Avenue Q Musical Movie Review Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Avenue Q Musical - Movie Review Example The use of puppets in the musical is one of the distinguishing features of the show in that it brings to the fore pressing social issues and deeming them imperative. The irreverent humor that the puppets bring forth is a form of subversion that cannot be successfully conveyed through the use of human actors. Through the memorable puppet characters that parody characters from Sesame Street, issues such as racism and homosexuality are trivialized and mocked but in turn delineate the problem, making it less solemn as it sends a more serious message to the audience - that tackling them is never a taboo. For instance, the characters of Rod and Nicky were contextually extricated from Sesame Street's Bert and Ernie with some hints of the latter's characteristics. However, Rod is a conservative gay Republican as compared to Nicky who is lighthearted and a slack. In addition, although intended mainly for humor, the naked puppet characters that replete the stage is meant to ridicule the emphas is on 'sex and nudity' by contemporary culture and the raunchiness brought about by the media and the entertainment industry. The media's assault on our senses is symbolic through the nudity of the puppets - implying that we are all defenseless from the claws of the media's influences. This is an effective utilization of puppets as characters as it removes the danger of the musical being labeled as obscene or pornographic. Allusion is also employed in the musical in order to tackle important issues that confront young people. The main character, Princeton, is an allusion to a university. In the play, after he finishes his degree in college, he moves to the city to pursue and find his purpose. Princeton confronts the seemingly philosophical question of finding one's purpose - a quandary that most young people in the contemporary society find an answer to. Princeton quips, 'what do you do with a BA in English' Yet he is resolved to find his purpose. After being tempted and seduced by 'Lucy,' the busty attractive girl who caused the fall out in Princeton's relationship with his on and off girlfriend, Kate Monster, Princeton undergoes a process of soul-searching and finally resolves to help Kate fund the construction of a new school to improve early education (Mintz 25:2008). The use of these allusions effectively confronts issues such as education and its importance. The issue with regards the getting of lucrative careers by young people from reputable universities is likewise alluded to through the dilemmas that Princeton faces on which path to take. With young people in the contemporary society mainly laying their eyes on moneymaking, the fortification of the culture of greed and consumerism in the American culture is preserved causing more problems as a result because of the disillusionment of the young adults. Moreover, the humor-filled tunes in the musical are not just intended solely for hilarity. These are employed in order to tackle sensitive subjects and issues not commonly incorporated in our daily conversations - topics that we find too touchy to confront. The songs such as 'If I Were Gay', 'Schadenfreude', 'The Internet is for Porn' and 'Everyone is a Bit Racist' defy many of our opinion with regards the issues on homosexuality,

The influence of Hip Hop culture on middle eastern youth Essay

The influence of Hip Hop culture on middle eastern youth - Essay Example The consequent influence of hip hop culture on Middle East youth seeps into religion and society through the music. The hip hop culture offers a harmonious contradiction of values for Middle East youth through dress code, music, image, hip hop artistes, militarism and sexuality.     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   From the debut of hip hop in the 1960's through the Civil Rights Movement, proponents of Afro-centric culture were either sworn Muslims or had Muslim sympathies. Malcolm X aka el-Hajj Malik el-Shabazz, Amiri Baraka, Muhammad Ali, Elijah Muhammad, Talib Kweli, Oshea Jackson aka Ice Cube, Snoop Dogg Brad Terrence Jordan aka Scarface, Mos Def, Q-Tip aka Fareed Kamal, Akhenaton, Busta Rhymes, Nas ne Nasir bin Olu Dara Jones and Queen Latifah are a few widely known names. "The best place for a young Black male or female is in the Nation of Islam. (As) soon as we as a people use our knowledge of self to our advantage, we will then be able to be called Blacks" (Decker 53). Here, popular rapper, hip hop representative and professed Muslim, Ice Cube observes the link between cultural identity through Black Nationalism and hip hop. Hip hop is well-known for its violent tendencies and some sects of Islam are notorious for their militancy. The predisposition toward violence and holy war or jihad conveniently fits hip hip within the framework of Islam. Although, hip hop does not belong solely to Blacks, the majority of hip hoppers are of African American origin. â€Å"Hip hop and rap cannot be viewed simply as an expression of African American culture; it has become a vehicle for global youth affiliations and a tool for reworking local identities all over the world" (Mitchell 1). The all-encompassing effect of globalization can be felt in all countries, absorbing all cultures. The phenomenon of the entry of hip hop into Middle East mainstream music is as a result of Black Muslims who proudly celebrated their identities and waged their wars of words both on the stage and the world stage. One of the pioneers of Black Muslim hip hop is the group, Soldiers of Allah, lyrical jihadis who declare, 'The mic is our weapon, our words are our ammunition, and the stage is our battle field.' This is the objective of Muslim hip-hop group, M-Team, which is short for Mujahideen Team (Miah 26). Again the Muslim word warriors highlight the themes of violence, jihadism and holy warfare. The Muslim holy warfare agrees with the hip hop gangster culture which applauds shootings, turf conflicts, and gang wars in urban neighborhoods. Unfortunately, globalization has brought in its trail mostly American hip hop culture; therefore the hip hop dress, the hip hop slang, drug dependency, partying, liberal sex culture, and some the hip hop doctrines become endorsed by the world of listeners. At the same time, hip hop has been frequently used as an open arena to voice social subjects such as  racial identity, racial discrimination, politics, history and religion. Turkey, Saud i Arabia, Iran, Iraq, Syria, Jordan and Yemen are all Middle East countries which shelters an underground hip hop culture. Censorships muffle hip hoppers and rappers to a certain extent; however, the technological breakthrough of the internet broke down and continues to erode walls which block the internet audience from hearing Muslim hip hop lyrics. Owing to the heterogeneous mixture of both the religious and the secular in Muslim hip hop, a new genre of music emerged.   Ã‚   "Youths use hip hop as a cultural repertoire from