The Role of Dancing in the Portrayal of Movie Characters - Essay Example

The Role of Dancing in the Portrayal of Movie Characters Dancing s always played a major role in the lives of people. While not being used in the context of ancient civilizations, in today’s society, dancing does not only serve a purpose for the spectators, but also to the performers as well. Dancing serves them in many ways, aside from supporting them financially it also allows them creative input, as well as in shaping their way of living. In addition, their chosen dance style reflects a part of themselves, and in a way this shows their audiences a deeper look into their own soul. Due to the dynamic nature of dancing, many dance films were created to show the complexities in the lives of dancers, as well as how their lives were shaped or changed through dancing, and a lot of which were appreciated by most movie-goers as shown by box office ratings and total worldwide grosses. In this paper, two movies about dancing are compared, Save the Last Dance (2001) and Black Swan (2001) which both show dancing as the driving force not just in the plot, but also in changing the lives of the characters portrayed. The dance films Save the Last Dance and Black Swan are high quality films that feature love of dance and how it is related to a person’s upbringing, social status, and character building. The two films are both considered to be high-quality films despite being labeled as independent films, or “indies” due to the high grosses during the release, the number of awards given to and nominated for, as well as the competence of the actors, the actresses, and the directors. In spite of having production budgets roughly around $10,000,000, both movies did very well in the box office and easily recovered the expenses incurred, with Save the Last Dance totaling a lifetime gross of $131, 706, 803 (Box Office Mojo – Save the Last Dance), and $329, 443, 368 for Black Swan (Box Office Mojo – Black Swan). Both movies did very well in the box office, but also won various awards as well. In 2001, Save the Last Dance received numerous awards such as the Teen Choice Awards for Choice Actress (Julia Stiles), Choice Breakout Scene (Kerry Washington), and Choice Fight Scene (Julia Stiles and Bianca Lawson), as well as winning the Young Hollywood Award for Standout Performance -Male (Sean Patrick Thomas) (“Save the Last Dance – Awards”). It also won in the MTV Movie Awards in 2001 for Best Kiss (Julia Stiles and Sean Patrick Thomas) and Breakthrough Male Performance (Sean Patrick Thomas). Black Swan also received awards as well, not just from award-giving bodies in the United States, but also from around the world. Among these are: AFI Awards Movie of the Year (2011); Academy Awards Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role (Natalie Portman); Best Foreign Film in the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences of Argentina; Excellence in Production Design Award from the Art Directors Guild; Blue Ribbon Award for Best Foreign Film; Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role (Natalie Portman); and the Venice Film Festival for Marcello Mastroianni Award (Mila Kunis) (Black Swan – Awards”). The number of awards received by the actors and actresses in the two movies attest to the excellent performance of the cast, and their skills in the portrayal of characters were able to carry the films through despite the considerably low budget for both films. Also, the actors and actresses were able to show their versatile acting skills that strongly convinced viewers of the emotions that were felt by the characters that they portray. Their skills were recognized not just by the award-giving bodies, but also the audiences that watched them, since it is a common fact that most films that were able to show true emotions win awards as well as the admiration of the audiences. Aside from the movies having good credentials, both for the directors as well as the actors that played in it, the plots were also convincing enough that many people can actually relate to most events in the film. As an example, both films were able to show that the kind of dance style the actors portrayed in both Save the Last Dance and Black Swan were able to reflect the kind of upbringing and the social status of the main characters. In Save the Last Dance, Sara Johnson’s character played by Julia Stiles is a ballerina, as is Nina Sayers, played by Natalie Portman in Black Swan. In both movies, ballet is portrayed as the kind of dance style that mostly appeals to the elite, and is considered to be elegant and sophisticated (“Black Swan”; “Save the Last Dance”). The lead female characters of both movies, Sara and Nina respectively were shown to have an elitist upbringing, despite not actually being elite themselves. Black Swan is mostly about ballet alone, but in Save the Last Dance it shows another kind of dance style which is hip-hop, and this style caters more to people living in the inner city or to non-elite, as portrayed in the movie (“Save the Last Dance”). This dance style is much free and less controlled than ballet, which makes it appealing to the common people, thus it was shown to be a less classy dance technique. Both lead characters in the two movies not only do ballet for themselves, but also because they were both influenced by their mothers. Their attachments to their mothers fueled their passion for the dance, as well as in choosing to live their lives for dancing ballet. However the effects of being passionate for ballet and their ties to their mothers were different for the two female protagonists. In Save the Last Dance Sara loses her drive for the dance after her mother dies while trying to get to her audition, while in Black Swan Nina’s relationship with her controlling mother and the pressure to perform well for her gradually causes her to have hallucinations and develop a mental illness, which eventually kills her in the movie. Thus, while both movies were able to show the relationship of the leading roles to their mothers, these also show that in one movie, the mother-daughter relationship was a positive and a productive one, while in the other movie the relationship is somewhat dysfunctional and destructive. Aside from being portrayed as perfectionists on their own, both movies also show how the lead roles must be able to adjust to the demands of the dance group that they belong to. In Black Swan, Nina had the pressure of combining a tight and controlled performance with a