Class Topics

During class we had the chance to analyze the film a little bit. We talked about different things that they showed in the film and we talked about in class. One of those is different socio-economic class which we saw a great deal in the movie. One of the ways we saw this was simply by what they wore in the movie. The higher class usually had very nice clothes on that were generally a lighter color. While the lower class usually had black on which we saw quite a bit with Johnny—black top, black pants, black leather jacket, black shades on. Also the way the different classes danced in the movie. The higher class danced to a lot slower less sexual music, while lower class was all like grinding and sexual dancing.

We also talked about the topic of abortion. In the movie Penny gets pregnant from Robbie. She originally thinks that they had something, but Robbie proves he just wanted some action. So Penny decides to get an abortion and Robbie agrees with this decision. When we talked about this in class we discussed about who should have the say to get an abortion. In a case like this where the two won’t stay together I think it should be Penny’s decision (even though abortion is illegal at this time). Due to the fact that she will be the one going through labor and Robbie really won’t be around and also he doesn’t want anyone to know about it.

One of the last topics of the movie we discussed in class was the part about coming of age and how dancing really shapes Baby into Frances. She comes into the summer camp as a daddy’s girl who is focused on helping the world and interested in her education, but before she knows it she is with a man-- that her dad does not approve of at first—and dancing really steps in and takes place of her education. I think this is a common theme where the “good girls” go after the “bad guys” in hopes to catch a thrill in a sense. I have also seen this in real life, but most of the time the ending is a lot different than the movie. In the movie Frances seems to change Johnny just as much as Johnny changes Frances. Johnny seems to be less of the kind of guy where he wants sex from all these different girls and Frances becomes more out-going and living for the day in a way. In real life what I have seen is the “good girl” starts taking on very bad roles such as drugs and forgets about her parent’s thoughts and cares about their boyfriend. While in the movie Frances’ dad takes on a liking to Johnny towards the end of the movie.

The Sandlot

The coming of age theme is one that is seen quite often and in one movie I'd like to talk about in particular, The Sandlot. The similarities between this theme in the two movies is pretty clear. In Dirty Dancing we see Babe become Frances through dancing. She becomes her own person and really puts education down for Johnny and dancing. Which leads her to find herself and become someone she never thought she'd be and with someone she'd never thought she'd be with. Earlier in her life, she always listened to what her dad wanted and used him for guidance and then all of a sudden she starts to become her own person. In The Sandlot we see this same thing only this time with something other than dancing, that is baseball. In the beginning of the movie we see this somewhat nerdy kid who is un-athletic, that is Scotty Smalls or as known in the movie, Smalls. we see him first playing with some ball course he set up himself showing his creativity and smarts just like we saw Babe reading a book in the beginning of Dirty Dancing. But then Scotty changes, he starts to play baseball just like Babe gave up her reading to start dancing. Scotty starts thanks to his friend Benjamin Franklin Rodriguez, again just like Babe was influenced by Johnny. Scotty then becomes a more athletic character who focuses on hanging with friends and playing baseball. Something he more than likely would not have experienced if he hadn't moved to that town just like Babe more than likely wouldn't have experienced what she did if she didn't go to that summer camp.

In The Sandlot we get to see something that we don’t in Dirty Dancing and that is what happens after all is said and done. For Dirty Dancing we can only use our minds to predict what happens after the summer is over and I think for most of us with a more optimistic attitude would assume that Johnny and Babe stick together and live happily ever after and also continue to do what she learned to love at summer camp and that is dance. In The Sandlot we get to see Smalls really do what he learned to love that summer which is announce baseball. This is something that really would never have happened if he hadn't moved to that town.

All in all in both movies we see this theme of two young kids really molding themselves into adults through their experiences that they have. Before this they seemed to be lost and now they have found out who they are and want to be. 

Critical Context- Dirty Dancing: Feminism, Postfeminism, and Neo-Feminism-- Hilary Radner

In Hilary Radner’s scholarly essay on Dirty dancing called, Dirty Dancing: Feminism, Postfeminism, and Neo-Feminism, she talks about how the movie is about a girl becoming of age and finding out who she really is and meanwhile it is also about abortion. Radner makes some good points about what it means for Baby to become Frances in the movie.

