great voice as well. Together the two of them light up the screen.
Bohemia
The setting of the film is at a bohemian village in Paris in the nineteenth century. Christian was born at a bourgeois family. He went to the village which his father called it “the village of sin” seeking the artistic atmosphere for inspiration. You all know of bohemian style. But do you really know what bohemia is? Originally Bohemia is just an area in west Czech, and the bohemian actually means the gypsy living in Bohemia. Gradually bohemian is described as marginalized artists, writers, and musicians those who live in poverty and have an unconventional way of life.
The bohemian depreciates almost everything that represents bourgeois. The main conflicts between bohemian and bourgeois are that the later supports practical achievements in life, while the former stresses the importance of emotions. In bohemian value, a man’s dignity depends neither on his wealth nor on his material property. To them, cottage and jewelry are the symbols of arrogance and philistinism. Truth, beauty, freedom, and love are their spirit. Just like what Christian, the leading actor, said that “Above all things I believe in love. The greatest thing you’ll ever learn is just to love and be loved in return.”
Christian tells Satine what the truth of love and beauty of life are, and he wakes her innerness up and set her free from her material world. Therefore Satine turns down the Duke who symbolizes wealth and power. Though she finally died in the stage, she died with complete love, mind and freedom. That’s what bohemian spirit is.
Comparision the past and now
The performers
Past:
1)They are just beautiful girls who can sing and dance.
2)Girls consider performing in the Moulin Rouge is a way to make a living. They are there to please rich men or tycoons.
Now:
1)They are well-trained ballet dancers. The age limitation is 16 to 25.
They should be tall, slender and slim.
2)Girls consider being able to be selected as performers in the Moulin Rouge as a miracle.
Performing in the Moulin Rouge seemed to be a chance for the performers to become famous actress and
singers.
Past and Now:
1)There costumes do not change from the past till now.
2)They wear only some feathers and metal spangles.
3)They don’t wear bras.
The audience
Past: All the audience wants to go there to watch some shows that please them and maybe find someone beautiful to get with at night.
Now:Audience goes to Moulin Rouge to admire the culture. They do not go to there just for fun. They want to know more about Paris and its culture.
Can-Can Dance
PPT slide 2 Origins
In 1889, people paid much attention on not only Moulin Rouge but also Can-Can dance. It has become famous since Second Empire. At first, it was just a kind of cheerful dance which was popular at blue collar level. And then more and more cabarets had Can-Can dance performance. At that time, cabarets supplied alcohol and places in the middle of cabarets for customers to dance. Besides, there were performances with Can-Can music. Dancers lifted their skirts and danced “quadrille” (a kind of dancing movement) extemporaneously. Although going to cabarets and watching Can-Can performance was a really popular leisure activity that time, it was not for the high class people.
PPT slide 3 Performance
Now, it is about their performances. They are a group of well-training can-can dancers. Although retaining some improvisations, they needed more very difficult dancing skills and physical strength. The main movements were the high kick (it means quick rotary movement of lower leg with knee raised and skirt held up), and the next one is the port d'armes (turning on one leg, while grasping the other leg by the ankle and holding it almost), the next is lifting up skirt, and the next one is the cartwheel and the grand écart (it means that the flying or jump splits). Furthermore, it has become common practice for dancers to scream and yelp while performing the can-can, but this was by no means essential. On the other hand, the entertainers showed their shank sometimes that could tease viewers’ sense organs more.
PPT slide 5 Strip Show
At first, Can-Can was a kind of social folk dance in Europe originally. However, after adaption by a British, it became a type of performance. It was really popular when it was transited to France. As time went by, it was called French Can-Can. Can-Can dancers always had good figures. When they performed, their skirts floated in the air which drew people’s attention. They wore only a piece of skirt, and it might reveal their legs and underwear easily. Sometimes they just wore without underwear and occasionally revealed their genitals. Strip shows originated from Can-Can dance which Moulin Rouge was famous for. It was a performance which made performance watchers, always were men, feel pleasant. However, nowadays, Strip dancers think that performing strip show is a profession. Also, it is a performance art.
PPT slide 6 Dress & Accerssories
And it’s about dress and accessories. Nowadays, the dressings and adornments don’t change too much. The basic accessories and dressings are like this. They have feathers, sheet mental and hats. Skirts are like this and there are petticoats. There are also stockings like this and hats like this or this one. And, this is a bodice. It can be with or without sleeves. These two are overskirts. This one is a bustle and it’s always on the back of the skirt.
Presentation Script
PPT slide 1 Introduction
The main story line of the movie, Moulin Rouge, is about love, but we are going to focus on its background to investigate the culture at that time, instead of the love story.
