Billie Holiday Story Jazz History Documentary Video Review Help
Humanities
2 pages, vertical page format, double-spaced
Touch upon the following points:
1. How did her early experiences affect her art?
2. Compare her to your own musical likes/dislikes.
3. Does she remind you of some modern day tragic figure?
4. Was she a victim?
5. What of her choices in life?
6. What of some of the contradictions in her lifestyle?
7. How did her own understanding of her music affect her performances?
8. What is it about her singing that makes her such an important figure in this art form?
9. What of those in the film that were close to her and commented?
10. What of societal practices/attitudes at the time and their affect on her?
11. Why is she important in the continuum of Jazz History?
Or, anything else you might feel relevant. What’s important is an honest, cogent, concise response/discussion of what in the film resonated with you.
Have at it!!!
Also, here are some of the guidelines set down,
Address the assignment correctly in terms of the factual material and your understanding of it (that is, if dates are cited they must be correct, etc.). Some of the assignments’ parameters call for you to comment on things that aren’t exactly jazz-related (Billie Holiday or Charlie Parker’s drug use, racism in society, etc.), but you must still put this in the context of JAZZ HISTORY; when talking about racism’s effect on Holidays life and career, for example, it would be good for you to mention the specific bands that she was singing with when those specific instances occurred. Several previous students have written wonderful papers dealing with the sociological and psychological issues that these musicians have endured, but received grades lower than they expected because they did not place such discussion within the context of the history of jazz. But even though this is a Jazz History course, you will also be graded on your grammar and writing skills. Your thought processes and the construction of the paper should be logical, and your spelling, grammar, punctuation and syntax must be correct.
*You are allowed to quote passages from reference materials AS LONG as you enclose the material in quotation marks and PROPERLY CITE the sources!
