An Analysis of Dirty Dancing

What makes a good movie? We so often declare a new film the best, simply amazing, and then, eventually, we either purchase it on DVD or forget about it. Dirty Dancing is one of the most iconic films of the eighties. This movie has it all-- Patrick Swayze, sensuality, romance, family drama, and impressive dancing. In addition to the obvious, there are a few very special details about this movie that make it so good. The plot and characters in Dirty Dancing are historically accurate, the sound track absolutely makes the movie, and the clothing is sexy and unique.

The year is 1963, and seventeen-year-old Frances “Baby” Houseman is on vacation with her wealthy parents and older sister, Lisa, at Kellerman’s Resort in the Catskills. Baby is off to college in the fall to get her degree studying the economics of underdeveloped countries, and then she wants to join the Peace Corps. Her father, Dr. Jake Houseman, works as a physician. Baby is bored of her safe life, always following the rules and being daddy's little girl. While at the resort, Baby meets and develops a crush on Johnny Castle, the dance instructor at the resort. However, her parents have other ideas for her summer romance, and his name is Neil Kellerman, the son of the resort owner. 

On one of the first days on the resort property, Baby runs into Johnny's cousin Billy. Billy is carrying quite a few water melons, so Baby offers to help him carry them into the staff's living quarters. When she walks in, she is very surprised to see the staff partaking in "dirty dancing." Johnny shows Baby how the dance is done, and by the end, she knows she has to see him again. Later that night, Billy tells Baby that Johnny's dance partner, Penny, is pregnant with another staff member's baby-- the same staff member that is seeing Baby's sister Lisa. Billy tells her that a man fresh out of medical school will be passing through Thursday and has agreed to perform an abortion for two hundred fifty dollars. Baby, wanting to help, lies and gets the money from her father. However, there's a catch. In order for Penny to have the abortion, someone needs to fill in as Johnny's dance partner for a competition on Thursday night. Billy convinces Johnny that Baby is the right person to do so, and Johnny spends the week teaching her to dance. 

During the time they spend together practicing, they fall in love with each other. They perform on Thursday night, and everything is swell...until they return to the resort. When they get back to the staff's quarters they find Penny in bed, sweating and in a lot of pain because of her botched abortion. Baby runs off to get her father, the doctor. He fixes Penny up, but he is very angry with Baby. The next morning he attempts to get his family to leave early, but he cannot convince Lisa, who wants to participate in the talent show. Later on, Johnny is accused of stealing a wallet, and in order to keep his job safe, Baby confesses to their relationship, which ends up getting him fired anyway. Johnny does, however, still perform the last dance at the talent show with Baby to the song "(I've Had) The Time of My Life," just one of the many songs that make this movie so iconic. 

Frances "Baby" Houseman

Johnny Castle

The soundtrack of Dirty Dancing absolutely makes the movie. It includes songs like "Do You Love Me" by Contours, "Hungry Eyes" by Eric Carmen, "Love is Strange" by Mickey and Sylvia, and, of course, the Dirty Dancing theme song "(I've Had) The Time of My Life." When I hear any one of these songs in particular, I always think of the scene that it's from. "Do You Love Me" by Contours plays in the scene where Baby first witnesses dirty dancing in the staff's quarters. She is completely shocked upon seeing it for the first time, and she wants to give it a try herself because it looks so sexy and rebellious. Hearing this song also reminds me of watermelons. Here's why: 

"Hungry Eyes" by Eric Carmen, surprisingly, still reminds me of this movie rather than the cheesy M&M commercials that it frequently appears in. Johnny is trying to teach Baby to dance so that she can fill in for Penny on Thursday night's performance. Penny guides Baby's body for part of the scene while Johnny teaches her to dance, and it is just incredible to watch because Baby is finally depicted as more than a teenager. She is also slowly falling in love with Johnny, hence the song. 

  

As Baby becomes more comfortable with the dancing and with Johnny, she starts to tease him using the same critical phrases her said to her while he taught her to dance-- "spaghetti arms; you're invading my dance space" and "where's that frame." In this fun but sensual scene, Baby and Johnny pretend to sing the duet in "Love Is Strange" by Mickey and Sylvia. 

Finally, the scene with the famous line "Nobody puts Baby in the corner," and the theme song "(I've Had) The Time of My Life." Throughout the movie, a short section of the piano part of this song plays in different scenes. The end of the movie is the only time this song plays in it's entirety and with lyrics. I think this is symbolic of Baby's coming of age because this is also the first scene where her parents really realize that she isn't a baby, like her nickname would imply. They are forced to acknowledge that Baby is all grown up. 

Another interesting element of this movie is that it is relatively historically accurate. For example, the reason Penny's abortion was kept secret was because in the 1960's abortion was illegal. According to author Carole Joffe, women who risked having an abortion at this time not only risked being punished by the law, but they also risked severe illness, loss of fertility, and even death. The movie depicts the danger of this very realistically. Another interesting detail to examine are the family dynamics. The father is (characteristic of this time period) the bread winner and the rule maker. The mother seems to be very out of the loop and does not have very much control over the family. She plays the role of the typical sixties house wife. Lisa is a very high-maintenance, traditionally a spoiled, rich, white teenager. Baby always follows the rules and defers to the authority of her father, at least until coming to the resort. 