PPT slide 2 Inspiration
The director got the inspiration from the Greek Story – Orpheus and Eurydice. Orpheus is a poet and musician; the director gave the actor (Christian) in Moulin Rouge the same role as Orpheus. Both Orpheus and Christian tried their best to save their lovers from the danger. Orpheus went to the hell to bring his wife back to life, and in the movie, Christian tried to help his lover, Satine, fly way from the Moulin Rouge. Although Satine was the most popular singer, no one really cared about her. At first, she considered Moulin Rouge was like her home as her charms made every man fall in love with her. The owner of the Moulin Rouge treated her well, providing all the things she wanted in the best quaqlity. However, till she met Christian, she realized what she wanted was true love, not indulging in the fame. Hence, Christian planned to take Satine away from Moulin Rouge and start a new life with her. In 2001, the famous song Orpheus in the Underworld was applied to the movie, Moulin Rouge. The end of song was also the well-known Can-can dance song.
PPT slide 3 Background:
The failure of Franco-Prussian War caused a huge depression in France. There were many scandals at that time, and economy crisis was one of the problems, too. Hence, people couldn’t keep the faith in such a decadent life. People had hard time then. In order to find a way to unleash, people learnt to replace their empty heart by the Hedonism. They pursued luxurious life and indulged themselves in sensual pleasure. Hence, going to a night club had become common phenomena in Paris at that time. But this kind of life did not represent that they could escape from the depression, they did not truly enjoy their lives at all. People gathered in a night club, talking without eye-contact and absent-minded showed endless sorrows and desperation even more.
PPT slide 4 Background:
The Moulin Rouge was built because of the international exposition. By building Moulin Rouge the French wanted to boost their tourism. Montmartre was famous for its vineyard; hence, there were bars (pubs) and Moulin (Moulin is the combination of club and café concert.) appeared. In the late 19 century, Montmartre has become the perfect place for people to enjoy nightlife. The creation of Moulin Rouge brought up the entertainment industry. Thieves, prostitutes, writers, dancers, singers, and Gypsy all gathered in the Moulin Rouge. Thieves, artist and writers wanted to have fun. Dancers and singers searched the chance to become a real actress. The Gypsy wanted to pursue their beliefs. Moulin became not only a place to dance but also a place for the young to socialize.
PPT slide 5 Artist-Renoir:
Famous artists like Renoir once stayed in here for about half year to enjoy the joyful atmosphere. Here is one of the paintings about the Moulin and it is also the most remarkable one.
PPT slide 6 Features-Red windmill:
The red windmill is the most identifiable feature of the Moulin Rouge. Till now, it is still working with the seasons changes, it evoke people’s memories of the old time and their desires.
PPT slide 7 Features-Elephant house:
There are a lot of scenes which presented in the elephant house. There are two possible explanations for the meaning of the elephant. Traced back to the Min dynasty, there are lion house, leopard house, elephant house and so on. They used to be places to keep dangerous animals but later on they became a place for the emperor to have fun with women. Maybe in the Moulin Rouge, the Duke is the symbolic emperor who has the power to dominate the financial support of Moulin Rouge. Another explanation is that the elephant is a symbol of dignity. In order to show his cherish for Satine so Zidler arranged Satine to live in the elephant house because Satine is the most popular singer in the Moulin Rouge. And for the duke, he is in the high class of the social rank. Zidler wanted to show his reverence for the duke hence he arranged the duke to use the elephant house.
PPT slide 8-13 Beauty, Truth, and Freedom
The movie is about Freedom, beauty, truth, and love. Freedom from Moulin Rouge and beauty belong to satin, true for Christian and the love is the greatest love between satin and Christian.
Satin was always beautiful, seeing her sparkling like a diamond on the velvet of the swing. She had smooth skin, her vibrant red hair, and her full lips. All she has to do is send a single glance in their direction, and they're lost forever to dream of possessing her. When, in fact, it is her eyes that possess them. And so it continues for many years, and she is as cold and lovely as the diamonds they compare her to and shower her with.
Until one day, she meets an eager young poet Christine. The warmth of his breath is a spring breeze to melt the last of winter's frost. She feels herself being caught in that same web with which she has trapped many others.
Nicole Kidman went from being just another actress to me to one of my favorites - she takes on the role of Satin so honestly and proves that she not only has a comedic side but a great voice as well. Together the two of them light up the screen.
Bohemia
The setting of the film is at a bohemian village in Paris in the nineteenth century. Christian was born at a bourgeois family. He went to the village which his father called it “the village of sin” seeking the artistic atmosphere for inspiration. You all know of bohemian style. But do you really know what bohemia is? Originally Bohemia is just an area in west Czech, and the bohemian actually means the gypsy living in Bohemia. Gradually bohemian is described as marginalized artists, writers, and musicians those who live in poverty and have an unconventional way of life.
