Rallies and Musical Numbers: Hairspray Unpacks Racism in The 1960s
The multifaceted musical represents America in the 1960s and the battle against bigotry as an ensemble cast portrays how to fight for the limelight.

Directed by Nobuo Adachi and starring Aiko Mimasu as a mother who lost three of her four sons to war. Aki is an elderly mother who has lost three of her sons to war. She is happy to be reunited with her youngest son, who has been demobilized from the South, only to find him imprisoned in Sugamo Prison as a suspected war criminal. The mother wishes only to be reunited with her son, but she falls ill from overwork and heartache...
The multifaceted musical represents America in the 1960s and the battle against bigotry as an ensemble cast portrays how to fight for the limelight.
Ruben Östlund muses about his characters, “As soon as you get close to a person, you see them as just another human being”. It is widely recognized that aboard the luxury yacht in ‘Triangle of Sadness’, the different groups of people represent a small society as a commentary on classism and gender binaries.
“And I think to myself….what a wonderful world”. Louis Armstrong sang about this notion via his classic 1967 song, an ode to witnessing elements of our life that should be but some reminders of exactly what that concluding line of each verse indicates. Now we see our contemporary realities and, just being honest, it makes a sentiment like this seem SO overtly far away….perhaps even impossible….to accept or believe could be. It sounds harsh, but again, so much of what is occurring speaks not to beauty, but bedlam.
James Cameron’s The Terminator (1984) marks the beginning of a wonderful two-part arc, brimming with style and substance. The film follows Sarah Connor, a waitress living in Los Angeles. One night, a cybernetic organism (Arnold Schwarzenegger) is sent back in time to kill Sarah. A human resistance fighter (Michael Biehn) is also sent back in time, with the intent of saving Sarah from this deadly foe.
Netflix’s new rom-com, Voicemails for Isabelle (dir. Leah McKendrick), isn’t just heartwarming, funny, and an achievement in female directing - it’s also an instant classic. Following 20-something aspiring baker Jill (Zoey Deutch), Voicemails for Isabelle tells a story of grief, self-discovery, and fateful connections. Ever since her beloved sister Izzy’s (Ciara Bravo) death, Jill has been leaving her hilarious, extremely TMI voicemails about her chaotic love life and miserable day job as a prep cook. Little does she know that a handsome and unsatisfied real estate agent in her hometown has inherited the number and practically fallen in love with her by listening to her stories.