Archive for Musicals.Net Musicals.Net |
| qpidsangel |
Contactlets talk about Contact and the white sheet.discuss. |
||||||
| EponineGiry |
I hate it. It looks like they're all in a big orgy. And Mark is there, which doesn't help. Grr. I couldn't stand it. | ||||||
| DramaRobin2002 |
It's not my favorite, but I do like that it is so open to interpretation. It is really randomly thrown into the show though. | ||||||
| Luc |
The what?
Sorry, I'm sorta new to RENT. 
And, no, it's not what you're thinking. I was very familiar with the show BEFORE the movie, just to clear things up. 
|
||||||
| EponineGiry |
In the live show, a few ensemble members are dancing on the side of the stage as the principals are under an illuminated white sheet, which they are pushing upward so that it billows. |
||||||
| andie |
But it has a great passage where Angel is burning with love fever. Can't hate it, because it shows that Angel's giving his all to that feeling. And it's very sad in the end... Judging from libretto Mark is only featured in the beginning of the song. Maybe we misinterpret and he's singing about something else  , or maybe it's a one-night thing with some gal, or maybe he's contemplating this aspect of life (from the artistic point of view)... I'm pretty sure they all do it separately (well, in pairs).
|
||||||
| Luc |
Ah. Thanks! So, which number is this done during? |
||||||
| andie |
"Contact", obviously 
|
||||||
| EponineGiry |
The Angel part is fantastic, I just don't like that white sheet. If they're doing it separately, it didn't make much sense to put them all together, really. |
||||||
| andie |
But they're using one stage for different locations throughout the show... Well, I haven't seen it, so maybe it's as bad as you say. Still, I like the song on CD. |
||||||
| what_the_heck013 |
That's kind of the point. It's supposed to illustrate unprotected sex and how when you have sex with one person, you're exposed to everything that everyone else that person slept with had, namely AIDS (which is why I agree that it doesn't make sense for Mark to be there, but that doesn't mean that he's not a virgin). |
||||||
| Luc |
Just for your own information, I just slapped myself. 
lol Thanks!
|
||||||
| andie |
Cute
|
||||||
| ShadowInTheWings |
I sooo don't get this number. It's an interesting song to listen to, but watching it on the bootleg (bad me) has completely confused me. It's so terribly random. I kinda get it, but I don't. | ||||||
| norayouadora |
I guess, but I just don't particularly like this part; it's the one song that people point to when they talk about how offensive they think RENT is (at least to me). Especially the whole thing with the sheet....to me it just looks like they're all stuck inside some giant balloon or something and they're trying to escape! I guess the message is too "deep" for me.  Oh, and I also dislike the fact that Mark is inside, too--that never really made sense to me, either.
Naturally, I love the rest of the show. 
|
||||||
| Brother Marvin Hinten, S. |
Maybe Mark's randomly filming a couple or something. As the great Larry Buchanan, shlockmeister of Hollywood, once said, "You see, the important thing in film -- and I told the students this when I talked to USC a couple times -- is to make film, and if you can't make anything but 8mm porno, do it. Make film!" | ||||||
| Ulla Dance Again! |
Yea, that's a good theory. I've always wondered just what the heck is he doing there, anyways? I mean... Mimi and Roger are obviously a couple, same with Joanne and Maureen, and Collins and Angel... so I guess poor Mark is just stuck watching... or filming as you stated.
