Comparing and Contrasting the Social Politics in Save the Last Dance (2001) and Step Up (2006)
The question this essay will be answering is: to what extent do ballet and hip hop
highlight the social politics, specifically the division between classes, that are present in the films
Save the Last Dance (2001) and Step Up (2006)? To prove this argument, sources from dance
studies will compare and contrast the two films presented. This essay will be discussing the
divisions between the wealthy versus the poor, “high” art versus “low” art, and ballet versus hip
hop. Ultimately, this essay will prove that the divisions are all being eliminated.
Save the Last Dance (2001) and Step Up (2006) are two dance films that have similar
storyline’s and send viewers similar messages. Save the Last Dance (2001) tells the story of a
middle class white girl named Sara, who after her mother’s death, is forced to live with her
musician father in Chicago. Sara’s lifestyle changes completely from middle class to lower class.
In her new school, she befriends Chenille and begins having a relationship with Chenille’s
brother, Derek. Sara is a ballet dancer, while Derek is a hip hop dancer. Derek ends up teaching
Sara hip hop and encourages her to reapply to the Juilliard school, after she didn’t make it the
first time she applied. Sarah does reapply and the audience sees how now she incorporates both
ballet and hip hop into her audition, with the audition panel being highly interested in her in
the end.
Step Up (2006) has a similar storyline. It begins with a lower class guy named Tyler. He
and his friends break into the Maryland School of Arts and destroy one of the theatres there.
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Save the Last Dance. Dir. Thomas Carter. Paramount, 2001.
Step Up. Dir. Anne Fletcher. Touchstone Pictures, 2006.
Van Dyke, Jan. “VANISHING: DANCE AUDIENCES IN THE POSTMODERN AGE.” Dance Chronicle 33.2 (2010): 208-230. JSTOR. Web. 11 Feb. 2014.
Winston, Andrew S., and Cupchik, Gerald C. “The Evaluation of High Art and Popular Art By Naive and Experienced Viewers.” Visual Arts Research 18.1 (Spring 1992): 1-14. JSTOR. Web. 11 Feb. 2014.
...ts was very distinguishable. This film captures this class distinction without subduing the atmosphere through the use of a variety of cinematic devices, “ A good film is not a bag of cinematic devices but the embodiment, through devices, of a vision, an underlying theme” (Barnett, 274). The audience can see this theme of the realities of the oppression, poverty and despair of this time period through the use of the things mentioned, but also through the character development that is driven by the character’s hopelessness. Each of the characters associated with the lower class is motivated by the conditions, which are viewed through the cinematic devices mentioned above: color, spherical lenses, long shots, and high angle shots.
Every dance that is created by a choreographer has a meaning and or purpose behind it. The dance choreographed could be used to send a political, emotional, or a social message. Regardless of the message being sent, each dance created possesses a unique cultural and human significance. This essay will examine and analyze two dance works from history and give an insight into what each dance work provided to the society of its time.
... social dance. Many people in today’s society enjoy social; dancing. Chapter eleven dance concert, properly planning and establishing a dance concert is of the utmost importance. The partnership with the lighting designer usually takes priority over all other factors. One of the most important issues concerning customers has to do with mobility. The dancer must be able to move comfortably in the costume. The task of producing a dance concert is an overwhelming and tiring one. Chapter twelve dance in education and career in dance, many dance educators present the argument that teaching and learning dance as an art form is obviously absent from the American student education. There has always been and always will be people who have a love, desire, and passion to instruct and learn the art of dance, will ensure an important place for dance in higher education.
Dance is an ever evolving form of art; in much the same way that one can categorize and differentiate between eras and styles of architecture one can also do so with dance. These eras at times have sharp delineations separating them from their antecedents, other times the distinction is far more subtle. Traditional forms of dance were challenged by choreographers attempting to expand the breadth and increase the depth of performance; preeminent among such visionaries was Seattle born dancer and choreographer Mark Morris. Mark Morris' began as one of the millions of hopeful individuals attempting to simply make a career in dance; he not only succeeded but managed to have a lasting effect on the entire landscape of dance.
Jensen, Jill Nunes. "Transcending Gender in Ballet’s LINES." When Men Dance: Choreographing Masculinities Across Borders (2009): 118.
Steve Paxton: Speaking of Dance – Conversations with Contemporary Masters of American Modern Dance. Academic Internet Video. Directed by Douglas Rosenberg. Oregon: Alexander Street Press, 1996.
