Young@Heart “Young@Heart” is a documentary that takes you to Northampton, MA, and presents a glimpse into the lives of the members of the Young at Heart Chorus. The setting is primarily in Northampton, MA, with several scenes of the beautiful New England countryside. The film, which was directed by Stephen Walker for the Fox Searchlight production company, opens with a scene from one of the group’s concert performances. The film’s opening images are of an old, gray-haired woman that is performing a rock song by the Clash, “Should I Stay or Should I Go?” It creates an impression of senior citizens that are behaving badly. But as the film continues on, it reveals more about some of the group’s individual members; their old, interesting …show more content…
In spite of his declining health, he does what he loves most; sing. His deep, steady baritone voice sets him apart from the rest of the group. Although he is frequently seen as a source of comic relief in the film, his brilliant, heartfelt performance of Coldplay’s “Fix You”, is without a doubt one of the film’s highlights and will have everyone in the audience struggling to hold back tears. Fred’s strong, straightforward, and joyful personality overshadows his health troubles. Two of the members of the chorus who died just days before the concert were Fred’s best friends, Bob Salviny, and Joe Benoint. Bob endured a long illness and died the day before the group’s performance that was at the minimum security prison. Joe who had the ability to memorize a whole song in an afternoon, died a few days later. He was highly devoted to the chorus and his determination could be seen when he attended rehearsal on the day after he was discharged from the hospital. Despite their different backgrounds, the members develop strong bonds of friendship. Eileen Hall, the oldest member of the chorus, shares a ride with Lenny and Joe. They travel many miles in order to attend rehearsals up to three times per week; of the three, only Lenny has good enough eyes to drive. It is hard to believe that Eileen is ninety-two years old, but a close-up camera-shot of her face bares the evidence of her old-age. At first, she gives the impression of a sweet, innocent old lady who
In William Cronon’s book Changes in the Land: Indians, Colonists, and the Ecology of New England, he discuses the ecological history of New England from the late sixteenth century to the early nineteenth century. He demonstrates how the New Englanders changed the land by illustrating the process of the change in the landscape and the environment. In the Preface Cronon states, “My thesis is simple: the shift from Indian to European dominance in New England entailed important changes—well known to historians—in the ways these people organized their lives, but it also involved fundamental reorganizations—less well-known to historians—in the region's plant
Kenneth Lockridge, A New England Town: The First Hundred Years (New York: W. W. Norton & Company, Inc., 1970)
In Thomas Cole’s Essay on American Scenery, the reader is able to appreciate Cole’s predilection and love for the American scenery. It is his belief this scenery is superior to the European scenery, since the latter’s “primitive features of scenery have long since been destroyed or modified … to accommodate the tastes and necessities of a dense population.” However, Cole presents his audience with a gloomy prophecy about America’s future, which he believes will be the same as Europe’s. Still, while acknowledging that industrialization could eventually take over many natural regions, Cole is hopeful that nature will remain victorious, since it will still be predominant. Because of this, he advises the American people to take advantage of
As a person that has grown most of my own food, without chemicals or engine powered equipment, for the last 15 years and lesser so for many more years I can relate to some degree what it may have been like for a farmer in the 1800’s (I even live in a house built in 1850).
