Overture

overture







Y

[oh-ver-cher, -choor] 



D



–noun 

1. an opening or initiating move 

toward 

negotiations, a new relationship, an agreement, etc.; a formal or informal proposal or offer: overtures of [peace]; a [shy] man who rarely made overtures of friendship.  



2. Music. 

a. an orchestral composition forming the prelude or introduction to an opera, oratorio, etc.

b. an independent piece of similar character. 

 

oratorio

–noun

an extended musical composition with a text more or less dramatic in character and usually based upon a religious theme, for solo voices, chorus, and orchestra, and performed without action, costume, or scenery.



3. an introductory part, as of a poem; prelude; prologue.

4. (in Presbyterian churches) 

a. the action of an ecclesiastical court in submitting a question or proposal to presbyteries. (長老)

b. the proposal or question so submitted.

 

–verb (used with object) 

5. to submit as an overture or proposal: to overture conditions for a ceasefire. 

6. to make an overture or proposal to: to overture one's adversary through a neutral party. 





　

As shaped here, Bettie's life is heavily determined by her unguarded acceptance of proposals made by men during chance encounters. 



One such key overture is made on a beach by a black cop who dabbles in photography. 



Not only do the innocuous photos he takes get Bettie's face and figure in print, but he redoes her hair with the bangs for which she would forever after be known.





ostensible

an ostensible cheerfulness [concealing] sadness. 

the ostensible [truth] of their theories. 

[Ostensibly] a commentary on modern life and the homogenization of urban culture

verisimilitude

having (merely) the appearance of truth

The play [lacked] verisimilitude. 

While one shouldn't look for [veri]similitude in a high school comedy

Umlaut