In the beginning of the movie we hear Frances talking and she starts off by saying how everyone called her baby and she didn’t mind, but maybe should have. Radner points to feminism in two ways, “Feminism, on the one hand, might have taught Frances that she should ‘mind’ if someone called her ‘Baby.’ On the other, feminism might also have sustained her interest in the study of economics and oppression” (Radner 137). The fact that Frances really did nothing when people called her baby could indicate she was in a sense afraid to say something due to her being a girl rather than a boy. In a way she understood her place as a girl back then to not really speak out about things and just take in her gender assigned role at that time. At this same time, Frances was worried about her education and want to become somebody and help the world. We see her right away in the beginning reading a book, but we do not see that book again later in the movie. Instead, we see her take on a different activity which is dancing. Through dancing is when she really has the chance to find out who she really is and part of that has to do with Johnny. Johnny is the one who teaches her how to dance and instead of Frances worrying about her education; she starts to focus on having fun and making life long experiences. This is very similar to what Radner had to say, “The book does not return in later sequences, and the film’s joyful concluding dance appears to signify the triumph of experience over education” (137). Through all of this, Frances really becomes Frances. She goes against what people generally see her as which is the daddy’s girl that really does nothing wrong and will achieve greatness in life. But she then meets Johnny and against her dad’s approval at first, is with Johnny and has her first sexual encounter with him. Both of these experiences shape who Frances is when she is with Johnny. Radner believed dancing and Frances’s first sexual interaction with him built that relationship, “Their relationship evolves around two significant experiences that they share: the first, Frances’s initiation as a dancer; the second, her sexual awakening” (139). But all in all, this relationship leads Frances to do things that she may have never really done like going against her dad.

I really agree with mostly every point that Radner makes throughout her article. The fact that Johnny not only had an impact on Baby becoming Frances, but their relationship as a whole had an impact on that too. We see how Frances goes from a girl who didn’t speak out to one that does and also makes her own choices of who she wants to be and who she wants to be with.

Radner, Hilary. "Dirty Dancing: Feminism, Postfeminism, and Neo-Feminism." The Time of Our Lives: Dirty Dancing and Popular Culture. Eds. Yannis Tzioumakis and Sian Lincoln. Detroit: Wayne State UP, 2013. 131-146.

Reader Response

Goodreads—4.2/5

On Goodreads the most common comment that people had to say was that they liked the book and the movie. Having a 4.2/5 average is not bad at all for a book. Many people also said how they do recommend everyone to read it. One of the comments that struck my eyes was someone said, “One of my ALL TIME favorite movies”--iheartjohnny. This quote really speaks for itself, saying that it’s one of their all time favorites obviously means they really liked it. Not too much more to it than that.

Even though it had a good overall rating, there are some people that still did not like it and wished it would have ended and the movie overall just wasn’t good. These people also said they did not really like the acting. I think the fact that they did not like the actors going into the movie gave them a bad impression of the movie even before they saw it, resulting in a bad review.

Barnes and Noble—5/5

At Barnes and Noble the reviews were even better. Dirty Dancing received a 5/5 average. People again said it’s a must see and a must read and talked about how great the movie was. One comment that I saw was, “It’s a timeless love story!”--Anonymous. To me it’s interesting that someone would say this because it’s much more than a love story if you read into it. But by this person simply recognizing it as a love story indicates to me that he has no strong opinion about the different topics we discussed such as feminism and abortion.

On this website it was very interesting that I couldn't find any bad review comments. Out of all the people that voted only two people gave it under a 4 star rating, and both of those didn't explain why they gave it a low rating. I can only assume they just didn’t like it and didn't have specific reasons.

Amazon—4.7/5

Once again Dirty Dancing received great reviews having a 4.7/5 average. And like on all of the other websites people were saying how it’s a must see and a must read and a classic. One interesting quote was, “I can watch this movie over and over again and I love it!”--Randi T. Grogan-Mustange. This seems to be a classic response of many people throughout each website. It seemed to receive a lot of love. But seeing as how people ignored the fact of it being more than just a love story, makes me ponder whether or not if they focused on those certain elements of the movie would have some sort of change for their opinions for it.

I found some bad reviews on amazon and the reasons for the bad reviews were very similar to those on Barnes and Noble. One person said, "This movie annoyed me on so many levels… Bad music, bad actors, and so on"--Amazon Customer. I thought the music they played in the various scenes throughout the movie were perfect. They all had a meanings for the situation they were played. I also thought the acting was very good.

For me personally, I would give this movie about a 3/5. It was a good movie with a good story line, but it is not something that I particularly would have watched if I had a choice to pick. Even with that said, I am glad I got to see such a classic movie, I really had no idea how much people like this movie even with the emergence of the insight to the abortion debate and feminism and sex. It brings out a whole lot more than just being a love story.