Essay Introduction

An anonymous user online posted "When synchronized sound was introduced in 1927, the musical immediately became one of the most popular film genres." To what extent was this true at this time and now? 

Introduction-

When reading through articles about the musical genre, I read that "When synchronized sound was introduced in 1927, the musical immediately became one of the most popular film genres."  Although this may of been true during this time through different genres, modern day musicals may of become less popular due to stereotyping different sexes and common narratives. My research will therefore explore to what extent the musical genre has changed and what it is that has caused its loss in popularity. 

Key Primary and Secondary texts-

I will research 6 primary texts, these films will vary in release dates. With these I will explore the popularity and how the plots are similar and different. The films I will be researching are, "The Jazz Singer", "Singin' in the rain", "Moulin Rouge", "Chicago", "Burlesque" and "Sweeney Todd". My Secondary texts, will be research from film reviews modern and old, about the films and the genre itself. Using reviews and websites like "IMBD" I can investigate the popularity of musical films compared to others.

Hypothesis-

Personally, I believe that sexism has become so apparent in the musical genre, they are mainly targeted at women as dance and music has become feminine. However I do not think this was the case when the genre first came about, and I also think that by challenging the typical conventions of the genre they could become more popular. In my research I shall be asking the following questions:

1.Has the musical genre always been targeted to women?

Or

2.Has the popularity of the genre differed because of the society we live in? 

http://www.filmreference.com/encyclopedia/Independent-Film-Road-Movies/Musicals-THE-RISE-OF-THE-FILM-MUSICAL.html