loose and sensual style since she had to play dual roles in the production of Swan Lake. In the same way, Sara also had to adjust to the freer style in hip-hop, which she initially had difficulties of doing since she was dancing ballet for most of her life. However, both protagonists had to outperform their old selves and to adjust their dancing as to what is required to satisfy not just the dance troupe members but also the choreographers and troupe leaders as well, since their roles were integral to the success of the performances. Both movies not only show the intricacies of how dancers think, but also as to how their love for dancing, themselves, and others become factors to continue dancing despite the odds. This was exemplified in Save the Last Dance by Sara after she rediscovers her ballerina self after experiencing a whole new dance style, as well as falling in love with a man from a different racial background. She also comes to terms in remembering why she loves to dance, and attributes this to her mother’s love and support. This becomes her fuels for pursuing the dance school she auditioned in previously and failed at, where she eventually gets accepted in (“Save the Last Dance”). In Black Swan however, personal issues cause Nina’s love for ballet to falter, as she had to gain the love of both her mother and the director through her dancing and in keeping in proper shape. She did her very best to dance perfectly, despite having her abdomen stabbed by a shard of glass and bleeding right inside her white costume. In the end, she was only able to feel loved after giving an all-out performance and hearing everyone’s applauds and praises, including her mother’s and the audiences (“Black Swan”). In both movies, the need to feel loved and having felt love were strong enough to fuel strong performances, whether on a stage production or in an audition for dance schools. Not only were Save the Last Dance and Black Swan able to show how dancing becomes a way of life for the dancers, but also the two movies showed similar points in dance portrayal. In both Save the Last Dance and Black Swan for example, dancing is not shown as something light and easy, but as a career that needs a high level of discipline in both mind and body. Regular practice was just as important as eating healthy, or staying slim, and that perfection is demanded at all times. The dancers must also be emotionally mature enough to take in negative comments on their performances, and to use these as a drive to do better despite the emotional scarring that comes along with it. Social status was also a key element in the similarities of the two movies. For both Sara and Nina, choosing ballet as their style of dancing shows that they belong to the middle to upper-classes, and ballet is mostly shown as an elitist dance form. In Save the Last Dance, hip-hop is portrayed as the dance that non- elite classes can appreciate since there are lesser rules and focuses more on free expression, which is not always shown in ballet. This movie is able to show a greater difference in the social status of the two protagonists over Black Swan as two different dancing styles as well as the different upbringing of the two main characters were shown, which was not shown in Black Swan. Nevertheless, both movies were able to agree on ballet as an elitist dance style that in mostly appreciated by the upper-classes due to its sophistication and elegance. During the course of the two movies, dancing is not just shown to be a driving force for living, but also as a motivator for character transformations. In both cases, the need to perform well pushes both main female actors to outdo their old selves, to adjust their dancing techniques as well as attitudes toward other people, to win the hearts of the people, as well as to achieve their goals. In Black Swan, the need to justify why she had the main role becomes Nina’s fuel to change her uptight and controlled dance moves into a much more loose and sensual style to fit the character of the Black Swan, and to clearly show how the two roles she plays differ. This in turn also changes her own personality and challenges her own beliefs, causing her hallucinations and breakdowns in the course of transformation. Sara’s character also had a major change in Save the Last Dance, since she not only had to survive living as a white girl in a community dominated by the blacks, but also to gain acceptance and respect in the dance group, STEPPS. This change was also evident after she regained her love for ballet, with new passion and reasons aside from moving past her negative experiences. In both movies, the passion for dancing becomes a key component of achieving a successful transformation of both the main female characters. Save the Last Dance and Black Swan are two movies which portray main characters as passionate and talented dancers, and both were considered to be award-winning as well as certified box office hits due to ticket sales revenue and the capacity of the cast. While the two movies are contrasted by the messages as well as the storylines, there are many similarities between the two which are easy to find. Aside from showing ballet as a dance style suited to the elite society, the two movies were also successful in portraying how dancers live, think, and become motivated. Also, the two movies show how dancing is influential for people, as well as to how it drives them for perfection, for changes, as well as for loving others. It is by dancing that both movies showed how hearts can be broken and mended, as well as in losing one’s mind in the course of changing for the better. Lastly, both movies were able to show viewers that dancing is a way of life, which influences how a person thinks, reacts, and decides. Thus, both movies successfully showed the audiences the inner workings of dance in shaping the minds of its practitioners, and in how chosen dance styles are influenced both by influential people such as parents as well as one’s social upbringing and social class. Works Cited Black Swan. Dir. Daren Aronofsky. Perf. Natalie Portman, Mila Kunis and Vincent Cassel. 2010. Motion Picture. Box Office Mojo. Black Swan (2010) - Box Office Mojo. 27 April 2013. Web. 28 April 2013. —. Save the Last Dance (2001). 27 April 2013. Web. 28 April 2013. IMDb. Black Swan (2010) –Awards. 2013. Web. 28 April 2013. —. Save the Last Dance (2001) – Awards. 2013.Web. 28 April 2013. Save the Last Dance. Dir. Thomas Carter. Perf. Julia Stiles, et al. 2001. Motion Picture. Read More