Alvin Ailey and Sociology

Jerry Tarn Professor Douglas Kierdorf companionable Science 102 April 18th, 2013 Alvin Aileys Revelations and Sociology As the world begins to modernize, society develops into what sociologist Ferdinand Tonnies calls a Gesellschaft society. In a Gesellschaft society, mess quash only on themselves and build relationships mostly based on the possible monetary straighten outs. Because pile argon so focused on money, matters that do not possess any monetary value hightail it to be discarded as in mutual oppositionifi after partt or unworthy. Subjects such as the arts are often seen as unnecessary, excess, and impractical.However, what people fail to realize, is that art is in fact an integral part of humanity. Art can provide deep insights into our society, revealing both its positive and negative boldnesss in the most genuine form. leaping? a physical expression of art? is one of the many methods people uses to portray the various characteristics of society. Alvin Aileys chara cterature work Revelations, produced in 1960, is a prime example that reflected and exposed the affectionate limitings that were occurring during that era. The 1960s was attach as a time of great change as it was the era when America began to transform into an more and more modern society.There were significant improvements in science (and technology exemplified by the start of the space exploration), which greatly changed how people lived and viewed the world. However, the most important changes were probably societal ones, namely the civil rights movement. The civil rights movement was categorized by African Americans expressing their dissatisfactions with the injustices that they had to endure in past century. Although African Americans were liberated from slavery after the Civil War, they calm down had to deal with the inequality of racial segregation.Under those laws, African Americans had to face disadvantages such as (but not limited to) leave out of voting rights, infe rior quality of facilities, and unequal treatment under law. In sociological terms, there was teensy social mobility, institutionalized dissimilarity, and communities were racially stratified. It was not until the 1960s that the nonviolent protests and public civil disobediences of African Americans began to gain prominence and produce effect. In 1960, one of the many famous acts of civil disobedience, the Greensboro Sit-Ins occurred.The sit-ins consisted of multiple instances of nonviolent protests at the Woolworth Store in Greensboro, North Carolina by local African American students. After repeated protests and evolution tensions, the store finally desegregated its services. Coincidently, Aileys Revelations was produced in the same year that the protests occurred. Although there wasnt a reign over correlation between the Greensboro protests and the creation of Aileys dance, the production of Aileys dance was nevertheless a sign of social change.When Aileys dance company begi nning(a) performed, they changed the entire dynamic of American Dance playing field as African American way of life was finally represented by African Americans kinda of by proxies of Caucasian dancers. The ability of African American dancers to represent their own culture shows the social change of the transfer of authority (of the dance theater industry) from the dominant group to the minority group. Another way that Aileys dance company signified social change was its integration of different ethnic groups.Following in the footsteps of his mentor, Lester Horton, Ailey unconquerable to include dancers of different races into his dance company in 1962. Aileys practice of what sociologists termed ethnic pluralism was another sign of social change. Besides evidencing social change, Revelations also reflected the various elements of American society. The dance itself was able to show these elements finished the issues of the plot, which was divided into three sections Pilgrim of rue, fuck off Me to the Water, and die hard Members, Move.The first section, Pilgrims of Sorrow is about the sufferings of African Americans during the slavery era. The story depicts African Americans toiling by means of hard labor as slaves and trying to use song as an outlet for relief. Ailey also incorporates the song Ive been Buked, by sign Johnson, to accentuate the agony and frustrations of African Americans. The reason why Ailey brought back stories of extreme hardship is perhaps he wanted to remind Americans how much pain African Americans had to go through.He wanted to emphasize how important it was for people to realize the need for the abolishment of segregation. Ailey also probably felt that because Americas history of racial inequality has existed for such a long time, African Americans have become what William Wilson calls the permanent underclass. regular after the Civil Rights Act passed, like W. E. B du Bois described in The Philadelphia Negro, African America ns in time face financial disadvantages due to the situations they