Comparative Study: Inquiry Part 1

I have chosen my film focus to be on film genre and style, specifically of musicals. I chose the musical genre as my focus because I have a true fascination with taking a piece that was originally meant to be performed on stage and turning it into a live-action movie and what it all encompasses. For example, there are limits in a musical where the actors are contained on a stage and perform with the props and sets provided to them in a limited space. Whereas with the power of film, directors, and producers have the ability to take their actors in a live setting to take the musical narrative into the "real world" per se. Additionally, the score to each film is fascinating to see the visuals that match up in the movie that you would not originally see in a live musical on Broadway. I think it would be really interesting to compare two musical films from different time periods because of the development and advancements with technology and talent.

As for my cultural context, I want to focus on the social and political (socio-political) aspects of film. I think the greatest and most important thing about film is how the characters interact with each other. It's even more interesting that as time goes on, the interactions between people change as they interact with the changing environments: experiencing war, technological advancements, new laws/rights, etc. I think film not only expresses the social and political issues of their time through the way that characters interact with each other but how each set and scene is set-up and shot. I'm interested to compare two socio-politics of different eras.