The bohemian depreciates almost everything that represents bourgeois. The main conflicts between bohemian and bourgeois are that the later supports practical achievements in life, while the former stresses the importance of emotions. In bohemian value, a man’s dignity depends neither on his wealth nor on his material property. To them, cottage and jewelry are the symbols of arrogance and philistinism. Truth, beauty, freedom, and love are their spirit. Just like what Christian, the leading actor, said that “Above all things I believe in love. The greatest thing you’ll ever learn is just to love and be loved in return.”
Christian tells Satine what the truth of love and beauty of life are, and he wakes her innerness up and set her free from her material world. Therefore Satine turns down the Duke who symbolizes wealth and power. Though she finally died in the stage, she died with complete love, mind and freedom. That’s what bohemian spirit is.
Comparision the past and now
The performers
Past:
1)They are just beautiful girls who can sing and dance.
2)Girls consider performing in the Moulin Rouge is a way to make a living. They are there to please rich men or tycoons.
Now:
1)They are well-trained ballet dancers. The age limitation is 16 to 25.
They should be tall, slender and slim.
2)Girls consider being able to be selected as performers in the Moulin Rouge as a miracle.
Performing in the Moulin Rouge seemed to be a chance for the performers to become famous actress and
singers.
Past and Now:
1)There costumes do not change from the past till now.
2)They wear only some feathers and metal spangles.
3)They don’t wear bras.
The audience
Past: All the audience wants to go there to watch some shows that please them and maybe find someone beautiful to get with at night.
Now:Audience goes to Moulin Rouge to admire the culture. They do not go to there just for fun. They want to know more about Paris and its culture.
Can-Can Dance
PPT slide 2 Origins
In 1889, people paid much attention on not only Moulin Rouge but also Can-Can dance. It has become famous since Second Empire. At first, it was just a kind of cheerful dance which was popular at blue collar level. And then more and more cabarets had Can-Can dance performance. At that time, cabarets supplied alcohol and places in the middle of cabarets for customers to dance. Besides, there were performances with Can-Can music. Dancers lifted their skirts and danced “quadrille” (a kind of dancing movement) extemporaneously. Although going to cabarets and watching Can-Can performance was a really popular leisure activity that time, it was not for the high class people.
PPT slide 3 Performance
Now, it is about their performances. They are a group of well-training can-can dancers. Although retaining some improvisations, they needed more very difficult dancing skills and physical strength. The main movements were the high kick (it means quick rotary movement of lower leg with knee raised and skirt held up), and the next one is the port d'armes (turning on one leg, while grasping the other leg by the ankle and holding it almost), the next is lifting up skirt, and the next one is the cartwheel and the grand écart (it means that the flying or jump splits). Furthermore, it has become common practice for dancers to scream and yelp while performing the can-can, but this was by no means essential. On the other hand, the entertainers showed their shank sometimes that could tease viewers’ sense organs more.
PPT slide 5 Strip Show
At first, Can-Can was a kind of social folk dance in Europe originally. However, after adaption by a British, it became a type of performance. It was really popular when it was transited to France. As time went by, it was called French Can-Can. Can-Can dancers always had good figures. When they performed, their skirts floated in the air which drew people’s attention. They wore only a piece of skirt, and it might reveal their legs and underwear easily. Sometimes they just wore without underwear and occasionally revealed their genitals. Strip shows originated from Can-Can dance which Moulin Rouge was famous for. It was a performance which made performance watchers, always were men, feel pleasant. However, nowadays, Strip dancers think that performing strip show is a profession. Also, it is a performance art.
PPT slide 6 Dress & Accerssories
And it’s about dress and accessories. Nowadays, the dressings and adornments don’t change too much. The basic accessories and dressings are like this. They have feathers, sheet mental and hats. Skirts are like this and there are petticoats. There are also stockings like this and hats like this or this one. And, this is a bodice. It can be with or without sleeves. These two are overskirts. This one is a bustle and it’s always on the back of the skirt.
2009年10月9日 星期五
2009.10.12. For people of all ages: Disney Movies
Movies for people of all ages: Walt Disney Movies
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1. Happy ending
2. Adapt the consequence
Category
Love Story
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
Cinderella
Sleeping Beauty
The Little Mermaid
Educational
The Lion King Bambi
Dumbo Robin Hood
Pocahontas Pinocchio
The Jungle Book The Hunchback of Notre Dame
Adventure
Hercules Peter Pan
101 Dalmatians Atlantis: The Lost Empire
Toy Story Tarzan
Alice in Wonderland
Cross Class
Lady and the Tramp
Mulan
Cross Race
The Fox and the Hound
Beauty and the Beast
Fundamental Elements meet Creativities
Little mermaid
The first one: Little mermaid, an adaption from the Grimm's Fairy Tales.
