Product: Dirty Dancing (1987)
Rating: 4.0
Class Prejudice: The Dirty Dancing Saga
Even though I was 11 years old when this movie came out in 1987, I knew there was something magical about the story. What a glorious time during those "Wonder Years" of the late 80's. So, here you have a movie that takes place in the 60's but uses 80's music during the pivotal scenes. That is the first strange aspect of this film. This movie proves one thing, and as a white suburban male I can say this with experience and accurate observation: The suburbs are overly predictable, boring, and the birthplace of aesthetically bland and mind numbing activities as shown in the recreational activity scenes of this movie.As a political scientist college graduate, I appreciate the outright class prejudice that this movie teaches us about. You have the White suburban family lead by the following characters: a physician father with all the expectations and prejudies that typically characterize most wealthy suburbanite males , the passive, somewhat attractive but emotional mother, the dumb sexually active sister, and of course Baby, the liberal, soft spoken, and sexually frustrated "daddy's girl".Then you have Patrick Swayze in his breakout homo-erotic role as a bus boy who is the gigolo for Westchester County Socialites who crave slumming with the blue collar crowd. Swayze's character is both the alphamale (as a dancer) and the lost mamma's boy in search of Baby's characer who will fill the void in his life left by the stagnancy of his own lower class existence.So what ultimately is the point of this movie?? Well, rich liberal suburban girls love to dance with blue collar men who make them hot and bothered in ways the country club set could not possibly do on any given Sunday. I love this movie as a guilty pleasure because I am elated when the class lines are blurred and conventional stereotypes are deflated by people with honest emotions and sincere intentions. If Patrick Swayze's character was Black, well then!!!, this would be the movie to beat in all genres because as is well known, the greatest fear of white suburban parents like those portrayed in this movie is that their innocent little girl will get corrupted by the black man with rhythm. So if Swayze's character was black, this movie would not have been the success that it is... thus proving that back in 1987 we were still 1,000 yrs away from meaningful racial tolerance. Now, I'VE HAD THE TIME OF MY LIFE writing this review.