Musical Song and Politics Analysis Episode 1–Intro

Just in terms of sheer entertainment value, musicals are one of my favorite art forms. They also, due to their unique presentation format, provide the audience with an unfiltered and clear look into the progression of the musical’s plot and the development of characters. Unlike in movies, where characters often conceal their thoughts, emotions, and schemes, in musicals, everything is displayed out in the open through song. The actors in musicals are sharing everything with the audience and secrets which would take hundreds of pages to be revealed in books, are quickly revealed in the opening act of musicals. Thus, musical songs are an intriguing lens through which to examine certain aspects of musicals, as through them, everything is laid out clearly for the audience. And if every part of the “argument” of a song is clearly detailed for the audience, then the most interesting part is deciding whether or not that argument is effective. So, I plan to look at musicals that contain plots concerning government and politics and analyze whether the characters singing certain songs about either supporting or criticizing the resident government in the musical are making compelling arguments.