Musical Hairspray Analysis
Historical and Cultural context of the Musical Hairspray
The Buddy Dean Show which was a teen dance show in Baltimore is memorialized in the musical and film by John Waters, Hairspray. The plot of this story revolves around an attempt in which teens from both backgrounds in Baltimore integrate successfully in a teen dance show called The Corny Collins show. There was a massive cultural revolution in musical taste in the ‘50s and ‘60s that was signalled by teens from the big band sound of rock and roll in the ‘40s this was because of the uplifting popularity of teen dance shows which signalled this shift in teens. This is important because teen dance shows introduced black music, singers and even musicians; it became popular within an increasingly …show more content…
racially integrated world by a younger generation because of its new sound and excitement which then lead to rebel against racism. This is what is also portrayed in the musical as Tracy starts a rebellion. There would be modified dance routines popular with black teens that made its way into the choreography of shows likes this. Not to disregard that there would be some segregationists that were distressed at this development and would hand out flyers circulating a warning to parents planting a seed of misery about the black society, to save the white youth of America by not supporting the black music and not listening to negro records.
(Notice Flyer, 1960)
A Time line of Baltimore
1954 - After the Brown decision Baltimore is now known as the first Southern city to officially integrate its schools. First black man elected, Harry Coles, for the General Assembly. It officially became appropriate for public housing integration in Baltimore. Lunch counters begin to open up to black customers in the City dime-stores. Racial segregation public bath houses, swimming pools and beaches were upheld by the City of Baltimore and State of Maryland.
1955 - 7% of Black Baltimore students attended schools. Baltimore shopping stores welcome blacks to try clothes before purchase. Exposed injustice to black Baltimoreans from the Baltimore sun ‘The City We Live In’. The civil rights efforts takes place as Baltimore City Council that now authorizes publication of a city in transition to support the scheme. Segregation is put to an end in the National Guard by Governor McKeldin.
1956 - A further 14% of Black Baltimoreans now attend an integrated school. Separate listing for the black and white applicants for a state job has been removed by Governor McKeldin. No more prosecution mechanism, Baltimore City Equal Employment Ordinance.
1957 - 26% of Black Baltimore students are not in full time education. The Buddy Deane Show is aired for the first time on the WJZ-TV show in Baltimore. The 1957 Civil Rights Act is enacted by Congress, one of the first modern legislations that is designed so that it enforces the right to vote in the federal elections.
1958 - Most Black Baltimoreans can now accommodated in first-class hotels and become a customer to movie theaters.
1960 - The voting discrimination in the state election from Congress is enacted on the 1960 Civil Rights Act.
1961 - Conviction and arrest of any protesters in belief of civil rights at Glen Echo Amusement Park is confirmed by Maryland Court of Appeals.
1962 - The setting of Hairspray the musical. Dr. Martin Luther King holds a speech in front of 3,500 people at Willard W. Allen Masonic Temple, urging to support the continuance of non-violence demonstrations opposing segregation.
1963 - The General Assembly now enacts opening accommodation law, outlawing all race-based segregation in restaurants. An estimated of around 250,000 people joined the March on Washington, this is where Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. conveys his ‘I Have a Dream’ speech in Lincoln Memorial.
1964 - The Buddy Deane show is now cancelled. The Maryland General Assembly now extends accommodation law to open to the entire state.
The movie Hairspray was written in the ‘80s and the Broadway musical began in the late ‘90s; premiering in 2002 these years were a time of prevalent racism. Hairspray also takes place in Baltimore, 1962 among all of the racism.
In 1960 The Civil Rights Act showed great promise for America’s future as well as a great time in American history, by giving African Americans the freedom to vote for independence, having a voice in the government and laws to progress in the future to equalise the rights of coloured people.
However, not all African Americans were able to vote due to them being required to take a literacy tests, pass poll taxes and residency requirements before they could vote. This is still not a total submission of free to vote in terms of democracy between white and black people. Having diminishing rights than the usual normal person which also made them less fortunate and a harder task to accomplish, many African Americans were unable to achieve these tasks as anticipated. The white population controlled how the social institutions and politics system lead the society; this ultimately made the African Americans lives pretty much impossible in terms of living to their full potential. This is evident in Hairspray because it clearly is influenced in the musical as a similar role played out in the Corny Collins Show. The whites in the show only accepted African Americans to dance once a month, all whilst acting as if they were pleased and happy for their appearance on the show.
