Ready For Summer!
Posted on: 11th June 2016 16:13:17

You get what you get when you go for it! I’m ready to take a chance again with you!” (Barry Manilow, 1978)

 

Welcome to the June - July 2016 Edition ~ Ready For Summer!

 

Join us as we bring together Seven Brides for Seven Brothers and The Music Man~ two great stories about summer love. (“Summer lovin’ had me a blast! Summer lovin’ happened so fast!” Grease, 1978)

 

Summer is all about fun, from beaches to barbecues to family vacations.

 

In the Classic Movie Musical these activities translate to Barn Raises, Parades, and “Sociables”.

 

Each gathering gives the boy a chance to:

 

Meet the girl:

 

Girl: “ Follow me.”

 

Boy: “To the ends of the earth!” (Seven Brides for Seven Brothers)

 

Boy: “Did you drop your…didn’t I meet you in?” (The Music Man)

 

Get the Girl:

 

What girl wouldn’t want to be swept off her feet at dance? (Seven Brides for Seven Brothers) or spend time under the spell of a handsome stranger?

 

Boy: “The Footbridge in 15 minutes!” Girl: “15 minutes!” (The Music Man.)

 

Lose the Girl:

 

“Lonesome Polecat” (Seven Brides for Seven Brothers)

 

Girl: “Professor Harold Hill. Gary Conservatory of Music, gold medal class of '05. Harold, there wasn't any Gary Conservatory of Music in '05…. the town wasn't even built until '06. I tore this page out of an Indiana Journal.” (The Music Man)

 

Get the Girl:

 

Boy: “You have to go back!”

 

Girl: “ No I want to stay with you!” (Seven Brides for Seven Brothers)

 

Girl: “I suppose I’m not the first person to discover a girl doesn’t think to clearly when under the spell of your salesmanship.” (The Music Man)

 

Getting the girl in the end is the second chance at love.

 

These scenes are great catalysts for intergenerational discussions about courtship.

 

Consider discussing:

 

The evolution of dating from one generation to the next. (Is texting really dating?)

 

Marriage: “Love at first sight”, does it happen? (Millie, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers). 

 

Would you marry a man you only knew for an afternoon?

 

What transpires in a relationship that turns someone you dislike into someone you love? (Marian, Music Man).

 

These women are also great character studies of empowerment for the younger generation.

 

Both Millie and Marian are ahead of their times. They are young, bright, self-sufficient women working to support themselves , and their family.  Neither is looking to a man for support or validation. When the man enters, he must work to gain her trust, respect, and love.

 

Although Millie marries Adam after the briefest of courtships, it takes the entire film, (turning over tables, Adam sleeping in a tree, teaching the brothers to be mannerly men, standing up for the girls, while putting the brothers out of the house), for Adam to give her the respect and love she deserves.

 

Marian is not as easily moved to accept the professor. She is suspicious of his motives from the start. For all his flirting, (“Now in the moonlight a man could sing it, and a fellow would now that his darling had heard every word of his song, with the moonlight helping along”), it is not until the professor helps Marian’s brother Winthrop out his shell (with the presentation of a coronet), that she begins to see him as a kind and gentle man.

 

The transformation of the characters, strong role models, simple plots, the guarantee of a great sing- a-long, and a happy ending we can share with loved ones, family, and friends on a cool summer’s evening, are all answers to this month’s thought provoking question:

 

What is it about this movie musical, that make us happy when we’re sad, make us want to sing, reminisce, explore social behavior, and find that second chances are always welcome?

 

Share your thoughts with me on-line, or at The National Education Association Expo July 1-3, 2016, at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center, Washington, D.C.

 

See you at Booth 911 as we welcome educators to Movies and Music!

 

 

~~Lori

 

 

 

 


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