Rent:
The movie Rent successfully depicts the Bohemian lifestyle of New York City and provided a visualization of the reading Scenes From the Latin Quarter by Henri Murger. Overall, the movie captures many themes of Bohemian life, such as unity, discrimination, and love. 

The movie opens with a dramatic performance of the Bohemians on the cusp of being evicted because they have not paid rent. This scene parallels the reading, as the Bohemian characters were evicted because their work in art did not secrete enough money to pay for rent. Although, through this problem, the characters stayed and struggled together. They devoted themselves to art, regardless if it was at the expense of their home. For instance, in the movie, Maureen puts on her protest against Benny (the landlord), and through the musical scenes it becomes evident how passionate the Bohemians are for standing up against poverty whilst keeping staying true to art. As this scene unravels, the police violently try to dismantle the protest, also conveying themes of police brutality that happened in New York during the eighties. 

Additionally, the movie displays the theme of equality through its diverse characters, sexualities, and relationships. These aspects work to show that love can be universally experienced no matter the gender. More specifically, the movie also dives into the events of the AIDS outbreak in the eighties, raising awareness to the devastating challenges many gay couples faced. The death of Angel captures the emotional loss of those who passed with AIDS, as his death affected not only his partner, Collins, but his group of friends who supported him.  

As for my viewing experience, I sometimes did find it hard to decipher the exact plot that was going on. I think the themes of the movie make sense to be a musical, but sometimes the musical scenes diverged from what was happening and were too long. Maybe this is because I don’t particularly like musicals, so my argument may be a little biased. 

Opera:
Watching the opera lecture taught me the evolution of opera geographically and through history, and how opera often reflected the time period it came from. For example, the Bel Canto period from the 1780s-1850s expanded storylines in the opera; they shifted away from monarchs and religion and dived into the themes of love and passion. Additionally, I enjoyed listening to the example opera performances, and you can truly feel the emotions opera encapsulates. Also, the speaker did an amazing job of dissecting the musical composition of opera in a clear and understandable manner. 

Sidenote: the speaker was very talented! Her performance was breathtaking and I was amused by her captivating and strong voice. 

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