Hello all,
My apologies for the questions not being posted until this morning. I had assigned another student who was not able to participate in the group blogging assignment to pick from your questions and post them up here by 10pm on Friday. Needless to say, this did not happen, and I was hoping to have that rectified by this point. Sadly, it wasn't, so I have read through your blog posts and made my own questions for you. Sorry they aren't the ones you produced yourself, but I will most definitely still be counting the ones you designed. (I just don't have them!) Because of the delay, you will have until your class period on Wednesday to turn in your questions. For the Tuesday/Thursday groups, I believe you still have ample time to read through the questions, but if you need until Wednesday morning I will accept them at that time as long as you make the effort to get them to me.
Here are your questions, you can type them up or hand-write them neatly:
1. What is MGM's most popular cartoon show?
2. What city was Battle of Angels produced in?
3. What was the name of the first theater in the Haymarket?
4. Who designed the Chicago Civic Theater?
5. What was Katherine Hepburn's nickname?
6. What company did Lana Turner work with before MGM?
7. Summarize Hamlet's plot in 3 sentences.
8. What was the main influence for music in the 1940's?
9. What role did Laurette Taylor play in The Glass Menagerie?
10. What disease did Helen Hayes' daughter die from?
11. What award did Jessica Tandy receive from People's magazine?
12. What did Katherine Hepburn's father do?
13. What happened on New Year's Day during the Battle of the Bulge?
14. What are 3 types of realism?
15. What was Jessica Tandy's first American film?
16. What did Aeschylus bring to the evolution of theater?
17. What is the name of Gaughin's book?
Sunday, April 5, 2009
Friday, April 3, 2009
Metro Goldwyn Mayer
Metro Goldwyn Mayer
New York Red Sox Block 2
MGM was founded in 1924 when Marcus Loew gained control over Metro Pictures, Goldwyn Pictures Corporation, and Louis B. Mayer Pictures. He then named his Company Metro Goldwyn Mayer combining all three names. Loew created the company to produce a steady stream of movies for his movie theater chain, Loews Theaters. MGM was the first film studio to [Photo]experiment with filming in Technicolor. They created several films using this
technique. In 1930 MGM purchased the rights to distribute a series of cartoons that starred a character named Flip the Frog. MGM's most popular cartoon show was Tom and Jerry. As World War II approached it became increasingly harder to get people to watch their films. In 1967 MGM was sold to the Canadian investor Edgar Bronfman Sr., whos son, Edgar Jr. would later buy Universal Studios. Edgar owned the company for two years and then MGM was bought by Kirk Kerkorian, a millionaire from Nevada. Through the 1970's studio output of films decreased considerably. In 1985, Ted Turner bought MGM and changed the name to MGM/UA. The lettering of the logo was changed to reflect both companies. In 1986 the company was sold back to Kirk Kerkorian for $780 million. Turner got to keep the MGM film library and began colorizing all the old black and white films and airing them through his Turner Network Television. Up until 2001 MGM distributed its films internationally through UIP (United International Pictures. In January 2001, MGM broke with UIP and began distributing films internationally through 20th Century Fox. In 2007 MGM announced their films would be available through the iTunes music store. In October the same year, the began filming movies in HD.References
Battle Of Angels
The play Battle of Angels is by Tennessee Williams. It is actually one of his earlier plays and was followed by The Glass Menagerie. It is about a man named Val whose car breaks down. He ends up in a dressmaker's shop and is the center of attention. Val is given a job by Myra, who works at the dressmaker's shop. Myra is married to Jabe, who is dying. Myra starts to fall in love with Val, which leads Val to attempting to convince Myra to kill her husband. What follows is a story of love, tension, doubt, and romance.
Battle of Angels was produced in Boston in 1940. It ended up as a flop and was unsuccessful. This is partly due to the fact that it talked about female sexuality. This was new for the time and was not immediately received openly. However, Tennessee Williams has learned from this experience and has said that he is happy it was a flop. H
e later went on to make such plays as The Glass Menagerie and A Streetcar Named Desire. This play has quite a bit of significance. It was Tennessee Williams' first play widely released in theaters. Not only that, but it has also eventually been "remade" into the updated Orpheus Descending. It was produced by the Theater Guild. Had it been a success, Tennessee Williams believes it would have made him think he knew everything about making plays.
