Films › Emile Ardolino

Dirty Dancing (1987)

Film

DirectorEmile Ardolino

Meta takes4

Figures

Locations

The social and spatial division between resort guests and staff
The film's Catskills resort setting
The film's 1980s nostalgic construction of its 1963 setting

Form & technique

The film's soundtrack, blending 1960s period music and 1980s pop songs

Tropes

Frances "Baby" Houseman's character arc → The Postfeminist Sensibility
The contrast between the "dirty" dancing of the staff and the formal ballroom dancing of the guests → The Grotesque Body
Penny Johnson's botched illegal abortion subplot → Narrative Prosthesis
Johnny Castle's character and his relationship with Baby → The Fragile Alpha

Films most connected to Dirty Dancing

The Notebook (2004) — via Narrative Prosthesis, The Postfeminist Sensibility, The Fragile Alpha
The Intouchables (2011) — via Narrative Prosthesis, The Fragile Alpha
Shrek (2001) — via The Postfeminist Sensibility, The Fragile Alpha
300 (2006) — via The Postfeminist Sensibility, The Fragile Alpha
Beauty and the Beast (1991) — via The Postfeminist Sensibility, The Fragile Alpha
Barton Fink (1991) — via The Grotesque Body
Fight Club (1999) — via The Grotesque Body
A History of Violence (2005) — via The Grotesque Body