The Musical Hairspray is also influenced by events from both the ‘80s and ‘90s along with the first few years of the 21st century. In addition, the focus in Hairspray is not only the mistreatment and lack of equality for …show more content…
the black population, but also for the people that are different, a good example is the main protagonist Tracy. It’s evident through research within the years stated, that this musical would be nothing without the historical background of these events:
1984 - The year ‘The Cosby Show’ premiered following the life of an all black family combined with comedy to entertain. The show expresses the concept that an African American family is a family too, which is one of the shows main focus. This relates to Hairspray because it develops the initial thought that African American people are people too.
1986 - The year ‘Dr Martin Luther King Jr. Day’ was first established in America. Dr Martin Luther King had an influence on Hairspray, as his demand of racial justice and cohesive society became a chant for the black community. The importance of his involvement within Hairspray was vital as his speech created many characters. He also played a big part of the civil rights movement which is the main theme or issue in hairspray, equality; blacks have equal rights as whites.
1989 - The ‘Berlin Wall’ was representative of something that stood in the way of bringing people together and being treated equally. This influenced Hairspray because the characters are fighting for their independence, to be treated equally among all people no matter the colour. For the black society they are being overrun by people that will not allow black and white people to be seen on television together.
1991 - South African repeals Apartheid Law.
“For almost 350 years, Black people in South Africa had been subjected to exceedingly unjust laws designed, firstly to subjugate them and incorporate their lands into the British Empire, and secondly to turn them in labour reserves that ensured privilege to a White minority.”
("South African Parliament Votes To Repeal The Legal Framework Of Apartheid | South African History Online")
These were known as segregation laws; this influenced Hairspray because the characters are trying to defeat segregation and racial segregation is the main issue in Hairspray.
1997 - Tiger woods, an important player that influenced hairspray by winning the Masters title as an African American human being recognised on television. The characters in Hairspray are thriving for this same independence for their family and friends.
1998 - Hairspray was originally adapted from a 1988 John Waters musical, following the trend of some other Broadway musicals for example Footloose, The Producers and Saturday Night Fever that were also adapted from movies. During the development of creating the musical, many occurrences reflecting racist remarks were happening in this time. One of the most headlined incidents in 1998 would be James Byrd Jr. an African American whom was dragged behind a pickup truck leaving him dead.
2001 - During this year the Cincinnati Riot arose due to the shooting of Timothy Thomas whom was an African American man, followed by many more major events happening because of the hate crime against race, destroying thousands of people’s lives. This links in with Hairspray because the characters want to stop hate crime incidence occurring because of the colour of their
skin.
2002 – A man of power within the political society caused a political scandal when making a racist comment towards the African Americans.
Hairspray owns a racially significant storyline due to these events that may have had a huge impact on how the story plot is progressed and developed further into what it is today.
The social context resembles a parallel between Hairspray and Baltimore in the ‘60s. It wasn’t uncommon for white kids in the ‘60s to listen to music that aired on all black radio stations, despite the fact they would never have any black friends. In Hairspray, the African Americans wrote a song that was then adapted by The Nicest Kids in Town. Further into Hairspray, Tracy and Penny are both invited to hang out with the black kids by Seaweed a black singer and dancer in Hairspray. This would have been classes as a rare case to be hanging out together in the ‘60s and this is implied in the musical when the girls both say that they feel ‘hip’ when being invited by Seaweed an African American whom wants to hang out with them, indicating that it is a very rare occasion.
At the end of the musical, African Americans are eventually allowed to take part on the Corny Collins show on a regular basis, alongside the white kids. This was a great achievement in the ‘60s especially as paralleled by the new perception of African Americans on television after Martin Luther King appeared. A great feat for equality now made in history by MLK, giving African Americans a new image of peacemakers and non-resistant.
In Conclusion I think Hairspray was able to speak out to audiences from both the 1960’s and decades beyond that, through the progression in the fight for equality and acts of violence throughout the years, really makes Hairspray a very interesting musical to discuss. Racism is still alive today, and although Hairspray has been reincarnated 3 times, I have belief that as we progress into the future, history will evolve for the black community around the world. Therefore, I have hope that this musical will stay alive for many years to come because of its unique influence of something that is still changing in today’s society.