Battle of Angels' failure had made Tennessee Williams more humble and willing to learn. This led to his successful career as a playwright and has given us great pieces of literature."I'm glad now that the play was not a success," Williams said later. "If it had been, it would have gone to my head and I would have thought I knew all there was to know about play writing."
RESOURCES
http://www.olemiss.edu/depts/
London Haymarket Theatre
There’s been a theatre in a part of the Haymarket since 1720. The first one was called The Little Theatre in the Haymarket. The present theatre was designed by John Nash and opened in 1821. It was designed so that the front Corinthian portico could be seen from St James Square. The auditorium was rebuilt twice. The first time it was rebuilt was in 1979 (reopened on January 31, 1880). The interior then was completely reconstructed 15 years later (reopened on January 2, 1905) and the 1905 theatre is the one that is seen today. More alterations were made between 1939 to 1941 which included; the construction of the large bar area under the stalls seating area. In 1994 about 1.3 million dollars was spent in a major reconstruction of the theatre. 
ich so incensed the government of the day that censorship of plays by the Lord Chamberlain was introduced in 1737 - the act was not repealed until September 1968.
Sources:
http://www.londontheatre.co.uk/londontheatre/westendvenues/haymarket.htm
http://www.trh.co.uk/history_page1.php
http://www.theatre-royal-haymarket.com/
Chicago Civic Theater
The Chicago Civic Theater, or better know as the Chicago civic opera, is a 45-story Theater and office house overlooking the Chicago River at N Wacker drive. Construction of the Chicago Opera Hose ended on November 4, 1929. Built by the construction firm of Graham, Anderson, Probst & White under it's designer Samuel Insull. Upon completion the opera house could seat up to 3563 people, making it one the largest theaters in North America. The theater's Art Deco styling had served for inspiration of a theater of a similar type in Orson Williams' film Citizen Kane,Which featured a theater in the film. Another interesting aspect of this building's architecture is it's shape, the opera house is shaped like a giant chair, aptly nicknamed “Insull's Throne”. Insull had designed the building in this manner for his wife to “sit” in because she was rejected by New York Metropolitan Opera, Whereas the “back” of the chair faces east towards New York City. Since construction the building has gone under renovations in 1993 and is home base for Lyric Opera, one of the world's premier opera companies which was founded in 1954 by Carol j. Fox. Today, tickets range from $32 to $197. The Theater has housed several productions over the years including Phantom of the Opera, Chicago, The Tempest, ad many other classics. The Theater is now under management of William Manson.
Team Ace
Resources:
http://www.chicagotraveler.com/attractions/lyric-opera-of-chicago.html
http://chicago-architecture-jyoti.blogspot.com/2009/01/civic-opera-building.html
Wikipedia
Katharine Hepburn
Katherine Houghton Hepburn was born on May 12, 1907 in Hartford CT. Having 4 siblings, Katherine credited her family for sense of adventure and independence. She went to Bryn Mawr and participated in theatrical productions. In Her senior year she appeared in in two productions in Baltimore.Then graduated in 1928, with a degree of history Philosophy. That same year she made he debut on Broadway, and married Ludlow Ogden Smith. Six years late Katherine got a divorce from Smith saying "I don't believe in marriage, it's bloody impractical to love, honor, and obey." Katherine first Broadway production was The Big Pond. She soon became a regular in Broadway even though she was fired from the show after one night. In 1932 Katherine appeared in the critical success, The Warrior's Husband, which lead to several screen tests for many new plays. In the film, A Bill of Divorcement,which was her first film, she received excellent notices for her performance in this film. In Hepburn third film,in the 1930s, she received her first Academy Award for Best Actress. In 1933 Hepburn stared in the Broadway production of The Lake, which turned out to be a failure. Katharine was named ''box office poison'' in 1938. In 1939 Hepburn stared on Broadway in The Philadelphia story, which turned out to be a tremendous success. Katharine had a love affair with Spencer Tracy for 27 years. They appeared in many films together like Woman of the Year, which was h
er first pairing with Spencer Tracy.Katharine was linked to a lot of men through her life, she had an relationship with Hollywood agent Leland Hayward and multimillionaire Howard Hughes in 1930s.Katharine was Catholic and because she was already married she couldn't divorce her husband. Katharine Hepburn was in 40 films, 16 plays, received 12 Academy Award nominations, and, won 2 Oscars for Best Actress. They called Katharine, "The angle in a red dress". Hepburn last film work was Love Affair, in 1994. In the last years of katharine life her health was decreasing, so she had to same home. She died in her home, on June 29, 2003, at age 96. Here's a link to a video of Katharine acting in "Little Women" http://www.imdb.com/video/screenplay/vi2643656985/Our Resources
Art Realism
Topic Issue:Art Realism
Broadly defined as "the faithful representation of reality" or "verisimilitude," realism is a literary technique practiced by many schools of writing. Although strictly speaking, realism is a technique, it also denotes a particular kind of subject matter, especially the representation of middle-class life. A reaction against romanticism, an interest in scientific method, the systematizing of the study of documentary history, and the influence of rational philosophy all affected the rise of realism. According to William Harmon and Hugh Holman, "Where romanticists transcend the immediate to find the ideal, and naturalists plumb the actual or superficial to find the scientific laws that control its actions, realists center their attention to a remarkable degree on the immediate, the here and now, the specific action, and the verifiable consequence" (A Handbook to Literature 428).