were put in before the passing of the bill.With the coexistence of peoples unbroken just-world hypothesis and stubbornness of their cognitive schema, the disadvantages of African Americans will never receive the deserved attention as people will just assume that their misfortunes were brought upon by themselves. This is probably why Ailey recognized the bitter lawfulness that racism will always exist. Slightly different from Pilgrims of Sorrow, Take me to the Water and Move Members, Move conveys a more positive atmosphere as it portrays scenes of baptism and church building service. Take me to the Water depicts a adult female by the riverside, ready to get baptized while Move Members, Move depicts a celebratory church scene. These dances are also reflections of American society as it shows the roles of religion. One role of religion was providing comfort to those undergoing hardship. When African Americans went t hrough slavery, they sought comfort in God and practicing Christianity. Another role of religion in American society was providing solidarity. Emile Durkheim believed that religion brought unity amongst people and connection between individuals.This is reflected in American society as Christianity, Americas largest religion, underlies the many values in American culture. Another important aspect of Aileys dance that is worth mentioning is Aileys own life. When he was working on Revelations, a lot of the content was the result of his upbringings. Ailey grew up in rural Texas in the segregation era. At that time, especially in Texas, African Americans lived under constant danger as they not only faced discrimination, but also delirium and risks of random lynching.All of these atrocities combined are probably what allowed Ailey to have such strong feelings towards the suffering of the slaves in the first part of his dance. Another influential moment in Alvin Aileys life was his exposu re to literature. When he analyze at universities in California, he learned of the writings of famous African American writers such as Langston Hughes and James Baldwin. In addition to his meeting with Maya Angelou, he perhaps became influenced and meant his performance to be an act to tug civil rights. Another influence of Aileys life was his exposure to religion.When he was young, he attended a Southern Baptist church. The songs and hymns that he heard when he went to church was probably influential to his other two dances Take me to the Water and Move Members, Move. This goes to show that what people experience in their childhood greatly influences their social identity as an adult. From Aileys background and dance piece, it could be seen that America during the 1960s was dominated by the Caucasian race, had a strong sense of religion (specifically Christianity), and had an unequal society.It was also beginning to advance into a developed society, which explains the rapid social change. To a certain extent, America today still possesses some discrimination towards certain ethnic groups, and equality isnt exactly fully established in every aspect of the country. Nevertheless, as society progresses, so will its values. There will come a point in the future when all of the negative aspects that society used to possess will change for the better. However, it is important to be aware of the need of social change. One way that social change can be exercised is through art.Art is a highly human expression, and is one of the many methods that can facilitate social change. Works Cited Alvin Ailey American Dance dramatic art Origins to 1979,International Encyclopedia of Dance, vol. 1. Oxford University Press, New York 1979. 54-57. Dunning, Jennifer (1996). Alvin Ailey A life In Dance. New York Addison-Wesley print Company, INC. ISBN0-201-62607-1. Foulkes, Julia L. Modern bodies Dance and American modernism from Martha Graham toAlvinAiley (Chapel Hill University o f North Carolina Press, 2002), 179-184 Kowal, Rebekah J.How to Do Things with Dance playacting Change in Postwar America (Middletown, CT Wesleyan University Press, 2010), 1-6 Mitchell, Jack. AlvinAileyAmerican Dance Theater (Kansas City, Mo. Andrews and McMeel, 1993), 1-25 Greensboro luncheon Counter Sit-Ins,Library of Congress. Retrieved April 15, 2013. 1 . Greensboro Lunch Counter Sit-Ins,Library of Congress. Retrieved April 15, 2013. 2 . Kowal, Rebekah J. How to Do Things with Dance do Change in Postwar America (Middletown, CT Wesleyan University Press, 2010), 1-6 3 .Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre Origins to 1979,International Encyclopedia of Dance, vol. 1. Oxford University Press, New York 1979. 54-57. 4 . Mitchell, Jack. AlvinAileyAmerican Dance Theater (Kansas City, Mo. Andrews and McMeel, 1993), 1-25 5 . Ibid. 6 . Foulkes, Julia L. Modern bodies Dance and American modernism from Martha Graham toAlvinAiley (Chapel Hill University of North Carolina Press, 2002) , 179-184 7 . Dunning, Jennifer (1996). Alvin Ailey A Life In Dance. New York Addison-Wesley Publishing Company, INC. ISBN0-201-62607-1.