The movie “Rent” was fascinating in providing me with insight into how the political climate looked during the late 20th century by focusing on different groups of people who were affected by it. A gay couple, Mark and Roger, for example, had dreams of their own in the art field even when struggling to make ends meet. Even when Mark was on the verge of death from AIDS, he was willing to continue his music pursuit, which shows his passion for driving through it even when rising health conflicts are occurring to him. This relates heavily to my play “Angels in America,” when Prior Walter is left alone to share his voice with the public, despite being diagnosed with AIDS. The movie was presented with several emotional scenes that had my undivided attention, which included when Angels and Collin sang “I’ll Cover You” and Maureen’s protest. These scenes further allowed me to connect with the core message of the film, which is to live the best of life even when facing unpredictable circumstances.

       Reading through the book “Scenes from a Latin Quarter”, I was able to get an overview of an alternative societal struggle that artists faced when pursuing their careers. These societal struggles involve generating less income and thus leave these artists facing numerous financial challenges. For instance, Marcel lived in poverty during his years as an early artist, as shown by his having to resort to borrowing clothes from friends, Marcel’s portrayal of bohemian life highlights this dependence on patronage and social networks, adding a layer of insecurity to Marcel’s situation. Marcel only began to find success and improve his finances after his recent literary work, “The Passage of the Red Sea,” became popular. Marcel’s motivation in pursuing his passion in the arts is very similar to Mark’s motivation. Similarly, Mark remained dedicated to his passion for making music right up until his deathbed, despite being diagnosed with AIDS.

       Opera music was a genre of music I found fascinating throughout the Broadway performances I attended throughout my childhood. In the lecture, Amanda Hick did a fantastic job of explaining the origins of opera and how it transformed throughout history. It was interesting to me how opera started with themes that explored mythology and religion, which eventually spread to a variety of genres. I’ve also learned that composing opera music is quite different from composing pop music, as it involves the artist taking their lyrical style first before adding music to it. Throughout listening to all of the opera performances, my favorite one was from the artist Wagner. This was because of his style of music making me unable to hum to it, which gave me insight into the uniqueness behind opera.

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