social class and dirty dancing essays

social class and dirty dancing essays Gender And Sexuality Play A Key Part Within The Film Dirty Dancing. Discuss. The film is set in the year of 1963, John F Kennedy was still president and the Vietnam War was not considered a threat, the Beatles had yet not reached America and the Freedom riders were on. In reality the well known and loved, cult girly film, and classic romance was made in 1987. There have been many attempts throughout the film to represent the time in which it was set and yet there are clear indications that the film is of a more modern make. Essentially the film could be classed as both a dancing film and a romance in its genre. It aims to demythologise the myth of the American dream by portraying fundamental rifts within societies thinking. The idea of a relationship occurring between the workers (working class) and upper classes is not a new subject, yet it is obvious that many issues raised within the film, show a deep argument about moral ideas posed by sex. The film opens with a stirring sound track with the montage of suggestive images in black and white gyrating across the screen. The viewer from the opening scenes maybe has an idea why the film is called dirty dancing. Right from the beginning it is clear that the majority of dancers are young, Caucasian, heterosexual couples. Within the view there is one black couple dancing with each other. Everybody appears to be equal in role when dancing. There is no swapping of partners and throughout the rest of the film each couple is for the majority, firmly set with that partner. The action begins with a Cadillac driving along a deserted road and a voice over explaining the year and name of the main character. Immediately we are alerted that the young girl is called Baby. The audience is also immediately aware of the desire of the character to have a man exactly like her father. The voice-over explains that and I thought I would never find a man as... [good] as ...