Song Character Analysis Worksheet - The University of North ...

More documents

Recommendations

Info

however, the attached “highly charged feelings” are part of the attributes that give stereotype a negative connotation in contemporary usage. Other negative attributes are the belief that the stereotype is an absolute truth, and the power, or intent, of the group formulating the stereotype. The primary purpose of a stereotype is to categorize those on the outside of the self (dominant group) as Other; its function is “to maintain sharp boundary definitions” of those who are included in the social group and those who are not. 3 The image of woman in American society between 1880 and 1930 was filtered through gender stereotypes based on sexuality and prescribed behavioral characteristics of femininity. Psychologists and social historians agree that “gender” is a social con- struct rather than a biological fact. 4 The hegemonic hierarchy constructed feminine stereotypes to categorize what is not masculine in the societal norm. Gender, then, is a cultural designation of social function through dress, behavior, types of work, and familial duties. In the late nineteenth century, gender role stereotypes were described through bipolar strengths. Men’s roles were identified by terms like “instrumental, hard, active, and agency”; women’s roles were identified by “expressive, soft, passive, and 3 See Orrin E. Klapp’s distinction between stereotypes and social types in Dyer, 14 and 16. Lillian S. Robison defined Other as “the element that is not the subject, defined only in relation to it and only negatively.” Sex, Class, and Culture (Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1978), 26. 4 There is a common confusion between sex and gender in stereotypes. Feminist historians Linda K. Kerber and Jane Sherron DeHart defined “sex” as unchangeable biological differences and “gender” as learned societal meanings attached to those differences. “Gender,” Encyclopedia of American Social History vol. 1 (New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1993), 484. Comedienne Joanne Gilbert explained the two terms as “sex is what you’re born with; gender is what you do with it.” Performing Marginality: Humor, Gender, and Cultural Critique (Detroit: Wayne State University, 2004), 6. 35
communion.” 5 This bias continued well into the twentieth century. The acquisition of gender role stereotypes was (and still is) easily available through mainstream culture mediums (magazines, theatre, movies, popular music), personal interaction with specific men and women in careers, and tacit influences from schools and the legal system. 6 In her article on “Femininity,” Jill G. Morawski discussed female gender stereotypes of the late nineteenth century through three areas: fictional characterization (women’s sensibilities), “prescriptions for social and moral arrangements” (separate spheres, or the cult of domesticity), and scientific research on biological differences (the “Woman Question”). 7 I believe a brief investigation into the areas of separate spheres and the “Woman Question” is necessary to appreciate fully the subtypes of gender roles encountered in the female characters of Show Boat. Separate Spheres and the Cult of Domesticity One of the prevailing themes of the female gender stereotype in the late nineteenth century was the discussion of “separate spheres” for men and women. The advent of an industrialized society and the increased impersonality of mechanized business created a division of home and the marketplace for the first time in history. Man’s sphere was the public arena where he was expected to excel in his business field and then return 5 Women’s Studies Encyclopedia, s.v. “Gender Stereotypes,” ed. Helen Tierney (Greenwood Press, 2002). Jill Morawski adds independence, rationality, and an interest in objects as characteristics of male roles, and emotionality, dependence, and involvement in personal relationships to characteristics of female roles. “Femininity,” Women’s Studies Encyclopedia. 6 “Gender Stereotypes.” Gilman argued that stereotypes “can also be perpetuated, resurrected, and shaped” through cultural mediums, independent of any personal contact with a specific group. Difference and Pathology, 20. 7 “Femininity.” 36
Page 1 and 2: LEWIS, ANNE, D.M.A. An Examination
Page 3 and 4: APPROVAL PAGE This dissertation has
Page 5 and 6: TABLE OF CONTENTS iv Page ACKNOWLED
Page 7 and 8: for research, this paper will explo
Page 9 and 10: MacDonald, labeled musical theatre
Page 11 and 12: The musicals that have entered the
Page 13 and 14: and individually as handwriting.”
Page 15 and 16: Methodology The base of research fo
Page 17 and 18: Feminine Character in Selected Libr
Page 19 and 20: from the 1920s, they are timeless i
Page 21 and 22: e helpful to recognize the specific
Page 23 and 24: as a Cinderella-type heiress who ma
Page 25 and 26: Vereen described the “blackface c
Page 27 and 28: Casino Theatre in Manhattan. The re
Page 29 and 30: functional sets, and an eleven-piec
Page 31 and 32: The History of the Musical, Show Bo
Page 33 and 34: amount of instrumental music, the d
Page 35 and 36: Ferber’s novel begins with the na
Page 37 and 38: Act II begins four years later as G
Page 39: CHAPTER III SOCIETAL STEREOTYPES OF
Page 43 and 44: children, however, did allow mother
Page 45 and 46: unhealthy, sub-human environments.
Page 47 and 48: dominated by masculine traits in ap
Page 49 and 50: magazines, including Ladies Home Jo
Page 51 and 52: Nineteenth Century Stereotypes of W
Page 53 and 54: usiness. She was responsible for th
Page 55 and 56: gender) inequality forced them inst
Page 57 and 58: The 1920s was the Jazz Age, a time
Page 59 and 60: CHAPTER IV THEATRICAL STEREOTYPES O
Page 61 and 62: peoples . . . to save us from our o
Page 63 and 64: separate seating arrangements). The
Page 65 and 66: Feminine Aesthetic in Theatre Any a
Page 67 and 68: gossip columns. 17 Exploitation on
Page 69 and 70: means to economic or career advance
Page 71 and 72: Florenz Ziegfeld, reportedly, was q
Page 73 and 74: in a subservient role as a domestic
Page 75 and 76: looked, Magnolia decided, as if the
Page 77 and 78: When he holds me close, Close as we
Page 79 and 80: In the novel, Parthy Ann is a three
Page 81 and 82: opens her handbag and takes out a p
Page 83 and 84: “hero”) and the piano player (t
Page 85 and 86: the nineteenth century’s gender r
Page 87 and 88: of that time. Performance practice
Page 89 and 90: possibilities for manipulation and
Page 91 and 92:
order while the musical number repr
Page 93 and 94:
“Finding in that sound all the ki
Page 95 and 96:
often distorts vibrant voices, rend
Page 97 and 98:
elationships with other characters
Page 99 and 100:
Finally, the process includes a mus
Page 101 and 102:
any other theater music heard up to
Page 103 and 104:
een presented in previous chapters,
Page 105 and 106:
“Though the cold and brutal fact
Page 107 and 108:
[Bridge]: When he goes away dat’s
Page 109 and 110:
angelically while caught in the act
Page 111 and 112:
The song appears twice more as a pl
Page 113 and 114:
CHAPTER VI CURTAIN CALL The musical
Page 115 and 116:
theatre performance practice. They
Page 117 and 118:
BIBLIOGRAPHY General Sources Burkho
Page 119 and 120:
Long, Mary Anne. “‘All Our Girl
Page 121 and 122:
Kerber, Linda K., and Jane Sherron
Page 123 and 124:
Levine, Lawrence W. The Opening of
Page 125 and 126:
Song Title: Show Title: Lyricist: C
show all

Song Character Analysis Worksheet - The University of North ...

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?