One more thing I noticed related to historical accuracy while watching this movie was that in the sixties, a certain type of dancing was considered acceptable. All dancing was still very traditionally formal and calculated. According to Carl Hoffman, popular dances in the sixties include The Mashed Potato and The Twist, both of which do not involve a lot of touching between partners. This is why Baby was so surprised when she first saw the staff dirty dancing, and also why the staff had to keep it a secret. At the time, this was considered scandalous the same way grinding among teens at dances is viewed now. 

In addition to being historically accurate itself, the costuming in this movie is brilliant. Baby has a beautiful body, and her clothing just accentuates it. As the movie progresses, Baby starts wearing less and less, another symbol of her coming of age. 

Baby day 3

In this photo, Baby wears a plaid button up and white, high waisted skinny jeans. According to 1960's fashion blogger Sammy Davis, high waisted pants were very popular during the sixties, and they are making a comeback now. Plaid prints, then called madras, were standard then as well (Sharp). 

Baby day 4

Baby day 5

In the above photo, Baby wears high waisted jean shorts, white Keds, and a salmon colored leotard. 

Keds were actually first marketed as sneakers in the 1960's, so these shoes were a big staple of the time period. It is also evident in the photo that Baby is wearing significantly less than she was just shortly before. 

In the photo on the right, Baby is looking very seductive. She wears tan dancing tights, a high cut midriff shirt (if you could even call it one), and a black half leotard. She is even (to the evident disapproval of her father) wearing makeup. This marks one of the final transitions of Baby's growth in this movie.

If you haven't seen this movie yet, I highly recommend watching it. It has everything you could ever want in a movie: scandal, teen rebellion, beautiful actors and actresses (including PATRICK SWAYZE), a great soundtrack, historical accuracy, talented dancing, and amazing costuming. Go watch this movie ASAP, even if your only reason is to see Patrick Swayze's beauty for yourself. 

                                       Dirty Dancing Trailer

Works Cited: 

Baby from Dirty Dancing. Digital image. Dance Works. Danceworks, n.d. Web. 4 Oct. 2013.

Dirty Dancing. Dir. Emile Ardolino. Prod. Linda Gotteleib. Screenplay by Eleanor Bergstein. Perf. Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Grey. Vestron Pictures. 1987. DVD.

Dirty Dancing. Dir. Emilie Ardolino. Prod. Linda Gotteleib. Screenplay by Eleanor Bergstein. Perf. Jennifer Grey and Patrick Swayze. Vestron Pictures, 1987. DVD. Dirty Dancing 7. "Hungry Eyes". YouTube, 8 Oct. 2009. Web. 6 Oct. 2013.


Dirty Dancing. Dir. Emilie Ardolino. Prod. Linda Gotteleib. Screenplay by Eleanor Bergstein. Perf. Jennifer Grey and Patrick Swayze. Vestron Pictures, 1987. DVD. Dirty Dancing- Official Trailer (1987). YouTube, 21 Oct. 2010. Web. 1 Dec. 2013.

Dirty Dancing. Dir. Emilie Ardolino. Prod. Linda Gotteleib. Screenplay by Eleanor Bergstein. Perf. Jennifer Grey and Patrick Swayze. Vestron Pictures, 1987. DVD. Dirty Dancing- Staff Party. YouTube, 26 Oct. 2008. Web. 4 Oct. 2013.

Dirty Dancing. Dir. Emilie Ardolino. Prod. Linda Gotteleib. Screenplay by Eleanor Bergstein. Perf. Jennifer Grey and Patrick Swayze. Vestron Pictures, 1987. DVD. "Love Is Strange" Mickey & Sylvia. YouTube, 8 Oct. 2009. Web. 5 Oct. 2013.

Dirty Dancing. Dir. Emilie Ardolino. Prod. Linda Gotteleib. Screenplay by Eleanor Bergstein. Perf. Jennifer Grey and Patrick Swayze. Vestron Pictures, 1987. DVD. Dirty Dancing- Time of my Life (Final Dance)- High Quality. YouTube, 17 Jan. 2008. Web. 5 Oct. 2013.

Hoffman, Carl. "The Dance Crazes of the 1960s." The Official 60's Site- Dance Crazes of the 60s. 
N.p., n.d. Web. 2 Dec. 2013. 

Jennifer Grey, Dirty Dancing. Digital image. Dirty Dancing-Bilder-Cinema.de. Angebote Von Hubert Burda Media, n.d. Web. 5 Oct. 2013.

Jennifer Grey, Patrick Swayze Dirty Dancing. Digital image. PalZoo Celebrity Database. N.p., 31 Oct. 2010. Web. 5 Oct. 2013.


Lusk, Darian. "Dirty Dancing" (1987). Digital image. CBS News. CBS Interactive Inc., 26 June 2013. Web. 5 Oct. 2013.

Patrick Swayze ("Johnny Castle") Stars in Lionsgate Home Entertainment's DIRTY DANCING: LIMITED KEEPSAKE EDITION. Digital image. Lionsgate Publicity. Lionsgate, 2010. Web. 5 Oct. 2013.