Urban Drama and Your Thoughts. This week we have been lookin

Urban Drama and Your Thoughts. This week we have been lookin.
Urban Drama and Your Thoughts. This week we have been looking at Urban Drama in Film and Theatre, its style, way of presentation, the people, the characters, and situations that fill up the pages of Urban Drama playwrights and screenwriters who seek to engage their audiences in very real and provocative ways. These movies and plays can be intense and searing at times with their topics and issues related to so called street life or stories that reflect the everyday struggles of so many that live in highly urbanized areas dealing with poverty, crime, family, drug abuse, gangs, race, and social and economic immobility.It is interesting to note that the style of these plays are not always supposed to be realistic. In fact many playwrights will create stories that are slightly more melodramatic or having more melodramatic characters in some situations to make their social commentary have more impact and perhaps more entertainment in the storytelling. Stephen Adly-Guirgis is one of these playwrights who tends to tell his stories in a melodramatic fashion or style. The Last days of Judas Iscariot, Jesus Hopped the A-train, In Arabia We d All Be Kings, Mother F@$%*& With A Hat all have melodramatic characters and more theatrical elements that help to lift the drama in a potentially provocative and entertaining way. The language and often course vernacular of the people and characters that populate his plays is very important to him as way to convey aspects of behavior, culture, decorum and a certain point of view about the society around him.Here are two clips from a fairly recent production of his play: Our Lady of 121st Street. WARNING: There is a lot of course language used in the dialogue within this clip which is the first scene from the play. One could make the argument that Urban Drama is a melding of particular aspects of so many of the other genres of Theatre and Film that we have looked at so far this semester, African American Theatre, Latino Theatre, Asian and LGBT Theatre. There are so many common themes that cross over these genres. Urban Drama will often purposely blend the characters and cultures to look more at the humanity of particular group of people rather than the specific cultural or ethnic background being the underlying through line. These plays tend to have a melting pot kind of casting that adds to the language, the conflicts and social angst in these stories.For your discussion this week:Reflecting on your studies this week including your own research and conclusions to what Urban Drama in Theatre and Film is:What is your opinion of this genre of Film and Theatre?What do you believe are some of the major themes or issues that this genre deals with?Would you ever go to a play like Our Lady of 121st Street? Why or why not? Would you seek out another Urban Drama film in the future. Why or why not? Your post should be at least 150 words with a response to two other posts with 150 words. first student answers by George Darby: What is your opinion of this genre of Film and Theatre?Urban Drama is an important cultural representation of urban life in low income city areas. True, they tend to have an emphasis on drugs, violence, sex, and language, but only because this reflects the harsh lifestyle people live day to day. This genre has an important focus on minorities, brining to light some of the harsh lives in inner city and low income areas. Based on the clip seen in class, I did not enjoy it as it was hard to hear, and the stereotypes associated with the gay character. Some urban dramas such as Crash, Training Day, and Dope show these harsh realities. They are not always and easy watch, but it is important to understand how different cultures live. What do you believe are some of the major themes or issues that this genre deals with?Major themes include survival, and harsh living. People living in high crime, low income areas, do what they need to in order to survive. These films emphasize this, because life is hard. This life is inescapable oftentimes, and these films always emphasize this. People who grow up and get off the streets have never truly left them.Would you ever go to a play like Our Lady of 121st Street? Why or why not?I am not sure if I would see a play like Our Lady of 121st Street. I love cultural art films and plays, but sometimes the content can be harsh. Which is the point, these films set out to represent diverse life. I would like to think that I would watch one of these productions.Would you seek out another Urban Drama film in the future. Why or why not? I would seek out more urban drama films, because it is an interesting and eye opening look into another s lives. These films can be funny, and painful to watch. It is always important to experience culture because it is an interesting and enriching experience. second student answers by Angel Ramos :What is your opinion of this genre of Film and Theatre?I personally like this genre of Film and Theatre because it relates more to our lives. Many of us live in Urban environments and experience many of the themes that urban drama produces. The environment we live in effects every aspect of our lives and that is what urban drama aims to do; it aims to influence the characters in the play. It produces the realist stance on the traditional drama role. This genre reflects people from various ethnicities, social classes, backgrounds, genders and so on. We are able to see their everyday struggles and experiences. What do you believe are some of the major themes or issues that this genre deals with?I believe that some of the major themes or issues that this genre deals with would include race, multiculturalism, labour, overpopulation, filth, chaos and corruption. Urban dramas aim to prove that urban life is becoming increasingly hard to live in. The themes such as the ones listed above are the ones that influence and make it hard for the characters. Would you ever go to a play like Our Lady of 121st Street? Why or why not? I would go to a play like Our Lady of 121st Street because I think it would be interesting to watch a film that contains coarse language and various themes such as LGBT and African American culture, etc. I like watching films that evoke different emotions to the viewer. This film made me laugh, made me reconsider urban life and it made me feel uncomfortable. We already see these themes evident in our society and I believe that how the characters deal with them shows us a lot about our urban culture. I thought the play was comical yet bold. Would you seek out another Urban Drama film in the future. Why or why not? I would like to seek out another Urban Drama film because I think they are interesting and somewhat reflect our contemporary lives. These types of films tell various kinds of stories that reflect our modern values. They show many viewers, like myself, life experiences from a similar lens. They offer insight to what living in an Urban environment is like because we see from living in various cities that we are surrounded by colorful people with various backgrounds. I believe that these factors influence who we are as people which is what Urban Drama films aim to do.
Urban Drama and Your Thoughts. This week we have been lookin