USA (Linguistic Culture), страница 20

At our time gradually Hollywood transformed beyond recognition. Step by step all its studios lost their independence and joined transnational companies. Commercial success became more important then creative work. Filmed television programs turned into an important American export. As many countries found it cheaper to buy American programs than to make their own, cinemagoers all over the world were mostly watching exported American blockbusters. Generations have grown up watching American films. A lot of copies are made for VCR and sold all over the world. Film companies spent hundreds million dollars on the film production and almost the same money on their advertisements. The films by famous directors and producers Steven Spielberg, Kevin Kostner, Quentin Tarantino, Paul Verkhoven, Lucas receive the most attention. The most highly paid actors Sylvestor Stallone, Jack Nicolson, Demy Moor, Julia Roberts, Sharon Stone and others receive a lot of prestigious prizes and awards at the leading international film festivals.

Music

Music in the USA is extremely varied. The ensuing generations of European immigrants brought with them the classical music and their German, Scottish and Irish folk ballads. Later America produced her own music. Railroad workers, cowboys and miners composed their songs about work, life and love. Black slaves’ songs, preserving the rhythms and intonations of African tribes, acquired new features under the influence of Puritan hymns, resulting in Black hymns “spirituals” which are considered by many musicians as the highest achievement of American folk art. Black spirituals such as “Nobody Knows the Trouble”, “When the Saints set off Machining” or “Go Down, Mosses” are remembered, sung and played even now. The list of folksong types in the USA includes Afro-American narrative songs or ballads, the Spanish narrative corride dance, Negro blues, spirituals, work songs, hymns, primitive Indian chants and prayers and the various European marches and ballads. In addition, there are superstitions, sayings, proverbs, and jokes that go with every national and racial group.

Jazz is a mixture of West African folklore with the work songs the slaves sang and religious gospel music originated in church. Jazz, initially a musical talk from downcast people to other downcast people, by the 1920-40s had become popular among all people irrespective of their class or job distinctions or political views. The first jazz bands were formed in the late 1800s.They played in bars and clubs in the South, especially in New Orleans.

The first American composer Louis Moreau Gottschalk (1829-1869) enlivened his “serious” music with plantation melodies and Caribbean rhythms from his New Orleans jazz bands. He was the first American pianist to achieve international recognition, but his early death contributed to his relative obscurity.

George Gershwin (1898-1937) was also one of the first to use Afro-American melodies in his music. Together with his brother he created world famous opera “Porgy and Bess” and two musical comedies “Rhapsody in Blue” and “An American in Paris” which included jazz rhythms and blues.

Aaron Copland (1900-90) indulged his interest in jazz as well. Besides writing symphonies, concertos, and an opera, he composed the scores for several films. He is best known, however, for his ballet scores, which draw on American folk songs; among them are “Billy the Kid”, “Rodeo”. Copland chose a traditional Quaker religious song as one of the main themes for “Appalachian Spring”, which celebrated life in the Appalachian Mountains in the eastern region of the United States.

The orchestras of Duke Ellington, Count William Basie, Frank Sinatra and Glam Miller became the universal musical culture, which all Americans are proud of. Among the outstanding jazz musicians there are the names of Louis Armstrong, Benny Goodman and Ella Fitzgerald.

Composers Arthur Schwartz and Richard Rodgers should also be mentioned. The songs “Yellow River”, “Night and Day”, “Tea for Two” crossed national boundaries and became popular in Europe. Scott Joplin (1868-1917) was born in freed slave musical family and managed to mix African beat with classical European music. His wonderful style became known to both black and white musicians as Ragtime in the early 1900s.

