The Lead Boy is then featured at the graduation sing. The high point of the Blanton school year is the picking of the 'Lead Boy' from among the seniors in the vocal music program. There are scenes at the local swimming pool and on the 'wrong side of the tracks', but most of the action takes place on the campus of Blanton Academy, a fictitious, lily-white, private, boys' school world-renowned for its vocal music program. Perfect Harmony is a somewhat simplistic morality play about the tensions between whites and blacks in a small South Carolina community in 1959. There are acts of violence along racial lines and KKK references, but the realism of the movie makes it worth watching. It's a great film for the family to watch to open a dialogue regarding race. The ultimate lesson of the story centers around how music can act as bridge. To both of them, music in any form is beautiful. They show interest in what they've grown up hearing as well as the music of other cultures. The strong friendship Taylor and Landy develop stems from their mutual love of music. It also demonstrates the movement of change that would culminate with the Civil Rights movement during the 1960s. I think the movie demonstrates that tension. There was an almost palpable tension between blacks and whites especially in the deep south. I am black and although I don't speak from personal experience, my own studies of that period in American history combined with comments from my parents and grandparents that were present during that time paint a very similar picture. As for the other theme of the film, racial tension in the south during the 1950s, the film is also very realistic. I myself could sing soprano until I was 12. Speaking from personal experience, yes unchanged boys voices sound exactly like they do in the movie. Some others on IMDb have questioned how or if boys can sing that high. The unchanged voices in the film provide a certain nostalgia for me since my days as a soprano are long gone. The pieces are well chosen on both sides. Keeping with the theme of music, the film accurately shows the two ends of the spectrum from classical to blues as depicted by Taylor's world and Landy's world, respectively. I've done the solo of Laudate Dominum that Taylor does in the opening scene of the movie. For someone in my position, the music sung by the Blanton boys was so relatable. I was 10 when this movie came out and in a boychoir at the time.
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