Two Movies, Two Social Issues

[eumelia]

Take the Lead - Ballroom Dancing in the Ghetto
Directed by Liz Friedlander
Written by Dianne Housten
First billing:
Antonio Bandera
Alfre Woodward
Rob Brown
Ya-Ya DaCosta

First of all it is a very entertaining movie, it's always fun to see talented dancers dancing to good music and making it look easy. It's easy to see why ballroom dancing has reared it's flamboyant face in the past few years in cinema and in dance lessons over the globe.
Antonio Banderas was great (and pretty as always), but then he's very talented and can do practically anything so long as his character speaks with a Spanish accent.
The movie was full of pretty people (Ya-Ya DaCosta, Rob Brown and Katya Virshilas) and positive body images (no one told the larger school kids they needed to lose weight in order to dance).

"Take the lead" was a very Hollywood looking attempt to show that all disadvantaged kids need in order to escape the Ghetto is to apply themselves and get motivated about something. It completely disregards the vicious cycle of poverty, abuse and bad education thrust upon these children that was thrust upon their parents, grand-parents by a White society bent on keeping it's Coloured members subdued.
The film, while showing off the talent of these "poor coloured kids" implies that they would have never been able to tap into that pool of potential of it weren't for the White French-Spaniard who came to save the day.

The most talented dancer in the picture (in my opinion) is not only white, she is blond, blue eyed, tall and an Aryan ideal, despite the fact that everyone in the film danced beautifully, the Aryan chick danced the best, Antonio Banderas showed her off as something to aspire to, she is what we must be; Tall, blond, thin and White.

I suppose I am looking too deeply into this very light, commercial flick, but since I am unable to view any form of media without instinctively searching for social implications that's what I came up with.

A good, fun all rounder - if you like music and dancing, this is a great movie, if you like, music, dancing and are of like mind as I and cannot help but search for social injustices, it's fun while it lasts.


Kinky Boots - Real Men Walk in Stilettos
Directed by Julian Jarrold
Written by Geoff Dean & Tim Firth
First billing:
Joel Edgerton
Chiwetel Ejiofor
Linda Bassett

Classic story of Fathers, Sons, the relationship between men and women and between men and men.
The plot was too classic, boy grows up, leaves town and disappoints father, father dies, boy takes over business, only business is not as good as boy thought.
So, in essence, he goes to London in order to be inspired and nothing inspires the straight laced, oxford shoe making boy more than a blood red stiletto heal. Worn by a 5'10 tall drag queen.

So funny, the situations Northampton boy gets into with London drag queen. Lola/Simon is especially good, it seems that all the best actors become drag queens at some point in their careers (Dustin Hoffman, Robin Williams, Hugo Weaving, Patrick Swayze, Wesley Snipes and more), he was just so spot on.
We also see the old prejudices Trans' people have to deal with, especially from the so called enlightened allies.

"Kinky Boots" is based on a true story, of a shoe factory moving from the aged old tradition of Oxford shoe for a specific kind of man (a "man" who doesn't really exist anymore, or at least has evolved beyond the Oxford look) to a different kind of man (some of whom would be offended to be called so).
Tran' issues are getting more and more publicity and I think it's great that they are showing such a positive angle on Tran' visibility, that they are not side show freaks as they are so often depicted in the media and that they are in fact individuals, consumers in the market.
And in our consumerist world there is no better way to show it.