“There is no future, there is no past. I live this moment as my last.” Rent first a revolutionary Broadway musical turned into a movie, broke down the barriers by being one of the first musical productions to reveal the truths of the “real” American lifestyle. Visionaries like musical director Jonathan Larson and film director Chris Columbus, helped use the movie and musical platform to share the stories of hundreds of people facing adversity in the early 90’s. The movie follows six Bohemians (Mark a hopeful movie producer, Roger a musician, Mimi a night club dancer, Collins a teacher, Maureen an activist, Joann a lawyer, and Angel a trans street drummer) and their journeys with drug abuse, AIDS and HIV, homosexuality, and the struggle to …show more content…
One of the most prominent symbols I noticed, is actually a character: Angel. Angel is characterized as a transwoman, bohemian, street drummer. In the movie Angel and Collins are in a committed relationship, and together go to AIDS support groups, where they connect with other people suffering from the tragic disease. From the beginning of the movie it is known that Angel has contracted AIDS, which sadly enough eventually takes her life. Angel is aware she is dying and instead of focusing on monetary items, focuses on making the most of the relationships she's built with the other characters. Because of this she encourages the other characters to look past their differences and live everyday to it’s fullest. One ironic thing to notice is that Angel actually becomes an “angel” and by the end of the movie is the constant reminder for the other characters to not live with hatred and resentment but love everyone equally. Angel is a symbol of equality and not labeling a person by their sexual orientation, social status, ethnic background, but by the quality of their inner character throughout the movie Rent. Another symbol in the movie is Mark, the narrator of the story and documentary filmmaker. Oddly enough Mark is one of the only characters who doesn’t have HIV/AIDS or a past of drugs , but he is the one telling their stories. I think the director does this to help the audience understand that just because something doesn’t affect you directly doesn’t mean that it isn’t happening and it is not important. Rent was set in the early 90’s and at the point there were thought to be with 8-10 million people worldwide that had AIDS/HIV, but the topic of human immunodeficiency virus and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome were not openly discussed by many. By making the main character of the broadway musical and the movie unaffected by the disease, the directors made it possible
The threat of violence and violence itself endures a very painful state of mind on the social control for women. As look at in this week reading 81 “Betrayed by the Angel” by Debra Anne Davis, she talks about a young girl who has endured violence at a young age in school. However this young girl never took the right offense into speaking up and protecting herself against this violence, so it begin to throw her mental off. For example the young lady begin to have thoughts such as her voice not being as angry as she wanted it to be when she wanted to speak on the violence. Also she felt as though that maybe she had deserved the violence after all if she did not feel as angry about it as she should have. But looked at on a higher perspective,
During the American Civil War, the worst battle was the battle of Gettysburg. During the battle the Union and the Confederacy collectively lost over 51,000 men to either death, injury, or they were missing. Michael Shaara wrote The Killer Angels. The author goes into the story by telling why each of the major characters were fighting the war and their viewpoints. The author also tells the story though the letters and other documents and not using the historical opinions of the battle.
In The Killer Angels, Michael Shaara fictionally illustrates the historical facts of the battle at Gettysburg. Shaara gives action and words to characters of another time, and then places these players on the stage of this great battle. Through the use of powerful biblical and non-biblical imagery and themes the epic nature of the battle at Gettysburg and its characters are enhanced. Such imagery and themes, combined with Shaara's fictionalization, help to contribute to why this single battle holds such monumental significance and influence upon the lives of Americans over a century removed from its occurrence.
Each symbol is used to build a way of foreshadowing the journey from the once overruled society of technology and the lack of independent thought to the rebirth and reflection into a positive human-focused society. There are numerous symbols used in this novel, some tie into each other as well.
Fears and misconceptions regarding AIDS began when only the homosexual community contracted it. Therefore, people started to believe that only the homosexuals would get the AIDS and blamed them for the cause of the disease. The public was not in fear until some people who were not homosexuals contracted the disease. It was at this time, that the public’s attitude shifted into the fear that anyone was able to have AIDS; it was a sexually transmitted disease. Many were also deceived by the government’s actions. For example, one woman in the movie began to become sick after a blood transfusion. She always thought that it was due to surgical problems, but actually she had contracted AIDS and the doctors knew but didn’t do anything about it. This also caused panic because, even though the government knew AIDS was spreading around they did not do anything about it.
There are more significant symbols in the novel such as The Boy. The Man and Boy fight to survive many hardships, but through the darkness there is light, The Boy. He is very mature and cares for every stray person they pass. One person he cares for is a man named Ely, an old man with nothing but the clothes on his back, until he meets The Boy and his father." 'You should thank him you know, I wouldn’t have given you anything' "(McCarthy 173). The Boy wants everyone to survive and is willing to share his supplies even if it means he won`t have all the things he needs to live.
The play Marisol was much different than what I had expected. The interpretations of the characters were interesting to me. As the story unfolded, the main characters; Marisol, The Angel, June, and Lenny all began to use tactics to reach their objectives however, the two that grabbed my attention the most were The Angel and Lenny.
When I hear the word Rent, I immediately see an eclectic Broadway production, overflowing with talent, adventure, and magic. I picture scantly clad actresses, strutting across the stage. I envision stunning duets and thought-provoking lyrics. That single word transports me to a different time and place.
Iconic symbolism is used through out the movie. As the movie begins, “The Circle of Life” plays with the setting sun. The setting sun is an interpretation that life a never ending
Bunting, Eve, and Stephen Gammell. Terrible Things: an Allegory of the Holocaust. Jewish Publication Society, 1989.
Throughout the Age of AIDS film many topics that were related to AIDS were brought up that I did not know anything about before. I did not know that there could so many strings attached to a disease and have such an influence in people’s lives whether it was negative or positive.
First of all, I decided to watch the movie Rent, which was based on Jonathan Larson’s Pulizer and his Tony award-winning musical, which has also appeared on Broadway many times. The film and musical are about a group of artists, eight friends, who are living in New York City during the HIV/AIDS epidemic. They each are dealing with different problems in their lives, such as HIV/AIDS, drug addiction, rejection, and poverty. This movie had a very tremendous impact on me, and I was very impressed with how they tied each theme into it. I was moved in a way that it has even effected the way I look at others, and overall at life.
In my paper I will be discussing what makes Rent such an extraordinary rock musical, the care that went into creating it, and how it was different from what came before. I will provide analysis of characters and the plot, plus I will be describing the importance and relevance of certain songs.
Anxieties and misunderstandings in relation to AIDS began when the homosexual community was affected. Consequently, people started to believe that it was only homosexuals would contract AIDS and accused them of the cause of the disease. The public was not worried until some people who were not homosexuals got the disease. Because of this, the attitude of the public changed into the fear that anyone could get AIDS since it was an STD. Numerous of people were misled by the actions of the government. An example in the film shows one woman who started to become sick after her blood transfusion. She always believed that it was because of the surgery, however, she actually she got AIDS. The doctors were aware but did nothing to notify her. This triggered fear because the government was aware that the AIDS prevalence was increasing and being spread yet
Literary elements are present in every piece of writing that is written by somebody, but the amount of each element being present in a story depends on the author. In “An Angel in Disguise” T.S. Arthur uses one literary element more often than others, that element being figurative language. According to Roane State Community College, “[figurative language is] the use of words to express meaning beyond the literal meaning of the words themselves.” Meaning the purpose of figurative language is to help add detail to the story and create a more vivid image for the reader. There are many types of figurative language that can be used when writing a story like, metaphors, personification, similes and hyperboles. Throughout “An Angel in Disguise”