Strictly Ballroom Essay- Belonging
English essay:
People have the longing to belong and to be accepted by a group or community. A sense of Belonging can emerge from the connections and acceptance we have with other people, communities and the larger world. These ideas of belonging are represented in texts which explore aspects of belonging and an individual’s potential to challenge or improve a community group. The film ‘Strictly Ballroom,’ directed by Baz Lurhman, the film ‘Looking for Alibrandi’ directed by Kate Woods and the exaggerated true story of an African American youth’s fight to belong in the song “dance with the devil” by immortal technique all represent ideas of belonging formed by life experiences.
‘Strictly ballroom’ is a comedic ‘mocumentary’ set in the highly competitive world of ballroom dancing where the stereotypical plot follows an attractive male lead dancer Scott Hastings. He finds love with an ‘ugly-duckling’ female partner who dances from the heart. Within the ballroom dancing world in order to belong, creativity and individual ideas need to be sacrificed. The power held in the ballroom dancing world is by those who value tradition and fight to stop individuals such as Scott Hastings from breaking away from the norms and long held standards of behaviour. Barry Fife is the president of the dancing federation and will resort to anything to make sure that the current status of the dancing federation remains and is not altered.
In the first scene of the movie Scott is shown dancing in competition with his partner Liz. When he stumbles into a difficult situation he abruptly resorts to improvised “non-federation” dance moves, revealing the freedom of movement that Scott so greatly desires. The “flashy, crowd pleasing” steps shocks and disappoints Scott’s partner, Barry Fife the president, and his mother who dramatically states “did I fail him as a mother?” This dialogue is used to create satire and humour to show the audience just how seriously ballroom dancing is taken by
People have the longing to belong and to be accepted by a group or community. A sense of Belonging can emerge from the connections and acceptance we have with other people, communities and the larger world. These ideas of belonging are represented in texts which explore aspects of belonging and an individual’s potential to challenge or improve a community group. The film ‘Strictly Ballroom,’ directed by Baz Lurhman, the film ‘Looking for Alibrandi’ directed by Kate Woods and the exaggerated true story of an African American youth’s fight to belong in the song “dance with the devil” by immortal technique all represent ideas of belonging formed by life experiences.
‘Strictly ballroom’ is a comedic ‘mocumentary’ set in the highly competitive world of ballroom dancing where the stereotypical plot follows an attractive male lead dancer Scott Hastings. He finds love with an ‘ugly-duckling’ female partner who dances from the heart. Within the ballroom dancing world in order to belong, creativity and individual ideas need to be sacrificed. The power held in the ballroom dancing world is by those who value tradition and fight to stop individuals such as Scott Hastings from breaking away from the norms and long held standards of behaviour. Barry Fife is the president of the dancing federation and will resort to anything to make sure that the current status of the dancing federation remains and is not altered.
In the first scene of the movie Scott is shown dancing in competition with his partner Liz. When he stumbles into a difficult situation he abruptly resorts to improvised “non-federation” dance moves, revealing the freedom of movement that Scott so greatly desires. The “flashy, crowd pleasing” steps shocks and disappoints Scott’s partner, Barry Fife the president, and his mother who dramatically states “did I fail him as a mother?” This dialogue is used to create satire and humour to show the audience just how seriously ballroom dancing is taken by