Characteristics
(from Richard Chase, The American Novel and Its Tradition)
Renders reality closely and in comprehensive detail. Selective presentation of reality with an emphasis on verisimilitude, even at the expense of a well-made plot
Character is more important than action and plot; complex ethical choices are often the subject.
Characters appear in their real complexity of temperament and motive; they are in explicable relation to nature, to each other, to their social class, to their own past.
Class is important; the novel has traditionally served the interests and aspirations of an insurgent middle class. (See Ian Watt, The Rise of the Novel)
Events will usually be plausible. Realistic novels avoid the sensational, dramatic elements of naturalistic novels and romances.
Diction is natural vernacular, not heightened or poetic; tone may be comic, satiric, or matter-of-fact.
Objectivity in presentation becomes increasingly important: overt authorial comments or intrusions diminish as the century progresses.
Interior or psychological realism a variant form.
In Black and White Strangers, Kenneth Warren suggests that a basic difference between realism and sentimentalism is that in realism, "the redemption of the individual lay within the social world," but in sentimental fiction, "the redemption of the social world lay with the individual" (75-76).
At its basic level, realism was grounded in the faithful reporting of all facets of everyday American life. According to William Dean Howells, "Realism is nothing more and nothing less than the truthful treatment of material" (Carter, 36). The reading public's preference for realism parallels the changes that were occurring at the end of the 19th and into the 20th century. For example, the modern scientific revolution advocated that truth and knowledge be based on empirical data. Reinforcing that notion, the industrial revolution proclaimed that a better civil society could be built upon machinery and factory labor. Given this atmosphere, several developments occurred around the same time The growth of investigative journalism,the rise of muckrakers and the establishment of a new-found fascination with the camera as a means of capturing the realities of a single instant, unvarnished by sentimentality.
Plot and Character
· Character is more important than action and plot complex ethical choices are often the subject.
· Characters appear in the real complexity of temperament and motive; they are in explicable relation to nature, to each other, to their social class, to their own past.
· Humans control their destinies characters act on their environment rather than reacting to it.
· Realistic novels avoid the sensational, dramatic elements of naturalistic novels and romances.
Class is important; the novel has traditionally served the interests and aspirations of an insurgent middle class.
Interpretation and Analysis
· Realism is viewed as a realization of democracy.
· The morality of Realism is intrinsic, integral, relativistic – relations between people and society are explored.
Characteristics
(from Richard Chase, The American Novel and Its Tradition)
Renders reality closely and in comprehensive detail. Selective presentation of reality with an emphasis on verisimilitude, even at the expense of a well-made plot
Character is more important than action and plot; complex ethical choices are often the subject.
Characters appear in their real complexity of temperament and motive; they are in explicable relation to nature, to each other, to their social class, to their own past.
Class is important; the novel has traditionally served the interests and aspirations of an insurgent middle class. (See Ian Watt, The Rise of the Novel)
Events will usually be plausible. Realistic novels avoid the sensational, dramatic elements of naturalistic novels and romances.
Diction is natural vernacular, not heightened or poetic; tone may be comic, satiric, or matter-of-fact.
Objectivity in presentation becomes increasingly important: overt authorial comments or intrusions diminish as the century progresses.
Interior or psychological realism a variant form.
In Black and White Strangers, Kenneth Warren suggests that a basic difference between realism and sentimentalism is that in realism, "the redemption of the individual lay within the social world," but in sentimental fiction, "the redemption of the social world lay with the individual" (75-76).