For me, the sheet wasn't an issue... it's more or less the song in general. It annoys me for some reason... I think it's the beat, or the melody... something about it grates my nerves. 
|
||||||
| DramaRobin2002 |
Okay, so I was giving this some thought. Maybe we are looking at the song the wrong way and it is completely symbolic of the relationships between the characters, not just their sexual relationships but their relationships in general. This may be stretching it, but I'm just gonna throw it out there. These characters are supposed to be living in the moment. No day but today. And, at least I hear, usually when you're in a very passionate intimate relationship with someone it is very in the moment. So perhaps the sex theme in the song is actually symbolic of life. At the end, the relationships are falling apart- "It was bad for me, was it bad for you?" could be talking about the whole relationship, the connections between Maureen and Joanne, Mimi and Roger, Mimi and Benny, Mark and his unresolved feelings for Maureen. But Angel and Collins are still in that state of the moment, which is why Angel passionately proclaims his love for Collins before succumbing to AIDS and Collins' "It's over." is in regards to Angel's battle with the disease and there life on earth together. If that makes any sense anyway. It's five in the morning and I am in a bit of a state of delirium, so that ramble may not make any sense at all. | ||||||
| Bill_Calhoun |
Collin's "It's over" is definatly in response to Angel's death, yus
Also, I think the sheet thing works really well. I remember it struck me as a really big, over the top representation of sexuality, but I think that that was the lyrics leading my mind to think that
But alas, it is a quarter to nine in the morning and I haven't slept, so I am very likely to making no sense! |
||||||
| norayouadora |
Hmm. I hadn't really thought of that... You may be right. Because I don't like the idea of Mark having sex at all in this scene, it seems so out of character for him. I mean, you know that he dated Maureen and all that, but (at least in the scope of the show) he's more of an observer. That's why Roger calls him on it at various points in the show, saying that he'd rather watch others than live his own life with feeling. Also, I just don't see him as the kind of guy who would go for a random one-night stand--he's a good Jewish boy, you know? Hehe. No idea if my thoughts are making any sense, but I hope you understand me!
|
||||||
| DramaRobin2002 |
I'm not sure if him filming porn would be much better .
|
||||||
| Luc |
Does anyone have any pictures of Contact? I've never seen the show, so I would love to see some pics....if applicable! | ||||||
| norayouadora |
Oh no, I wasn't agreeing with the idea of him filming porn at all, just filming in general. I must have worded that badly. I mean, I just think it fits in more with his character to be taping the others instead of joining in himself, but I wouldn't call it porn. He's just... Watching, I guess? I dunno, I'm not sure. 
|
||||||
| Ulla Dance Again! |
There might be some on some Rent fansites... Musicals-Online gives a great list of Rent fansites that may contain pics from the show. I know I've seen a "Contact" picture, I just can't remember where. |
||||||
| Vicam |
I don't know of any pictures other than a drawing I once saw which probably isn't what you're looking for...but there is a video clip of Contact on YouTube that is reasonably good quality if I'm allowed to post that here (if not I'm sorry ) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pdWKoc0Rwvs
|
||||||
| Valjean_Jean24601 |
Anthony Rapp said in an interview in the late 90's that Mark is masturbating. . that's why he's including in "Contact."
They aren't having an orgy. . it's just a way to use the 3 table-setup to convey that all of the characters are engaging in sexual activity at the same time. I love "Contact" and I was really upset that they didn't put it in the movie (though the more I think about it. . it would have been very difficult to translate that feeling onto film). I always thought the gate-dancers were so interesting. . it was just such a fresh way to look at a sex scene in a musical. I also think it should be noted that Angel succumbs during this scene while he's climaxing. The french call an orgasm "Le petite d'morte" (The little death). . and I think J. Lar had that in mind when he decided to do it that way. Also, everyone has a bad sexual experience under the sheet. . Mimi and Roger lose their condom. . Maureen and Joanne "miss" LOL. . and Angel dies making love to Collins, which was the perfect way to let him go on stage. Smoochies! Jacob. |
||||||
| RyanJ |
I'm getting my friend into RENT. First time she heard some songs, she thought it was weird. (I didn't like RENT the first few times I heard it) But after Contact, she was like, "Ok, I like this one". I just got her into LVB, and I played Goodbye Love through the ending, and explained what was happening. She is now dying to see the movie, and I might take her to go see it in NYC sometime. | ||||||
| norayouadora |
Ah, now THIS all makes a lot of sense to me. |
||||||
| shadowdancer |
First off, I am not tryign to jump at you for this response. it just struck me is all. So nothing personal 
I am going to disagree with you here.
