Title: Hairspray
Medium: Movie (Musical/Comedy)
The movie Hairspray follows a young girl named Tracy Turnblad when she gets a chance to audition for her favorite show, “The Corny Collins Show”. Due to her weight, people are surprised and upset when Tracy gets the part; however, viewers end up loving Tracy and ratings for the show skyrocket. Although Tracy is provided with the chance to dance, many others still do not have the opportunity to share their talent. African Americans are only able to dance on the show once a month. Tracy recognizes this problem and decides to help fight for integration. Eventually, with the help of Tracy and many other supporters, “The Corny Collins Show” is successfully desegregated.
When watching Hairspray, I felt that the movie was not only engaging, but also conveyed a clear lesson about racism within our society. While the African American dancers were just as talented as everyone else, they were excluded from “The Corny Collins Show” due to the color of their skin. In seeing how certain characters treated the African American dancers, I believed that the movie accurately depicted racism in society. The restricted abilities and continuous mistreatment of the African Americans depicted them as the “other”. Additionally, the effects of racism were further understood due to the movie’s ability to connect the audience with the characters. By showing the individual’s relatable personalities, the audience created sympathy for the characters and developed a desire to help them. For instance, when Tracy gets detention we are able to see how many African American teens in the movie used detention as a chance to express themselves through music and dance. This made the audience admire the characters and the audience was able to contrast their happiness in the detention scene, to their despair in being isolated.
I was interested in the way that the movie demonstrated the character’s battle against racism. Although there was a struggle and clear sacrifice in order to achieve equality, I felt as though the movie made it seem that equality was easily achievable. In the movie, it does not take too long for “The Corny Collins Show” to become integrated, but in reality there has been an ongoing fight against racism for decades and still racism is still not completely abolished. For example, in class we read March by John Lewis, which highlighted decades worth of fighting against racism. The movie does not show how much and how long it actually takes to create equality. Overall, Hairspray shows the prevalence of racism in society and the need for change. While equality takes time and determination, it is obtainable if people work together to fight for the common goal.
Ebert, Roger. “Hairspray Movie Review & Film Summary (2007): Roger Ebert.” Hairspray Movie Review & Film Summary (2007) | Roger Ebert, www.rogerebert.com/reviews/hairspray-2007.
Shankman, Adam, director. Hairspray. 2007.