This week we have been looking at Urban Drama in Film and Th

This week we have been looking at Urban Drama in Film and Th.
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. Response to 1 Frankie Guzman :What is your opinion of this genre of Film and Theatre? I think this genre is very important in America because I feel like movies with an Urban drama genre play a role of what s going on in society. I think that it helps with change as it will go over past and present struggles. I would say that urban drama is my favorite genre because I feel that there are so many different films in this genre to connect to. What do you believe are some of the major themes or issues that this genre deals with? I think racism plays as a major theme in Urban drama. We see so many different films with the involvement of different races; we also live in a society where racism still exist today. Some other major themes involve poverty which I feel there are many different films about poverty; that can be the everyday life in poverty or even films about the motivation to get out of living in poverty. This also plays a big theme in America because many people live in poverty. Would you ever go to a play like Our Lady of 121st Street? Why or why not? I would watch this play because it seems like it would be funny as it has some humor in the play. I thought the language made it much more interesting. Would you seek out another Urban Drama film in the future. Why or why not? I would just because the genre interests me. I think films that I can connect to is what makes me want to see out another urban drama. Films that involve race, poverty, minority, gangs, and drugs are what interest me because I would like to work with these groups when I get involved in my future career. Response 2 Brittney Aceron:What is your opinion of this genre of Film and Theatre?I think that Urban Drama is a realistic representation of a lot of the underrepresented issues occurring among groups including African Americans, Latinos, Asians, and the LGBTQ community. Although I don t know much about Urban Drama in terms of theatre, from what I ve seen in films Urban Drama is very often dark or has violence or refers to some sort of hardships that affect the actions of the characters. I think this portrayal tugs at audience members heart strings and allows the audience to put themselves in the character s perspective. I think that film and theatre is an important way to share the experiences amongst different ethnic or cultural groups as Urban Drama does.What do you believe are some of the major themes or issues that this genre deals with?Like I mentioned previously, I think that this genre deals with heavy topics dealing with merging diversity. It deals a lot with how certain groups perceive one another and the role of exclusion based on ones identities. Exclusion leads to many of the issues that arise in Urban Drama including violence and hate. These films and theatre productions tackle the hardships of African Americans, Latinos, Asians, and the LGBTQ community in America.Would you ever go to a play like Our Lady of 121st Street? Why or why not? I don t think I would be opposed to going to a play like Our Lady of 121st Street. I can t necessarily say that I could relate to the characters in the play but I think that it sheds a light on a part of our society that is often seen in a negative way and it allows us to better understand the origin of people s actions and their upbringing. I think that it would be an interesting play to watch based on the little part that we watched in class.Would you seek out another Urban Drama film in the future. Why or why not? I would definitely seek out another Urban Drama because I feel that these types of films are educational as much as they are entertaining or action filled. Through this course, I feel like we ve learned so much about different cultural backgrounds that it is interesting to see them all merge in a certain genre like urban drama.
This week we have been looking at Urban Drama in Film and Th