Thirty years after jazz another kind of popular music appeared – big beat (big rhythm). In 1954 the disc jockey Alan Freed started to broadcast the Black rhythm-and-blues records. He called this music Rock-and-roll after an old blues “My Baby Rocks Me in a Steady Roll”. The 50s were also marked in the USA by the enormous success of the most famous rock “n” roll superstar singer and guitar player Elvis Presley (1935-77). What was new in his performance was aggression, sexuality together with Black blues and white romantic crooning and sentiment. Having broken all the standards, he became particularly admired by the young people. His songs “Heartbreak Hotel”, “Hound Dog”, “Blue Suede Shoes” and many others were recorded in multimillion copies. To rock and roll enthusiasts Presley got to symbolize not only a rock and roll singer but also a new youth culture. Among other things, this culture developed its own vocabulary, ways of dressing, even hairstyle. It even began to reject socially approved ideas and ways of behaving.

Later rock-and-roll blended with the protest songs of the 1960s to become rock, the music that was harder and less escapist. Rock became both an American and international phenomenon. Millions of young people worldwide saw it as their natural cultural language, a symbol of opposition to officially approved ideas and standards. Rock composers have always tried to represent the authentic sound of spoken English, and have therefore written what they have heard, rather then used standard spellings. Hard rock became bigger and louder than any beat before it, simply because it was amplified and very noisy.

There are lots of superstars these days; among fifteen number one hits there are the ones of Madonna, Diana Ross, Mary Wilson, and Cindy Birdsong. In the 1970-80s Michael Jackson made his fantastic career. In addition to live performances he produced a lot of records, CDs and video clips. His particular ability to combine extraordinary gracious movements with singing brought him fame all the world round.

Some young musicians combined their vocal and composer masteries with their dramatic skills (so-called “performance”). The talented singer Diamond Galas (1955) using a very gloomy vampire stage image and lots of technical and light effects created unsurpassed emotional performances full of energy and expressions. Joan La Barbara (1947) possessing a wonderful vocal technique brilliantly experiments with modern compositions written by her husband Morton Subotnic and chamber music easily passing from charming whispering and thrilling moans to anxious beast cries. Black composer Anthony Davis (1951) improvises.

Questions for the final test

In whose honor did America get its name?

Who were the first European settlers on American continents?

Why were the original tribes in North America called Indians?

Do you remember the history of New York?

What was the American capital before the War for Independence?

How did the movement for independence develop in American colonies?

What is Boston “tea party”?

What are personalities of the period of “American Revolution?”

When and how long did the War for Independence last?

What were the main reasons of the victory of “American Revolution”?

When was the American Constitution adopted?

When was the name “The United States of America” first used?

Which variant of American constitution is used now?

Which were the only wars on the territory of the USA?

What were the main causes of the Civil War in North America?

When and how long did the Civil War take place?

What were the results of the Civil War?

Which personalities do you remember of the period of the Civil War?

Which American writer devoted his stories to the period of so-called “Gold Fever”?

When and how did the USA turn into the richest country of the world?

What were the main events in the USA between two World Wars?

What were the main reasons of Great American Depression?

What do you remember of US president Franklin Roosevelt?

What happened after the end of the World War 11?

What is so-called McCarthyism?

What is the political structure of the USA?

What is the Policy of Checks and Balances?

What are the main political parties?

What are the stages of Presidential election in the USA?

How are laws made in the USA?

What do you remember about John F. Kennedy?

Who was the main reformer of the American English Language?

Which linguistic reforms did Noah Webster carry on?

Why did American English Language become the global language?

What do you remember about American media?

Is there any national press in the USA?

What groups are American higher institutions divided into?

What are different student groups in the USA?

Tell about the American scientists you know.

Tell about your favorite American writer.

What is American character in comparison with the British one?

Give examples of American pop culture?

Do you know the history of American cinema industry?

Possible topics for the USA projects (compositions):

Are two- stage presidential elections democratic or anti-democratic?

The USA, Britain and the Russian Federation education systems in comparison. Their respective advantages and disadvantages.

Why American English can be called “A linguistic melting pot”.

Global English. What are the reasons of the influence of American English on its mother tongue and many other languages of the world?

English and the Internet.

Personalities in American science.

Famous Russian Americans.

Silicon Valley – what it is now.

Joint space research projects of the USA and the RF.

Favorite American writers.

Favorite American movies, directors and actors.

Music in the USA.

New World, New Architecture.

New Pop Culture.