At its basic level, realism was grounded in the faithful reporting of all facets of everyday American life. According to William Dean Howells, "Realism is nothing more and nothing less than the truthful treatment of material" (Carter, 36). The reading public's preference for realism parallels the changes that were occurring at the end of the 19th and into the 20th century. For example, the modern scientific revolution advocated that truth and knowledge be based on empirical data. Reinforcing that notion, the industrial revolution proclaimed that a better civil society could be built upon machinery and factory labor. Given this atmosphere, several developments occurred around the same time The growth of investigative journalism,the rise of muckrakers and the establishment of a new-found fascination with the camera as a means of capturing the realities of a single instant, unvarnished by sentimentality.
Plot and Character
· Character is more important than action and plot complex ethical choices are often the subject.
· Characters appear in the real complexity of temperament and motive; they are in explicable relation to nature, to each other, to their social class, to their own past.
· Humans control their destinies characters act on their environment rather than reacting to it.
· Realistic novels avoid the sensational, dramatic elements of naturalistic novels and romances.
Class is important; the novel has traditionally served the interests and aspirations of an insurgent middle class.
Interpretation and Analysis
· Realism is viewed as a realization of democracy.
· The morality of Realism is intrinsic, integral, relativistic – relations between people and society are explored.
Structure of Prose
· The use of symbolism is controlled and limited; the realists depend more on the use of images.
· Objectivity in presentation becomes increasingly important: overt authorial comments or intrusions diminish as the century progresses.
Other Important Aspects
· Interior or psychological realism is a variant form.
Realism of James and Twain critically acclaimed in the twentieth century; Howellsian realism fell into disfavor as part of an early twentieth century rebellion against the "genteel tradition."
Realism in the last half of the 19th-century began as an experiment to make theater more useful to society. The mainstream theatre from 1859 to 1900 was still bound up in melodramas, spectacle plays (disasters, etc.), comic operas, and vaudevilles.
But political events—including attempts to reform some political systems—led to some different ways of thinking. Revolutions in Europe in 1848 showed that there was a desire for political, social, and economic reform. The many governments were frightened into promising change, but most didn’t implement changes after the violence ended.
Technological advances were also encouraged by industry and trade, leading to an increased belief that science could solve human problems. But the working classes still had to fight for every increase in rights: unionization and strikes became the principal weapons workers would use after the 1860s—but success came only from costly work stoppages and violence. In other words there seems to be rejection of Romantic idealism; pragmatism reigned instead. The common man seemed to feel that he needed to be recognized, and people asserted themselves through action.
Sources:
http://novaonline.nv.cc.va.us/eli/spd130et/realism.htm
http://www.wsu.edu/~campbelld/amlit/realism.htm
http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/realism/
http://www.ncteamericancollection.org/amer_realism.htm
· The use of symbolism is controlled and limited; the realists depend more on the use of images.
· Objectivity in presentation becomes increasingly important: overt authorial comments or intrusions diminish as the century progresses.
Other Important Aspects
· Interior or psychological realism is a variant form.
Realism of James and Twain critically acclaimed in the twentieth century; Howellsian realism fell into disfavor as part of an early twentieth century rebellion against the "genteel tradition."
Realism in the last half of the 19th-century began as an experiment to make theater more useful to society. The mainstream theatre from 1859 to 1900 was still bound up in melodramas, spectacle plays (disasters, etc.), comic operas, and vaudevilles.
But political events—including attempts to reform some political systems—led to some different ways of thinking. Revolutions in Europe in 1848 showed that there was a desire for political, social, and economic reform. The many governments were frightened into promising change, but most didn’t implement changes after the violence ended.
Technological advances were also encouraged by industry and trade, leading to an increased belief that science could solve human problems. But the working classes still had to fight for every increase in rights: unionization and strikes became the principal weapons workers would use after the 1860s—but success came only from costly work stoppages and violence. In other words there seems to be rejection of Romantic idealism; pragmatism reigned instead. The common man seemed to feel that he needed to be recognized, and people asserted themselves through action.
Sources:
http://novaonline.nv.cc.va.us/eli/spd130et/realism.htm
http://www.wsu.edu/~campbelld/amlit/realism.htm
http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/realism/
http://www.ncteamericancollection.org/amer_realism.htm
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