The Myths and Metaphors of Music and Dance: Singin' in the Rain.

Delameter, Jerome (2001) The Myths and Metaphors of Music and Dance: Singin' in the Rain. In: What a Glorious Feeling: Gene Kelly and the Hollywood Musical. -.

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Abstract

The Hollywood musical functions, as do most genre films, by an exploitation of cultural myths. Principal among them is the idea, posited by Claude Levi-Strauss, that myths mediate oppositions, thereby helping to overcome conflicts and contradictions. In the musical, therefore, the lead couple represent opposing cultural values that must be reconciled in order to achieve a resolution of the film's narrative. That resolution, moreover, is accomplished through the metaphors of song and dance. In the film Singin' in the Rain the characters embody oppositions of individuality vs. community and high culture vs. popular entertainment. By suggesting that the Hollywood musical is the pinnacle of color, sound filmmaking, Singin' in the Rain reinforces a myth that creating popular entertainment is a simple communal effort dependent on a star's innate talent and a couple's reciprocal love.

Item Type:	Book Section
Additional Information:	This is the first chapter of a book tentatively entitled What a Glorious Feeling: Gene Kelly and the Hollywood Musical. Centering on the films of Gene Kelly as a representative figure (actor, dancer, singer, and director) of the film musical, the book will provide a survey of various approaches to the critical analysis and historical inquiry of one of the pre-eminent genres of Hollywood's studio era.
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Gene Kelly; Hollywood musical; myth; metaphor; dance in film; film genre; Claude Levi-Strauss
Subjects:	N Fine Arts > N Visual arts (General) For photography, see TR N Fine Arts > NX Arts in general
ID Code:	2
Deposited By:	Admin HofPrints
Deposited On:	22 December 2005

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