Critical Context

For Dirty Dancing I read the article titled: "You don't own me!:" Dirty Dancing as teenage rite-of-passage film" by Sian Lincoln. In the article the author goes through all of the main points in the film that can be seen as rite-of-passage moments for Baby. Some of the ones she referenced were: losing ones virginity, holiday romances, being with an older guy, finding yourself, defying ones parents, among others. Lincoln describes how these are all critical points in a teenagers life and they are important for one to taking the step into adulthood. I would have to say that the author analyzed the film quite well and I feel the points she brings up really do demonstrate a lot of the struggles that teenagers go through in this transition period. Although I feel like going through all of these struggles like how it happens in the film is a little exaggerated, simply because everything happens in the period of a few weeks while some of these things happen over a period of years in the real world. But we can't sit and watch a movie for that long so I understand where the filmmakers are coming from. Again on the authors point I feel this film like many other films of the time do a really good job of showing what a lot of regular people go through as they move from teenagers to young adults. Also after having read Lincoln's article there were a lot of details in the film that I simply missed since I have only seen the film once. Little bits and pieces of the characters that I missed are now more pronounced and a lot of the issues and topics in the film make a lot more sense. For the most part I would have to say that I agree with Lincoln's take on the film and what it represents to a lot of women (and perhaps men as well) that are growing up and dealing with many of these issues firsthand.

Lincoln, Sian. ""You Don't Own Me!": Dirty Dancing as Teenage Rite-of-Passage Film" The Time of Our Lives: Dirty Dancing and Popular Culture. Eds. Yannis Tzioumakis and Sian Lincoln. Detroit: Wayne State UP, 2013. 131-146.

Multimedia Connection

A coming of age film that I feel resonates well with Dirty Dancing is the movie The Breakfast Club. Like Baby's character each of the characters from this classic 80's flick grows immensely over the course of the film. They all learn more about each other while sitting in detention for a day and more importantly they learn a lot about themselves. I feel this film has a lot to say about what growing up is really about. Letting stereotypes go and really being more open to everyone around you plays a big part to this film and I feel like it applies to Dirty Dancing as well. Baby learns from the conflicts in the movie about what is truly important to her and it helps her character grow as a whole. The five main characters of The Breakfast Club go through this process as well and each look inside and learn what matters most to them and grow because of it. I feel like the similarities between these films ends there but they both promote their own ways about what it really takes to take that step into adulthood and to know what one really wants from life.

Source Cited:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0088847/

Reader Response

IMDb: Nearly every review I read on the film gave it a perfect score. Praising things such as the character development and depth to the level of acting each person brought forth. The only thing that came even close to a negative comment on the film was that the story was a little cheesy and fairly predictable. Viewers found the relationship between Baby and Johnny captivating and their on screen chemistry mind-blowing. I would agree mostly that a lot of effort was put into developing believable characters from different backgrounds in this film. A lot of the major plot points bring up issues that can spark a lot of debate and I don't really find them to be cheesy or cliché.

"I viewed this movie for the first time last night and I enjoyed every aspect of it –the dancing, the acting, the dialogue, the plot, the script and the whole atmosphere that this movie created. I would highly recommend it."


Rotten Tomatoes: The ratings were a little more varied on here. Many critiques of the film again were on how cheesy it was and that it was even embarrassing to watch Swayze and Grey dance together. Others still noted that the film is a classic that touched on sensitive issues of the time such as abortion and the Vietnam/Communist situation. I felt like perhaps more seasoned film critics commented on here rather than on IMDb where it sounds like it was more fangirly.

"A great soundtrack and dancing scenes....but is that it? After all the hype I expected a lot more!"

Amazon: A lot of the reviews here were similar to those of IMDb. Praising nearly every aspect of the film to the plot and characters to the dancing and music as well. Very high reviews were given from countless people. To most of them I would agree. I felt the dancing was choreographed very well and the music always fits the mood of the scene.

"It is awfully hard not to get swept up into the nostalgic heat and sentiment of this unabashedly, and well-done, teen romance. It is, by turns, sexy, funny, melodramatic, jamming (what with that soundtrack chock full of some of the best pop hits of the 60s mixed with a few great new songs) and campy. Yet the overriding feeling of melancholy and wistfulness, portrayed with real talent by Jennifer Grey, as the perfect Baby, transforms this movie into something lasting, something to really love."





Works Cited:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0092890/reviews?ref_=tt_ov_rt
http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/dirty_dancing/reviews/?type=user
http://www.amazon.com/Dirty-Dancing-Jennifer-Grey/dp/B000IDGBWU/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1399585582&sr=8-1&keywords=Dirty+Dancing

Personal Synthesis and Feminist View

The film Dirty Dancing was released on August 21, 1987. It is seen by many as a classic of the era. There are many topics touched on in the film that can be seen as controversial and worth discussing. A major one is the distinction of socio-economic class displayed in the film. Baby and her family come from a more upper-class background and that is apparent from early on in the film. Also the wait staff of the resort also come from an upper-class background. The distinction comes from the entertainers that work at the resort. Most of them come from a more middle or lower class background. The owner of the resort makes this distinction apparent on several occasions and the relationship that Baby and Johnny form is seen as taboo by many of the people there. Another large issue that takes place in the film is the abortion that Penny goes through. At the time the film takes place abortion is not yet legal in the country so they must keep it a secret from Baby's father as well as other members of the resort. This decision to help Penny ultimately leaves Baby at odds with her father as he doesn't agree with her choice to help them. Another topic of debate for the film is that it describes the coming of age points in the lives of teenagers. There are many points in the film where you can see Baby's character grow as a person and it leaves up to debate whether or not anyone would have to go through those things to be considered an adult as well. Does one have to have sex as a teenager to say they've grown up? Or disobeyed their parents? These are some of the things that Baby goes through and by the end it is easy to tell that she has grown as a person.