Omozusi Inegbeniki, Poli Sci, CC22

Date: 1932 

Genre: Jazz

Composer: Duke Ellington 

Lyricist: Irving Mills 

Visual Piece 

Scene: Hairspray Movie (2007) 

Song: Run and Tell That 

https://vimeo.com/376673566

Hairspray

• Both the song and the scene emphasises the importance of using dance as a form of expression and alternative protest to the suppression of African American dance and music. The fast movements of jazz/twist influenced dancing and the pace of the swung jazz beat. I chose this particular scene to reflect how Duke Ellington’s music was often prey to the white gaze and whilst this built appreciation and attraction to jazz it later also brought music appropriation and theft.
• The song has a syncopated rhythm, making the weak beats become stronger and vice versa. This gives the piece an all-round danceable feeling.
• Movie: Set in 1960s Baltimore  
• This particular song “Run and Tell that” is a fun and upbeat song yet, its underlying message protests againt discrimination 
  • Starts with the lyrics “I can’t see why people look at me and only see the color of my face”