Hairspray Essay

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The movie Hairspray was released in 2007, and it was directed by Adam Shankman. This movie stars Tracy Turnblad, a high school student who loves a dancing show on TV called the “Corny Collins Show.” Tracy learned and practiced dancing from some of the African American kids at school in detention. One day she skips school to go audition for an opening, and earns the open spot to be on her dream television show. At the start of her journey, Tracy is mocked and bullied by Amber who is a main star on the show. Amber’s mother, Velma Von Tussle, is no better, she shows she is racist, biased, and devious by not allowing African American dancers on the show except for one day a month. Amber and her mother are making it impossible for anyone else to get their way on the “Corny Collins Show”, so Tracy teams up with Motormouth Maybelle to try and integrate the show. …show more content…

Tracy also decides to stand up against the image the media has portrayed of her and run for Miss Teenage Hairspray. In the end, Miss Inez, who is Maybelle’s daughter, wins Miss Teenage Hairspray and Tracy announces the “Corny Collins Show” as now integrated everyday. The movie Hairspray has clear examples of several critical social issues, including racial tensions that led to social activism and clear examples of media bias. In the movie Hairspray, the characters' fight against racism lasts for the entirety of the film and shows the true animosity in Baltimore in the 1960’s. According to Black Baltimore: A New Theory of Community, after the Civil War, black leaders successfully expanded their impacts on some political stances, but black owned businesses and programs were never seen to be an option (Mcdougall, 1993, pg. 45. The syllable of the syllable. This shows how Baltimore and most other cities in the U.S. looked down on African Americans and their participation in daily

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