"his life with feeling"- I know many people who have sex with no feeling. Not saying taht I do or that I agree with them or anything but things do change as you get older. I could totally see him having a one night stand as he is the only one who is alone. Things just tend to change as you get older. i believe you are still in high school, not a problem, but there are adults (even high schoolers, i am sure) who have sex, just for the gratification of it.
I am curious why you would come to this conclusion? |
||||||
| ShadowInTheWings |
To me, I don't see Mark as a character who would have sex without the emotional attachment. From the film (have yet to have the fortune of seeing the show), I get the sense that Mark's a little naive, even awkward with women. I may be wrong, but that's what I get from his character. I also think he's too hung up on Maureen to contemplate relations elsewhere. | ||||||
| norayouadora |
First of all, I'd like to say that I doubt that anything I say will be able to change your opinion on this; you'd have similar success trying to change mine. However, you asked for an explanation, so I'll do my best to give you one. 
About the one-night stands--If I didn't know any better, I'd think you were patronizing me just because I'm in high school! Take it from me: high schoolers are very aware that the world around them is having meaningless sex. Heck, teenagers practically invented it, because most are less able to appreciate the true meaning of it than your average adult. I may not be doing it, but I understand that many people are. I certainly hope you weren't meaning to imply that I'm too young to realize this.
At any rate, I don't like the idea of Mark having sex with anyone because I do think it is out of character for him. Throughout the show, he is the character that is the most guarded with his emotions. He's isolated from the rest of them because he's the only character with no romantic interest, and he's just had his heart broken by Maureen. To me, it seems as though even a meaningless one-night stand would be too much for him, because it would (at the least) be an admission of his desires. It would make him just the slightest bit more vulnerable because he would be showing that he is lonely, that he misses Maureen, that he wants sex, etc. Also, I think that it wouldn't really fit with his general attitude. Another thing that makes him different from most of the other characters is that he doesn't follow the "no day but today" mantra as religiously as they do. He's very aware that his actions have consequences, and that he has responsibilities that carry past the present time. You can kind of see this because even though everyone else is so content to follow the "starving artist" lifestyle, Mark actually accepts a job Buzzline even though he knows it's incredibly cheesy. It may stand for everything he's against, but he does it because he knows he has to pay bills and buy food. I'm not saying that he's all work and no play, but I think he tends to be more practical than some of the others, and I think this carries over to the idea of sex. I really couldn't see him having a one-night stand because I think he would be too sensible: he'd worry about STDs (after all, he sees AIDS 24/7), or getting the girl pregnant, etc. This leads me to think that he wouldn't be able to just let go and think only about the pleasurable aspect of it, he'd be too worried about the possible consequences. Wow, I wrote a lot! I hope this made even a tiny bit of sense. I wish I could write more, but I'm about to go shopping... Shadowdancer, if you want to continue this, feel free to PM me.
**edited for format |
||||||
| DramaRobin2002 |
I agree. I don't see Mark as a one night stand type. It seems more that he would start a relationship with a woman first. |
||||||
| musicallover09 |
the sheet looks liek a giant condom and they are all trapped inside... he he | ||||||
| theatre4life |
could have done without it in the show. | ||||||
| jewelzers12 |
um ya...contact is definatley the orgy scene...and ya i thought it was kinda weird Mark is in that scene, but he did go out with Maureen so they probably did something(im ot suggesting either of them have AIDS).... i mean Mark's kinda a loner but he still is part of the group and even though he doesn't have any one to um "celebrate" with in Contact that doesnt mean he cant be there and illustrate the point and he just sings the group stuff so its left up to the imagination what Mark is doing while the rest of them are having various problems.... |