The Hollywood Musical: Singing and Dancing the American Dream

THEATRST 141

This Theater Studies cross-list numbered in the 100-level is eligible as an Elective for the Theater Minor and Musical Theater Minor. It is also eligible as a Musical History and Theory credit for the Musical Theory Minor. The Theater Major, however, requires THEARST courses numbered 200 and above for its Elective credits.

Beyond its unapologetic praise of spectacularity and entertainment, what makes the Hollywood film musical a quintessential American genre? Since its origins, the Hollywood musical has been channelling various ideologies in its modes of performance and production; it has offered a space to address specific anxieties of the American society: modernity vs. nostalgia, representations of gender, ethnicity, class, and the low/high divide in arts. Emphasis will be given on its performative aspects, the relationship between choreography and song, the changing representations of the dancing body, musical styles, sexual objectification and the star persona.
Curriculum Codes
  • CCI
  • ALP
Cross-Listed As
  • CINE 139
  • MUSIC 141
Typically Offered
Fall and/or Spring