What You Own

E663273

"What You Own" is a powerful duet from the musical Rent in which the characters Mark and Roger confront themes of identity, purpose, and the struggle to create meaningful art in a consumer-driven world.

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Statements (41)

Predicate Object
instanceOf song
associatedWork Rent (1996 original Broadway cast recording) NERFINISHED
basedOn La Bohème (indirectly, via the musical Rent) NERFINISHED
composer Jonathan Larson NERFINISHED
firstBroadwayProduction original Broadway production of Rent
firstProduction original Off-Broadway production of Rent
genre rock musical song
show tune
hasCharacterPerspective Mark’s struggle with selling out as a filmmaker
Roger’s struggle to write meaningful music while living with HIV
hasCulturalContext AIDS-era New York City arts community
late 20th-century American urban life
hasLyricLine “Connection in an isolating age”
“I don’t own emotion, I rent”
“You’re living in America at the end of the millennium”
hasMotif questioning “what you own” versus “what you are”
isFrequentlyPerformedIn Rent cast recordings
Rent stage revivals
language English
lyricist Jonathan Larson NERFINISHED
mediumOfPerformance voice
narrativeFunction duet of self-realization for Mark and Roger
marks turning point in characters’ commitment to their art
partOf Rent NERFINISHED
partOfAct Act II of Rent NERFINISHED
performerInStory Mark Cohen NERFINISHED
Roger Davis NERFINISHED
productionElement ensemble backing vocals in stage productions
rock-influenced instrumentation
theme alienation
artistic struggle
consumerism
creative integrity
identity
purpose
resistance to a consumer-driven society
search for meaning
vocalType male duet
workLocationInPlot Alphabet City NERFINISHED
New York City NERFINISHED
workType duet

Referenced by (1)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Broadway production of "Rent" notableSong What You Own
subject surface form: Broadway production of Rent