The Buddy Dean Show which was a teen dance show in Baltimore is memorialized in the musical and film by John Waters, Hairspray. The plot of this story revolves around an attempt in which teens from both backgrounds in Baltimore integrate successfully in a teen dance show called The Corny Collins show. There was a massive cultural revolution in musical taste in the ‘50s and ‘60s that was signalled by teens from the big band sound of rock and roll in the ‘40s this was because of the uplifting popularity of teen dance shows which signalled this shift in teens. This is important because teen dance shows introduced black music, singers and even musicians; it became popular within an increasingly …show more content…
racially integrated world by a younger generation because of its new sound and excitement which then lead to rebel against racism. This is what is also portrayed in the musical as Tracy starts a rebellion. There would be modified dance routines popular with black teens that made its way into the choreography of shows likes this. Not to disregard that there would be some segregationists that were distressed at this development and would hand out flyers circulating a warning to parents planting a seed of misery about the black society, to save the white youth of America by not supporting the black music and not listening to negro records.
(Notice Flyer, 1960)
A Time line of Baltimore
1954 - After the Brown decision Baltimore is now known as the first Southern city to officially integrate its schools. First black man elected, Harry Coles, for the General Assembly. It officially became appropriate for public housing integration in Baltimore. Lunch counters begin to open up to black customers in the City dime-stores. Racial segregation public bath houses, swimming pools and beaches were upheld by the City of Baltimore and State of Maryland.
1955 - 7% of Black Baltimore students attended schools. Baltimore shopping stores welcome blacks to try clothes before purchase. Exposed injustice to black Baltimoreans from the Baltimore sun ‘The City We Live In’. The civil rights efforts takes place as Baltimore City Council that now authorizes publication of a city in transition to support the scheme. Segregation is put to an end in the National Guard by Governor McKeldin.
1956 - A further 14% of Black Baltimoreans now attend an integrated school. Separate listing for the black and white applicants for a state job has been removed by Governor McKeldin. No more prosecution mechanism, Baltimore City Equal Employment Ordinance.
1957 - 26% of Black Baltimore students are not in full time education. The Buddy Deane Show is aired for the first time on the WJZ-TV show in Baltimore. The 1957 Civil Rights Act is enacted by Congress, one of the first modern legislations that is designed so that it enforces the right to vote in the federal elections.
1958 - Most Black Baltimoreans can now accommodated in first-class hotels and become a customer to movie theaters.
1960 - The voting discrimination in the state election from Congress is enacted on the 1960 Civil Rights Act.
1961 - Conviction and arrest of any protesters in belief of civil rights at Glen Echo Amusement Park is confirmed by Maryland Court of Appeals.
1962 - The setting of Hairspray the musical. Dr. Martin Luther King holds a speech in front of 3,500 people at Willard W. Allen Masonic Temple, urging to support the continuance of non-violence demonstrations opposing segregation.
1963 - The General Assembly now enacts opening accommodation law, outlawing all race-based segregation in restaurants. An estimated of around 250,000 people joined the March on Washington, this is where Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. conveys his ‘I Have a Dream’ speech in Lincoln Memorial.
1964 - The Buddy Deane show is now cancelled. The Maryland General Assembly now extends accommodation law to open to the entire state.
The movie Hairspray was written in the ‘80s and the Broadway musical began in the late ‘90s; premiering in 2002 these years were a time of prevalent racism. Hairspray also takes place in Baltimore, 1962 among all of the racism.
In 1960 The Civil Rights Act showed great promise for America’s future as well as a great time in American history, by giving African Americans the freedom to vote for independence, having a voice in the government and laws to progress in the future to equalise the rights of coloured people.
However, not all African Americans were able to vote due to them being required to take a literacy tests, pass poll taxes and residency requirements before they could vote. This is still not a total submission of free to vote in terms of democracy between white and black people. Having diminishing rights than the usual normal person which also made them less fortunate and a harder task to accomplish, many African Americans were unable to achieve these tasks as anticipated. The white population controlled how the social institutions and politics system lead the society; this ultimately made the African Americans lives pretty much impossible in terms of living to their full potential. This is evident in Hairspray because it clearly is influenced in the musical as a similar role played out in the Corny Collins Show. The whites in the show only accepted African Americans to dance once a month, all whilst acting as if they were pleased and happy for their appearance on the show.
