Art, Music, Film, LiteraturePart 3, Chapters 5 – 7

Art

18th & early 19th Centuries

•Art was one means of recording the history of the new nation.

•Thus, most early American art consisted of history paintings and portraits.

Art

20th Century

•Controversy became a way of life for American artists.

In fact, much of American painting and sculpture since

1900 has been a series of revolts against tradition.

•“Ashcan” school of painting portrayed the squalid1

aspects of city life.

1Squalid – (of a place) extremely dirty and unpleasant, especially as a result of poverty or neglect.

Art

Abstract1 Expressionism

•This movement in American art started in the years

after World War II.

•Although this type of art had many widely different

styles within it, there were some common points.

•Most styles abandoned formal composition and

representation of real objects.

1Abstract – dealing with ideas rather than having a physical or concrete existence.

Pop Art

• Emerged in the late 1950’s (in the USA).

• Includes imagery from popular culture such as

advertising, news, comic books, and mundane1

cultural objects.

• This style of art was a reaction against the elitism of

abstract art.

• Andy Warhol (1928 – 1987) was America’s leading

figure in the pop art movement of the 1960’s.

1Mundane – lacking interest or excitement. Dull.

MusicBefore the 20th Century – Church music (psalm book / hymnal / hymns)

1910’s – Ballroom Dancing

1920’s & 1930’s – Jazz•Born out of a mix of African and European music traditions.•Heavy use of improvisation1 and syncopation2

1950’s & 1960’s – Rock ‘n Roll

1970’s – Disco, Rock (Hard, Country, Folk, etc.)

1Improvisation – create & perform music spontaneously, without preparation

2Syncopate – displace the beats in music so the strong beats become weak and vice versa.

Disco Music

Fun, Fun, Fun

Well she got her daddy's car

And she cruised through the hamburger stand now.

Seems she forgot all about the library

Like she told her old man now.

And with the radio blasting

Goes cruising just as fast as she can now.

And she'll have fun, fun, fun,

‘til her daddy takes the T-bird away

(Fun, fun, fun, ‘til her daddy takes the T-bird away)

1960’s Rock ‘n Roll

Well the girls can't stand her

‘Cause she walks, looks, and drives like an ace now.

(You walk like an ace now, you walk like an ace)

She makes the Indy 500 look like a Roman chariot race now

(You look like an ace now, you look like an ace)

A lotta guys try to catch her

But she leads them on a wild goose chase now.

(You drive like an ace now, you drive like an ace)

And she'll have fun, fun, fun,

‘til her daddy takes the T-bird away.

(Fun, fun, fun, ‘til her daddy takes the T-bird away)

Ford Thunderbird

Well you knew all along

That your dad was gettin' wise to you now

(You shouldn't have lied now, you shouldn't have lied)

And since he took your set of keys

You’ve been thinking that your fun is all through now.

(You shouldn't have lied now, you shouldn't have lied)

But you can come along with me

‘Cause we got a lot of things to do now.

(You shouldn't have lied now, you shouldn't have lied)

And we'll have fun, fun, fun,

now that daddy took the T-bird away.

(Fun, fun, fun, now that daddy took the T-bird away)

FilmHollywood (California)

•Although Hollywood is the city where the American

film industry began, it is often used to refer to the

whole film industry, or to the subculture1 that it

represents.

1Subculture – a cultural group within a larger culture, often

having beliefs or interests that are different from those of the

larger group.

FilmAcademy Awards / Oscars

•The most prominent film awards in America•An “Oscar” is a statuette.•The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences

Golden Globe Awards

•The Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA)•Awards are for both film and television.•The organization donates money to entertainment-related charities, scholarships, etc.

Oscar Statuette

Golden Globe Award

Film Awards

FilmB Movie

•A low budget commercial motion picture.

•Originally, the second of a “Double Feature” (two movies for the price of one)

•Double features don’t exist anymore.

•Because of the low amount of money spent on production, B Movies have lower quality actors.

Film

Animation / Animated Films

•The rapid display of a sequence of images to create the illusion of motion.

•Cartoons, computer animation, etc.

Film

The Average Price of a Movie Ticket in America

•About $8 (approximately ¥50)

•Prices in big cities, or for special movies (e.g. 3-D) can cost much more – as much as $15 to $20!!!

Drive-in Movie Theaters

Literature

Washington Irving (1783 – 1859)

•America’s first internationally best-selling author.

•Famous for short stories “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” and “Rip Van Winkle”.

•In addition to writing fiction, he was also a biographer and historian.

•Advocated for writing as a legitimate profession.

LiteratureSamuel L. Clemens / Mark Twain (1835 – 1910)

•Pen name1 is Mark Twain.

•Twain was a humorist, and also a public speaker.

•Famous for “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer” and its

sequel “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn”.

•Huck Finn is considered the first “Great American

Novel”, and is typically “required reading” for high

school students.

1Pen name – an assumed name used by a writer.

LiteratureRobert Frost (1874 – 1963)

The Road Not Taken

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,

And sorry I could not travel both

And be one traveler, long I stood

And looked down one as far as I could

To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Literature

Then took the other, as just as fair,

And having perhaps the better claim,

Because it was grassy and wanted wear;

Though as for that the passing there

Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay

In leaves no step had trodden black.

Oh, I kept the first for another day!

Yet knowing how way leads on to way,

I doubted if I should ever come back.

Literature

I shall be telling this with a sigh

Somewhere ages and ages hence:

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I —

I took the one less traveled by,

And that has made all the difference.

For next week:

Quiz #2Part 2 (Ch. 7,8) & Part 3 (all)

Also, please read:

Part 4 Social Life

Chapters 1 – 2, pages 253 to 268

(Family & Food)