Since the beginning of 2016, the interpretation of the late 1970s and early 1980s in the film and television industry has not subsided. Following "Vinyl Age", "Never Tear Detective" and "Everyone Has a Boyhood", Baz Luhrman's TV series "Teenage Hip Hop Dreams" hits Netflix on August 12, combining shabby and new teenage ambitions into one. The glory days of disco once again focused the audience's attention on New York in the late 1970s.
In fact, "Teenage Hip Hop Dreams" is about the origins of hip-hop music, and director Luhrmann set the story in the Bronx between 1977 and 1979, where political contempt, corruption and poverty kept it on the fringes of the city. In this barren land, the children tinkered with new types of music.
Since the time is stuck in 1977, it is inevitable to mention the hegemony of disco. "Until 1979, disco was the number one thing, and even Frank Sinatra had a disco record," Luhrmann told Vogue. In the film, the director gave an imitation Studio 54-style scene - a gorgeous and trendy disco club, full of party atmosphere boxes and catwalks. On the other side, in the Bronx, was an underground party with only two turntables and no half a mirror ball.
In addition, part of the Studio 54 team will reunite in New York this year, designers are also launching Studio 54-inspired clothing collections, Matt Tinauer is making a Studio 54 documentary...
So what is this still hot "Studio 54"?
It's a legendary nightclub that opened in 1977 on West 54th Street in Manhattan and has a strong history in art and fashion. One of the founders, Steve Rubell, is a public relations genius. From the "grandma" Elizabeth Taylor to the great writer Truman Capote, countless celebrities come and go here every day. Studio 54 throws the funniest parties almost every night, like Bianca Jagger riding a white horse around the field at her birthday party, and a Star Wars-themed drag party.
At the time, people were sick of everything about Nixon, the Vietnam War, and psychedelic rock, and needed a dramatic look and a club to let themselves go. Studio 54 also has such a group of guests, such as Eric Goode, the pajama fan, Rollerena, who is rollerblading in evening clothes, and Disco Sally, 70 years old. They use clothing to disguise their daily identities and communicate with each other through styling. After all, nightclubs are still very noisy.
Move forward and you'll see that 2016 wasn't the only year that was crazy for Studio 54. In 1998, there were two related films released before and after, causing a huge sensation.
First released is Whit Stillman's "The Last Disco," which tells the story of two female college graduates, Charlotte and Alice, who travel around disco clubs to get rid of their miserable working lives in order to catch a Golden turtle son-in-law. Stillman had wanted to build the set directly at Studio 54, but eventually found a new location. In an interview with Dazed Digital, Stillman said: "I don't think disco is bad taste and rustic because I saw it in the early '80s."
There are plenty of lengthy nightclub interior shots: the two heroines doing make-up in the bathroom, or some bizarre nighttime conversations. The clips amplify the characters' discomfort, from their unease with their everyday identities to their night-life restlessness, which is the film's theme - the awkwardness and awkwardness that young 20s feel when they first step into society, despite the possibility Know all the nightclub routines, but they can't live on weekends forever.
What is criticized is that the decibel in a nightclub is different from a coffee shop, and it does not allow the wise and well-organized dialogue like the protagonist in the film, unless shouting.
In the pre-AIDS 1970s, sexual orientation became a banner for Manhattan nightclubs, and Studio 54 was no exception. Rubell is very committed to the sexual attraction of androgynous people. In addition to bringing drag queens to perform under his command, he also introduced topless muscular male waiters.
"Club 54", which was also released in 1998, is a film about "attraction". Director Mark Christopher directly put the story into the framework of Studio 54, and even wrote the founder Rubell into the script: Sean, a man from The poor boy from Jersey City broke into the club by mistake, and with David's statue-like figure and Botticelli's face like the man in the painting remained, he transformed from a waiter to a star of the club.
It is undeniable that Studio 54 in the late 1970s was extravagant and sensual, but the director did not face this directly, and portrayed it in various pieces: the film does not explicitly imply that Sean is good at showing androgynous charm, or how to use sexual attraction to rise to the sky, Rather, it tells an inspiring story. Thanks to starring Ryan Phillippe, fortunately he played the main character's transformation from a low-level boy to a slick starlet.
Place teens in Studio 54—a hedonistic backdrop—they’re dangerous, a magical realm of unknowable desires; they’re also safe, where the pyramid-topped celebrities are the mascots. Whether in 1998 or 2006, the protagonist of the film has always been unable to advance or retreat, and Studio 54 is really an excellent backdrop to reflect the anguish and dreams of the younger generation.
Originally published in Curtain Taste
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