Allow me to remind you that, at this point, Disney still remain the love story type.
Lion King
A classic film in which the protagonists are lions. Yes.. the Lion king.
It's said to be a original Disney movies, while I believe that it has the wisdom and the attraction from Hamlet.
Fundamental Elements meet Creativities-2
Beauty and the Beast
The message of the story is that you should not judge someone by what they look like.
Mulan
Brave, kick-boxing Mulan does not look like "Snow White."
Features of Disney Movies
Multiculturalism: the idea that it is a good thing to include people from many different cultures.
Topics echo with the society trend. Moreover, Disney values impact on the U.S as well as the whole world.
Theme that are widely accepted by the children will usually be approved by adults.
Selling Point
People in all ages accept or expect it.
1. Educational 2. Local stars
3. Opposite roles 4. A fine sense of humor
Values Change
1. 超人特攻隊(The incredibles)
2. 料理鼠王(Ratatouille)
3. 瓦力(walle)
4. Mickey Mouse
5. 3D computer animation
Sum up
1. Important values
2. Ideal World
Disney's movies are full of creativities and interesting. They change with seconds. They are diversities. We have to admit that they also influence us in many different ways unwittingly, our thinking, and even our personalities. After finishing this wonderful trip, we are getting more familiar with disney. The more we know disney, the more we love it.
1. Happy ending
2. Adapt the consequence
Category
Love Story
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
Cinderella
Sleeping Beauty
The Little Mermaid
Educational
The Lion King Bambi
Dumbo Robin Hood
Pocahontas Pinocchio
The Jungle Book The Hunchback of Notre Dame
Adventure
Hercules Peter Pan
101 Dalmatians Atlantis: The Lost Empire
Toy Story Tarzan
Alice in Wonderland
Cross Class
Lady and the Tramp
Mulan
Cross Race
The Fox and the Hound
Beauty and the Beast
Fundamental Elements meet Creativities
Little mermaid
The first one: Little mermaid, an adaption from the Grimm's Fairy Tales.
Allow me to remind you that, at this point, Disney still remain the love story type.
Lion King
A classic film in which the protagonists are lions. Yes.. the Lion king.
It's said to be a original Disney movies, while I believe that it has the wisdom and the attraction from Hamlet.
Fundamental Elements meet Creativities-2
Beauty and the Beast
The message of the story is that you should not judge someone by what they look like.
Mulan
Brave, kick-boxing Mulan does not look like "Snow White."
Features of Disney Movies
Multiculturalism: the idea that it is a good thing to include people from many different cultures.
Topics echo with the society trend. Moreover, Disney values impact on the U.S as well as the whole world.
Theme that are widely accepted by the children will usually be approved by adults.
Selling Point
People in all ages accept or expect it.
1. Educational 2. Local stars
3. Opposite roles 4. A fine sense of humor
Values Change
1. 超人特攻隊(The incredibles)
2. 料理鼠王(Ratatouille)
3. 瓦力(walle)
4. Mickey Mouse
5. 3D computer animation
Sum up
1. Important values
2. Ideal World
Disney's movies are full of creativities and interesting. They change with seconds. They are diversities. We have to admit that they also influence us in many different ways unwittingly, our thinking, and even our personalities. After finishing this wonderful trip, we are getting more familiar with disney. The more we know disney, the more we love it.
2009年10月4日 星期日
2009.10.5 Super Heroes: Spiderman and Superman
A Comparison between Super Heros on Films
Similar heros: Spiderman and Superman
They were both fictional characters.
They are two of the most popular and commercially successful superheros.
Movie Trailers be shown during presentation
Superman is a typical American cultural icon, so does spiderman.
Their appearance is distictive and iconic.
The leading role has backdrops that the readers can easily relate to while reading through the comics or when watching the films.
Both of the stories were firstly written out and created as the characters in comics and were later appearing in radio serials, television shows, newspaper comic strips, as well as the adpation into movies.
Superman was created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster in 1932 while Spiderman was created by writer and editor Stan Lee.
Similar heros: Spiderman and Superman
They were both fictional characters.
They are two of the most popular and commercially successful superheros.
Movie Trailers be shown during presentation
Superman is a typical American cultural icon, so does spiderman.
Their appearance is distictive and iconic.
The leading role has backdrops that the readers can easily relate to while reading through the comics or when watching the films.
Both of the stories were firstly written out and created as the characters in comics and were later appearing in radio serials, television shows, newspaper comic strips, as well as the adpation into movies.
Superman was created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster in 1932 while Spiderman was created by writer and editor Stan Lee.
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