The Time of My Life:Dirty Dancing (Pop Classics, 13)

by: Andrea Waer (Author)

Publisher: ECW Press

Publication Date: 9 April 2024

Language: English

Print Length: 120 pages

ISBN-10: 1770417419

ISBN-13: 9781770417410

Book Description

An engaging exploration into the enduring popularity of Dirty Dancing and its lasting themes of feminism, activism, and reproductive rightsWhen Dirty Dancing was released in 1987, it had already been rejected by producers and distributors several times over, and expectations for the summer romance were low. But then the film, written by former dancer Eleanor Bergstein and starring Jennifer Grey and Patrick Swayze as a couple from two different worlds, exploded. Since then, Dirty Dancing's popularity has never waned. The truth has always been that Dirty Dancing was never just a teen romance or a dance movie -- it also explored abortion rights, class, and political activism, with a smattering of light crime-solving.In The Time of My Life, celebrated music joualist Andrea Waer excavates the layers of Dirty Dancing, from its anachronistic, chart-topping soundtrack, to Baby and Johnny's chemistry, to Bergstein's political intentions, to the abortion subplot that is more relevant today than ever. The film's remarkable longevity would never have been possible if it was just a throwaway summer fling story. It is precisely because of its themes -- deeply feminist, sensitively written -- that we, over 30 years later, are still holding our breath during that last, exhilarating lift.