xxitalianxx

The exceptionally controversial film Dirty Dancing is a fitting example of a movie which contains many religious and moral topics. This film tells the story of a young girl (Baby), who is pretty much a "goody goody" her whole life up until one summer when she encounters a group of people unlike any she has met before. At a resort in which she vacationed with her family, she was intrigued by dance instructor Johnny and his "bad boy" image. This is a summer in which Baby is faced with moralistic issues ranging from premarital sex, deception, adultery, theft and abortion (to name a few).

Even the title of this film offers a sense of vulgarity which I connected with the type of dancing since it so close and the amount of body contact. They way the characters dressed were also very sexual with the frequent showing of flesh and the idea that this type of dancing hinted at sort of a foreplay act.

On the more religious aspect of the film, Baby lies to her father about needing money to help out a friend, something that she never had done to her father before. The reason for her lie is to help out a less fortunate cause. As if lying wasn't bad enough, the money she lied to borrow from her father was to go towards Penny's abortion. Another immoral act in the film involved the old married couple who stole from the members of the resort, this contributed to the many morally wrong acts that occur in the movie as well.

Although the film contains many religious and moral issues, it also tells a love story and shows the growth of a naive young woman as she is faced with the everyday problems that are a huge part of the world today. While she made some wrong choices herself, she learned from others mistakes and grew up throughout the whole process.

Despite the fact that Dirty Dancing contains a lot of moral issues which I do not agree with, but contrary to those facts I still enjoy the film. I believe the character learns from her own mistakes and the mistakes of others around her which ultimately would help shape her into an exceptional individual.

Top Hat was a very interesting movie. It wasn't the type I would go to blockbuster and rent. It didn't seem like the movie was fictional. The dance scenes in the movie connected to the mood of the dancer and what was going on in the story. You can tell that people thought hard about the dancing scenes before putting the movie out.

In one of the dance numbers Fred dances with Ginger and sings to her about heaven. Her dress and the background symbolized the theme of heaven. When the two were dancing they moved together and it seemed very peaceful and quit heavenly.

Another dance scene that I remember well is when the dancers were attached by a rope. In this scene Fred and Ginger were at a fancy restaurant eating and Ginger was singing about a man who was looking up in the sky at the stars. This foreshadowed the design the dancers would then create which was a star.

I thought the movie Top Hat was very thought out. The cameras viewed the dancers at the best angles appropriate at that time. Towards the end of the movie Fred had a scene that was interesting and entertaining. He danced in a manor that looked like he was shooting down the rest of the dancers behind him.

One thing that wasn't too fictional was when they were in one country one scene another country the next. Besides this bit of non-fiction it was a good movie that showed better dancing then the previous movie. Each scene had to do with the next.

After watching the film Stormy Weather (1943), it was clear that the Hollywood movie making industry was headed toward a new era. The new era being that colored actors were recognized and not only that, spiced up the industry. This movie shied away from the usual parts actors of color would normally play, parts in which they were slaves or butlers and servants.

This truly showed the breakthrough of African Americans in entertainment and paved the way for how successful many have presently become. Specifically in this movie, it told the story of how a man of color worked his way literally from the bottom up. It began with Bill Williamson who came home from war in France, and was working in a basement restaurant when fate stepped in and reunited him with his love interest. It was because of Selina that he was working in the city hoping to step foot into the dancing business. When she recognized him, she insisted to the show's producer that he be put in the show. This was Bill's break that got him out of a basement restaurant to the "top" of a tree in production. This is where Bill made the most of this opportunity and showed off his abilities but in turn got him fired from the show. But that was all he needed and he was on his way to stardom.

Twentieth Century Fox really broke the mold with this movie in response to FDR's urging. It finally gave actors of color the chance to show off their tremendous talent also allowing them to have more of an equal role in society. Although there still were laws restricting the interaction between whiles and blacks in films, it certainly brought them out of the repetitive demeaning roles of slaves and servants. It was thrilling to be able to see the talents of these actors and all the skills offered through their dancing and singing abilities. All of the dance numbers and costumes really represented the time period. The way the dancers moved were both creative and unique, especially the indisputably impressive Nicholas Brothers.