"SOUTH PACIFIC"
VIEWING GUIDE
Name: ___________________________________
Date: _________________________
Directions:
As you watch GREAT PERFORMANCES' "South Pacific" in Concert from Carnegie Hall, listen carefully to the songs and dialogue and write complete answers to each question below. Include as much specific detail as possible for each question.
1. Using what you learned from the dialogue and song lyrics, list character traits for each of the characters below. Be prepared to share your information in the class discussion.
| Character |
Physical Traits |
Personality Traits |
Ideals and Beliefs |
Feels Conflicted About |
|
Nellie Forbush
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Lt. Joe Cable
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2. Listen carefully to the song "You've Got to Be Carefully Taught" and explain:
- In the song, what is it that Lt. Cable says you must be taught?
- How does Nellie show that she has been taught to be prejudiced? Be specific with your answer.
- How does Lt. Cable show that he has been taught to be prejudiced? Be specific with your answer.
- What do Nellie and Lt. Cable both risk losing because of the prejudices they have been taught?
- What is the overall theme (lesson or message) in "South Pacific," and how does this song illustrate that theme? Give specific examples to support your ideas.
- Why do you think this song would have been controversial and even offensive to some Americans during the post-World War II era (late 1940s and 1950s)? Give specific reasons based on what you learned from viewing the musical and from completing the Student Activity Sheet.
- Do you believe that Americans are more or less prejudiced now than they were at the end of World War II? Explain your answer.
- What lessons do "South Pacific" and the song "You've Got to Be Carefully Taught" offer for today's audiences? Explain your answer.
3. Thomas S. Hischak poses the following question in the last paragraph of his essay, "A New Challenge for Two Not-So-New Talents."
We like to pride ourselves on believing we are more tolerant and see the issues of race with a more complex understanding today. But how many of us would have had the courage to do in 1949 what Rodgers and Hammerstein did in "South Pacific"
- Were Rodgers and Hammerstein courageous for making racial prejudice the theme of this musical? Why?
- Do you believe we are more racially tolerant today? Why or why not? Support your opinion with specific examples.
- What aspects of the musical "South Pacific" make it historically significant in the way that it addressed racial prejudice?
- Think about some of the musicals, plays, movies, and television programs that you have seen or heard about that have been labeled "controversial."
- What themes or messages do these works focus on?
- What makes them controversial with the public?
- How do they compare with "South Pacific" in their impact and potential to be historically significant?
- Would you consider those who produced and participated in these works to be "courageous" in the same way that people felt Rodgers and Hammerstein were courageous? Why?
- Discuss the power of the entertainment media in calling attention to important issues like prejudice and compare the impact of today's productions to the impact that a musical like "South Pacific" might have had. Which is greater? Why?