Hairspray

 

Hairspray holds a special place in my heart because it was the first musical I had ever seen on Broadway. When I found out they were making a movie out of it, I nearly died of happiness. Hairspray was my favorite musical, and it was finally coming to the big screen. Not to mention, I had a huge crush on Zac Efron (he was all the rage back in 2007). Despite being a movie-musical filled with laughter and fun, Hairspray also tackled some deeply rooted issues in American society. It talks about issues such as body image, equality, and racism. 

Originally based on the musical adaptation, Hairspray focuses on the story of Tracy Turnblad, an overweight young lady living in Baltimore, Maryland. More than anything in the world, Tracy wanted to be a part of the “Corny Collins Show,” which was basically a bunch of white kids singing and dancing on daytime television. Tracy finally gets her shot to be on the show after one of the dancers gets injured, and she quickly gains the attention of the general public. She becomes one of the most popular dancers on the show, outperforming the “popular” kids such as Link Larkin and Amber Von Tussle. Even though she was living out her dream, Tracy still felt like she didn’t really fit into the Corny Collins crew, because of her size. She was clearly being criticized, particularly by Amber’s mother, Velma Von Tussle. Suddenly, Tracy finally understood what it meant to be an outsider. Her story parallels to those of her black classmates, who are clearly segregated from the white community. Some the black people she befriends actually appear on the Corny Collins show, even if it is just for a day. Throughout the course of the movie, Tracy realizes that the society that she lives in isn’t really accepting of people who are different from the “norm,” particularly her black peers. She fights for civil rights for her black peers, pushing the idea of integration on the Corny Collins show. What started out as a movie about fun and dancing turns into a powerful story about race, equality, an integration. Hairspray teaches its audience how to be open to people’s differences, because in the end, we’re all just humans who deserve to be treated in the exact same way.

Hairspray is ultimately a story about equality among American people. This movie shows how in American culture, you’re typically judged by the way you look or the color of your skin. Unfortunately, there are people in this society that treat you like you’re less than them solely because you don’t fit the “typical, white, American teenager” mold. This movie takes place right at the peak of the civil rights movement, when Jim Crow laws were being abolished and more schools were trying to integrate white and black students. This movie communicates the main message of the civil rights movement, which is that everyone deserves to be treated the same way and to be given the same opportunities despite the way they look. The size of your jeans or the color of your skin should not determine the way you treat a fellow human being. Though race and size are the two most prominent physical features of a person, they shouldn’t be the cause of disrespect or hostility towards other people. Everyone is made differently, and therefore alienation due to these physical features is unacceptable and unjust. Hairspray conveys the American value of equality, and it teaches its audience how to accept their fellow Americans for the way that they are.

Although I feel like Hairspray is a fair representation of race relations in 1960’s America, some people seem to disagree. Check out this article talking about the poor portrayal of race in Hairspray.

Favorite Quote: “I think I’ve kind of been in a bubble… thinking that fairness was gonna just happen. It’s not. People like me are gonna have to get up off their fathers’ laps and go out and fight for it.”