Throughout the years, America has pursued the performing arts in a large variety of ways. Theatre plays a dramatic and major role in the arts of our society today, and it takes great effort in all aspects. Musical Theatre, specifically, involves a concentration and strength in dance, acting, and singing. This is the base that Musical Theatre is built upon. For my Senior Project, I helped choreograph multiple scenes in a community musical “Thoroughly Modern Millie”. Choreography is a way of expressing oneself, but it has not always been thought of for that purpose. Agnes de Mille’s expressive talent has drastically affected how people see choreography today. Agnes de Mille’s influence in the world of dance has left a lasting impact in the Performing Arts Department, and her revolutionary works are still known today for their wit, lyricism, emotion, and charm.
Stanley, Robert H. The Movie Idiom: Film as a Popular Art Form. Illinois: Waveland Press, Inc. 2011. Print
Foster, Gwendolyn Audrey. Class-passing : social mobility in film and popular culture (Carbondale : Southern Illinois University Press, 2005).
The capitalist ideas so prominent in the Reagan / Thatcher era are as clearly instilled in the youth of the 1980s films as their, usually middle class, screen parents. Only “Pretty In Pink” (and indirectly, “The Breakfast Club”) actually confronts class differences; in the other films, the middle class way of life is accepted as default. Almost every John Hughes film is set in affluent suburbia with the repetition of certain imagery (the big house, gardens and tree-lined quiet streets, and often a wood-paneled station wagon) with a certain population (rich, white families), which is reflected in the body of the attended, well-equipped schools.
For the dancer, music and choreography are paramount. The music guides the dancer, and the moves express the music. However, the dance has to start from somewhere.
In existential thought it is often questioned who decides what is right and what is wrong. Our everyday beliefs based on the assumption that not everything we are told may be true. This questioning has given light to the subjective perspective. This means that there is a lack of a singular view that is entirely devoid of predetermined values. These predetermined values are instilled upon society by various sources such as family to the media. On a societal level this has given rise to the philosophy of social hype. The idea of hype lies in society as the valuation of something purely off someone or some group of people valuing it. Hype has become one of the main driving forces behind what society considers to be good art and how successful artists can become while being the main component that leads to a wide spread belief, followed by its integration into subjective views. Its presence in the art world propagates trends, fads, and limits what we find to be good art. Our subjective outlook on art is powered by society’s feedback upon itself. The art world, high and low, is exploited by this social construction. Even when objective critique is the goal subjective remnants can still seep through and influence an opinion. Subjective thought in the art world has been self perpetuated through regulated museums, idolization of the author, and general social construction because of hype.
The film Class Dismissed is about a documentary video focusing on the various marginalized groups in the media. This film demonstrates how the working class are in their everyday lives and explore their cultural attitudes in the eyes of society. It generates the target towards African Americas, gay groups and women to be portrayed negatively or in a stereotypical perspective. The class system is well organized in terms of Marx’s theory which is displayed in characters in the media, as independent individuals but at the same time media has added their own perspective of the class of having difficulty fitting in with society and their own personality. According to Karl Marx’s theory of the class system, there are three stages of class (Brym, 2014). The first class consists of the Capitalist/Bourgeoisie who control the means of production; all things you need to produce. This class tends to have the most power and control the working class; they usually invest the money into a company for its machinery, land and raw materials. The second class are the Petite Bourgeoisie who maintains the system by producing ideology (2014). There people rely on the sales of their labour produced material for survival, their major sales are to the higher class of the Bou...
Every film can be related back to socially significant issues that occurred during the time it was released. It’s a snapshot of the issues during that time period. Film is not created in a vacuum. As described in our textbook, film “Conveys “the temper of an age of a nation” as well as that of the artists who produces it” (Belton 22). Films tend to reflect current society, country ideals or beliefs in order for the audience to relate. Some of those techniques used include, the American dream, family, corruption, divorce, and crime. If a director decides not include current social issues than it becomes harder for an audience to relate to the film because they will not be able to connect to the characters and get into their shoes. One film that encompasses all of these current social issues is American Hustle (David O. Russell, 2013). This film is a melodrama because of the context and social issues this film deals with. American Hustle has a social significance to today’s current culture, society, beliefs and social issues through the use of the American dream, corruption, divorce, crime and family.
Just as other works that reflect art, pieces in the category of fine arts serve the important message of passing certain messages or portraying a special feeling towards a particular person, function or activity. At times due to the nature of a particular work, it can become so valuable that its viewers cannot place a price on it. It is not the nature or texture of an art that qualifies it, but the appreciation by those who look at it (Lewis & Lewis, 2008).