America — a land known for its ideals of freedom and new opportunities, a nation built under the idea that every man and women is created equal. However, the definition of what makes a person an American is entirely different from what it is that makes up America, itself. J.Hector St. John Crevecoeur, author of Letters from an American Farmer (1782), exposes what he believes makes an American. However, when compared to the standards of what makes an American in today’s world, it seems that becoming an American then was much simpler then, than it is today. The definition of an American is always evolving due to the influences of our changing nation. During a simpler time, Crevecoeur defined an American as someone of European
In John Winthrop’s essay “City Upon a Hill”, Winthrop expresses his distinct views on the aims of the Puritans coming to New England. During the early 17th century in Europe, some groups separated from the Church of England. These groups were known as the Pilgrims, who founded Plymouth Colony in 1620. This religion had a direct impact on religious ideas and culture in America. John Winthrop acquired a royal charter from King Charles I and created the Massachusetts Bay Colony. “City Upon a Hill” was written on the ship during the first mass Puritan migration to New England. This document provided the followers with a plan regarding their goals upon arriving in America. Winthrop firmly believes that the people who are willing to be fully
The half century between 1810 and 1860 may seem like a brief period of time, but these fifty years were packed full of changes and innovations. Some of these drastic modifications include but are not limited to; professions becoming an expanding market (chapter 8 notes), the focus on becoming self-sustaining, as evidenced by the Monroe Doctrine of 1823 and the American System, developed by Henry Clay (chapter 9 notes). The clashing of politics and morality also came into the news (chapter 10 notes), as well as the desire for westward expansion (chapter 11 notes). With individuals spreading out across the continental United States, a Second Great Awakening occurred in order to revitalize the church (chapter 12 notes), as new territories were
Although many of the people who came to the new world were from a similar English origin, what they found in the colonies they settled determined what they could and could not do. Factors like temperature and geography played a huge role in things such as farming. In the south, the un-unified people failed to create as stable a colony as those in the North. Large flocks of servants came to the Chesapeake region to work the plantations, these men came seeking riches and glory but most found neither while few grew very Rich. New England did not have this type of workforce.
In the 1700's, the Chesapeake and the New England area would bond to become one territory. It was from the very starting, both had very distinct and unique persona. These dissimilarities spurred from one foremost factor: the very reason the settlers came to the New World. This influenced the colonies in literally every way, including economically, communally, and politically. The Chesapeake district of the colonies encompassed Pennsylvania, Maryland, New Jersey, Virginia. In 1607, Jamestown, the primary English colony within the New World to thrive and prosper, was founded by an assembly of 104 settlers to a peninsula along the James stream. These settlers wanted to find gold, silver, a northwest passage to Asia, a therapy for syphilis, or
As the population of the young United States increased more and more people hungry mouths were asking for food. Farmers had to keep up with new technology but there were also many setbacks in government policy and economic conditions. In the period of 1865-1900, there were many ways in which technology, government policy, and economic conditions changed early American agriculture.
Back in the 1800’s and early 1900’s, because of the vast amounts of overpopulation, migration to
A large country is in control of what you say, do and believe. After years of being pushed around and finally being fed up with being told what you can or can’t do, your people leave the rule of the mother country, in search of freedom. This situation happened to the British North American colonies and they ended up breaking away from Britain and creating their own separate identities and created new feelings towards Britain. Geography was the biggest influence on the colonies becoming unique, and surviving on their own. The New England colonies consisted of rocky mountains and infertile soil while the soil in the Middle and Southern colonies had deep and fertile soil fit to grow lots of crops and tobacco (Statement, By Linda AlchinPrivacy).
You could see the glimmer of hope on all of the inmates’ faces when they heard the music playing. Andy granted his fellow inmates a little piece of humanity, even if it was for a short period of time.
The New England Quarium has many political and symbolic assumptions and concepts that contribute to the problem of the organization as a whole. The political concepts that apply to this case are conflict, negotiation, power and coalition building. The symbolic frame concepts that may also apply are core values and assumptions, stories and rituals. This memo is a detailed analysis of how the above concepts apply to the New England Aquarium case. This memo will also provide feasible solutions to Cynthis Mackey the chief operating officer of the aquarium, that could be implemented to reverse many of the wrong decisions,
The author John Smith, a pilgrim who arrived to the Americas, wrote a description of the new land in his book “ A Description of New England ”. In this book Smith shows a wonderful world of vast food and pleasure. Also, William Bradford another pilgrim who arrived to Plymouth on the coast of Massachusetts, wrote a book called “ Of Plymouth Plantation ” in which he describes what really happened, how the pilgrims actually lived. The purpose of this essay is to compare and contrast both authors and their books. John Smith wrote about the wonderful place the New World was, on the other hand, William Bradford wrote about the realities and difficulties of the New World.