Singin’ in the Rain (Genre)

*This guide accompanies a lecture on genre and the film musical.

  1. Why do you think musicals were so popular from the 1930s to the end of the 1950s? (HINT: Think about the history of the U.S. and the history of the film.)
  2. List at least FOUR generic conventions that you find in this film.
  3. What musical iconography do you find in Singin’ in the Rain?
  4. What sort of spectacular sets/settings do you find here? Any?
  5. Unlike other major Hollywood musicals of the 1930s, 1940s, and 1950s, the songs for Singin’ in the Rain were NOT created for the film; they were popular songs that already existed. With that said, do you think the songs and/or musical numbers in this film move the plot forward (which is a convention of the Hollywood musical), or do they just seem inserted in the film with little or no purpose?
  6. For whom are the characters in the film performing, and how do you know? Look specifically at “Make ‘Em Laugh,” “Good Morning,” and “Singin’ in the Rain.”
  7. What generic formula does the musical uphold? How does Singin’ in the Rain accomplish this?
  8. One of the primary goals of musical is to make a seamless transition between narrative and spectacle (or the singing/dancing numbers). Is there any particular musical number in Singin’ in the Rain that you think best fits that “smooth transition from narrative action to musical number” Why?
  9. What is Singin’ in the Rain‘s attitude toward Hollywood, moviemaking, and musicals in general?
  10. What generic expectations did you have going into this film? Were they met?
  11. How does verisimilitude function within the film musical?
  12. How would you classify Singin’ in the Rain as a musical: theatrical/backstage, integrated, animated? A combination of the three? Or perhaps something else altogether?
  13. Compare this film to a more recent film musical like Moulin Rouge, Chicago, The Lion King, or Grease! What (if anything) is different? What (if anything) is the same?
  14. In our discussion of gender and film, we will talk about how films objectify women and how women often become onscreen spectacles (i.e., their bodies or parts of their bodies become the primary focus of our attention). How though do we rectify this notion with film musicals–in which the body of the male dancer is also put on display for us to gaze at?