Hairspray

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Recommended: What impact did music have in the 1960s

The musical Hairspray started off as movie in 1988 written by John Waters and in 2003 was turned into Broadway show and then was re created into a movie again in 2007. Hairspray Is set in the 1960’s in Baltimore and is about a girl called Tracey Turnblad who doesn’t fit into the society social norm. Tracey is an overweight teenager trying to get her dream role to dance on the corny Collins show and the hope to meet her crush who is the popular and lead dancer Link. Tracey has to overcome being rejected to being on the show as she doesn’t have to right look for television. Tracy ends up detention at school and learns a whole new style of dancing from the black students who dance ‘once a month of negro day’ on the corny Collins show, and builds friendships and uses her new moves to win a spot on the show. She now has a constant battle of feeling like she doesn’t belong as lead dancer Amber and Amber’s mother make it hard for her and try to ruin her role on the show as there is a chance Tracey could take the crown off Amber for miss teen Baltimore. Tracey then causes trouble because she can’t understand why black and white people can’t dance altogether on television. She then leads a protest and stands up with the black people and fights for integration on television and daily life. As it looks like Amber is going to win the title Tracey comes in to claim victory and dances for all races and for every kind of person and the black and white all dance together starting a new chapter of beginning as equals.
Hairspray takes place in Baltimore in 1962 which was in a time where history was being created such as the civil right movement. This musical leaves a significant impact by showing us the social issues that were happening in the ...

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... living in this present day, some knowledgeable facts and information on what it was like to live back in the 60’s. In one musical John Waters managed to re enact real history of American culture with issues such as the segregation and integration. He also showed the struggles of the older generations finding it hard to move on to the next chapter of the 60’s, and showed the change that happened in the 60’s helped by the younger generation. He also manage to base the whole musical around a passionate outspoken teenage girl who is reaching for dream to be on television but is constantly been rejected and looked down upon because she is a bigger girl and not in the higher class of society. But she actually does the right thing and stands up and helps create new change in Baltimore, all by following one message do what you believe in and do what you think is right.

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