The Musical Hairspray is also influenced by events from both the ‘80s and ‘90s along with the first few years of the 21st century. In addition, the focus in Hairspray is not only the mistreatment and lack of equality for …show more content…
the black population, but also for the people that are different, a good example is the main protagonist Tracy. It’s evident through research within the years stated, that this musical would be nothing without the historical background of these events:
1984 - The year ‘The Cosby Show’ premiered following the life of an all black family combined with comedy to entertain. The show expresses the concept that an African American family is a family too, which is one of the shows main focus. This relates to Hairspray because it develops the initial thought that African American people are people too.
1986 - The year ‘Dr Martin Luther King Jr. Day’ was first established in America. Dr Martin Luther King had an influence on Hairspray, as his demand of racial justice and cohesive society became a chant for the black community. The importance of his involvement within Hairspray was vital as his speech created many characters. He also played a big part of the civil rights movement which is the main theme or issue in hairspray, equality; blacks have equal rights as whites.
1989 - The ‘Berlin Wall’ was representative of something that stood in the way of bringing people together and being treated equally. This influenced Hairspray because the characters are fighting for their independence, to be treated equally among all people no matter the colour. For the black society they are being overrun by people that will not allow black and white people to be seen on television together.
1991 - South African repeals Apartheid Law.
“For almost 350 years, Black people in South Africa had been subjected to exceedingly unjust laws designed, firstly to subjugate them and incorporate their lands into the British Empire, and secondly to turn them in labour reserves that ensured privilege to a White minority.”
("South African Parliament Votes To Repeal The Legal Framework Of Apartheid | South African History Online")
These were known as segregation laws; this influenced Hairspray because the characters are trying to defeat segregation and racial segregation is the main issue in Hairspray.
1997 - Tiger woods, an important player that influenced hairspray by winning the Masters title as an African American human being recognised on television. The characters in Hairspray are thriving for this same independence for their family and friends.
1998 - Hairspray was originally adapted from a 1988 John Waters musical, following the trend of some other Broadway musicals for example Footloose, The Producers and Saturday Night Fever that were also adapted from movies. During the development of creating the musical, many occurrences reflecting racist remarks were happening in this time. One of the most headlined incidents in 1998 would be James Byrd Jr. an African American whom was dragged behind a pickup truck leaving him dead.
2001 - During this year the Cincinnati Riot arose due to the shooting of Timothy Thomas whom was an African American man, followed by many more major events happening because of the hate crime against race, destroying thousands of people’s lives. This links in with Hairspray because the characters want to stop hate crime incidence occurring because of the colour of their
skin.
2002 – A man of power within the political society caused a political scandal when making a racist comment towards the African Americans.
Hairspray owns a racially significant storyline due to these events that may have had a huge impact on how the story plot is progressed and developed further into what it is today.
The social context resembles a parallel between Hairspray and Baltimore in the ‘60s. It wasn’t uncommon for white kids in the ‘60s to listen to music that aired on all black radio stations, despite the fact they would never have any black friends. In Hairspray, the African Americans wrote a song that was then adapted by The Nicest Kids in Town. Further into Hairspray, Tracy and Penny are both invited to hang out with the black kids by Seaweed a black singer and dancer in Hairspray. This would have been classes as a rare case to be hanging out together in the ‘60s and this is implied in the musical when the girls both say that they feel ‘hip’ when being invited by Seaweed an African American whom wants to hang out with them, indicating that it is a very rare occasion.
At the end of the musical, African Americans are eventually allowed to take part on the Corny Collins show on a regular basis, alongside the white kids. This was a great achievement in the ‘60s especially as paralleled by the new perception of African Americans on television after Martin Luther King appeared. A great feat for equality now made in history by MLK, giving African Americans a new image of peacemakers and non-resistant.
In Conclusion I think Hairspray was able to speak out to audiences from both the 1960’s and decades beyond that, through the progression in the fight for equality and acts of violence throughout the years, really makes Hairspray a very interesting musical to discuss. Racism is still alive today, and although Hairspray has been reincarnated 3 times, I have belief that as we progress into the future, history will evolve for the black community around the world. Therefore, I have hope that this musical will stay alive for many years to come because of its unique influence of something that is still changing in today’s society.