The Musical South Pacific - Admission/Application Essay Example

The Musical South Pacific Whereas literature and film have always been analyzed with regards to the extent of impacts that they create upon the audiences that they interact with, it can also be said that the odor of serves the very same purpose. One does not need to look very deeply into the means by which this is affected in order to understand that the social purposes of theater are evidenced within some of even the most trite performances. As a function of this analysis, this brief paper will integrate with an understanding of the way in which theater interacts with society, whether or not theater will continue to play a prominent role within the life of the student, and the actual benefits that this author intends on gaining from theater in the future. Additionally, an understanding of what theater owes to the community that supports it will also be discussed. Firstly, with regards to the social purpose of theater, the reader can and should realize that more than just entertaining, theater is intended and designed as a means of grappling with a range of societal issues. Some of the plays that a been viewed and analyzed within the course of the semester help to underscore the level to which theater integrates with society and helps to bring about key understandings of societal issues that might otherwise be ignored. Ultimately, theater can and should be understood as a means by which an ancillary understanding of issues is presented within the framework of entertainment. Moreover, with regards to the question of whether or not theater will remain an important life of this particular author after the conclusion of the semester, it is the strong belief of this author that it will. Due to the many social issues and unique understandings that theater is able to integrate, it is been impressed upon this stakeholder that theater represents a unique means by which the viewer/participant can understand aspects of society, reality, biases, and thoughts that would otherwise likely not be integrated at all. With regards to the theater the future, it is the further hope of this author that it will continue to provide such a level of sociological analysis and integration as a means of eliminating key topics of current and future society that would otherwise not be exhibited within the culture at large. Finally, with respect to what theater owes to the community that supports, it must be understood that theater serves as a vital link between culture and understanding. Even a cursory review of the theater of the past underscores the extent to which this can and has taken place. Rather than merely presenting the viewer with an entertaining experience, the reader is responsible for presenting societal issues and discussing them to the viewer as a means of explaining the realities, complexities, ironies, and ethics that the fine the given community and/or society at large. Although many would seek to present theater is not having a large impact upon non-entertainment purposes, such an understanding helps the reader to realize that a certain level of ethics and societal awareness is presented within nearly all forms of theater that currently exist. One of the unique aspects of the musical, “South Pacific”, is that it provided and provides the viewer with an understanding of the complex dynamics of race and racism that exists within society. Though the production is a musical, and appreciation for societal irony with regards to the means by which stakeholders integrate with an appreciation and understanding of race and its place in determining worldview, is one of the most powerful aspects of the musical. This is of course is displayed with regards to the dichotomy that exists within the protagonist’s own mind with respect to how he can and should understand and appreciate the multiracial background of his own children. Although first performed in the year 1949, the musical was far ahead of its time with regards to elaborating upon the racial irony and divide that existed within societal shareholders. Further evidence of this representation of racial discord and acceptance is of course represented with regards to the second lieutenant and his love interest of Tonkinese origin. Ultimately, even though comedy and levity are represented throughout the musical, an understanding of the pervasive pressure the racism places upon these main factors helps the viewer to integrate with the broader understanding that current societal wars and norms of the time were both outdated and unethical (Jacobs, 2008). Moreover, the setting of the musical itself, the South Pacific, relates to the viewer the realities of increasingly globalized world and a world in which the United States empire, and an understanding of the People’s affected by it, impacts upon the way in which society must appreciate and accept these non—white, non—American individuals. In such a way, the musical is able to grapple with the realities of the then current world and relate them to the broadly held societal interpretations of how individuals within American society should interact with and accept individuals from different backgrounds and races than their own. In short, with reference to the definition and purpose of theater which is been elaborated upon within the first paper, the reader can understand that this particular musical both fills not only the need to entertain the audience but also the importance of discussing, presenting, and drawing a level of understanding upon the unethical and illogical means by which the society of that time defined propriety and racial issues. Reference Jacobs, L. (2008). SOUTH PACIFIC. Back Stage East, 49(15), 15-17. Read More