Save The Last Dance Analysis

1712 Words4 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Stereotypes and judgement

The movie “Save The Last Dance” directed by Thomas Carter, is a story about a white female named Sara, who moved to south Chicago to live with her dad after her mom had died in a tragic car accident during Sara’s audition for Julliard, school of dance. Sara doesn’t get accepted into Julliard and starts school in south Chicago which is located on the rougher side of town. At this new school, Sara meets Chenille and Chenille’s brother Derek, who are both African-American. Chenille and Derek take Sara to a club which is completely out of her element because this club centers their dancing around hip hop and Sara only has experience in ballet and contemporary dance. Derek agrees to give Sara lessons on how to dance hip-hop. While teaching her …show more content…

Nadra Kareem Nittle (2016) says that “stereotypes are characteristics that are put on groups of people based on their race, gender, sexual orientation, etc.” Stereotypes can be positive or negative, but in this movie they’re mostly negative. In the beginning of the movie, Sara is on the phone with her friend that she grew up with, telling her about her new school. Lindsey, the friend, automatically asks “Have you seen anyone get shot yet?” By asking this, Lindsey is implying that since Sara lives in the “ghetto”, she will most likely witness a shooting which is a stereotypical assumption. Another example of stereotypes is the scene where Derek meets his friends at the restaurant and they talk about Sara and the gang bang they’re about to do. Malakai, Derek’s friend exclaims “White women don’t bring nothin’ but trouble”. Another friend at the table says “All women bring trouble”. Malakai made a stereotype by singling out one group of people and the other friend corrected the stereotype by using the term “all”. Yet even though the friend may have corrected it, the stereotype is still that women in general bring trouble. At the same scene, while talking about the drive-by they were going to perform, Derek is trying to talk Malakai out of the idea. Malakai says to Derek “A black man’s life is all about madness and mayhem.” By stating this, he is feeding into the stereotype that African-American men all think that being in gangs and participating in drive-by shootings are acceptable. Derek, who is trying to become a doctor, is the opposite of that stereotype. The last example of stereotypes that I found in the movie was when Sara and Chenille are sitting in a waiting room together and got on the conversation about Sara and Derek’s relationship. Chenille then talks about how she agrees with Nikki in the fact that Sara is “taking one of the only good black men away from black women”. Specifically, Chenille says

Show More
Related

  • Stereotyping in The Way We Lie by Stephanie Ericsson

    950 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the essay The Way We Lie, Stephanie Ericsson writes that “All the ‘isms’-racism, sexism, ageism, et al.-are founded on and fueled by the stereotype and the cliché, which are lies of exaggeration, omission, and ignorance. They are always dangerous. They take a single tree and make it a landscape.” This quote is important due to the fact that stereotypes play a major role in many aspects of our society. In American society we have a tendency to pass judgment on people just because of a pre-existing stereotype that our society has formed on particular groups over the years. American Society tends to create stereotypes because of the simplicity it adds to our lives, but stereotypes can cause us to oversimplify the characteristics of others, encourage prejudice, and can even create many more severe dangers.

    Read More

  • Ghetto Bitches And Cha Divas Analysis

    1236 Words  | 3 Pages

    Stereotypes are common in the United States because people have different beliefs and ideals how they view others. The article "Ghetto Bitches, China Dolls, and Cha Cha Divas" by Jennifer Pozner demonstrates the negative racial and stereotypes use in the famous national TV show America's Next Top Model. She stated that a model was making a decision whether she was more tied to her ethnicity or her nationality. Given that this situation is becoming more important in America which makes the melting pot impossible to achieve. Tyra Banks, a former supermodel and the host of the show, yelled at a African America contestant is considered racialism to Pozner. For my consideration stereotypes are a way that build up and organize the society. Furthermore,

    Read More

  • Tom Robinson Stereotypes

    978 Words  | 2 Pages

    Throughout the novel To Kill a Mockingbird, we are presented with various representations of stereotypes involving numerous characters of all ages. Due to specific encounters, we are faced with repeated stereotypical situations. For example, Walter Cunningham is a poor, misunderstood boy who comes from an underestimated family name. Along with the main character Scout, who narrates the story from a young age and finds herself constantly reminded to be the lady she is not. In like manner, Tom Robinson is familiar with the ways of Maycomb, Alabama who easily loses hope with his case of an alleged rape. Walter, Scout and Tom all validate as victims of stereotyping, but from the goodwill within and taking the time to understand someone beforehand,

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Strictly Ballroom

    2329 Words  | 5 Pages

    1. The title "Strictly Ballroom" gives us the idea & impression of very stern & rules in a very rigid & strict environment with many expectations & restrictions. It also implies the concept of very orthodox textbook ballroom dancing which is very stiff & done exactly in a specific way which it's expected to be done.

    Read More

  • Interracial Dating Explored in Save the Last Dance

    942 Words  | 2 Pages

    Save the Last Dance is a love story about the pros and cons that comes along with interracial dating. Hollywood displays Sarah as your typical white girl whose forced to move into a low-class neighborhood (with her father, Roy), which is inhabited mostly by blacks, after her mother dies in a tragic car accident on her way to one of her audition. The theme of the movie is really plain and simple. Sarah has always wanted to become a ballerina and attend Julliard, a school of performing arts in New York, however, after the death of her mother, she loses the passion for her dream. Like I mentioned above, Sarah was forced to move with her father, Roy, who lived in an old ratty house deep in a ghetto (inhabited mostly by blacks) in New York City.

    Read More

  • Footloose: Movie Analysis

    1517 Words  | 4 Pages

    The popular dancing movie, Footloose, was directed by Herbert Ross in 1984. Craig Brewer, produced a remake of Footloose in 2011. Both of the original Footloose and the remake, have multiple differences that split them apart. Although they follow the same theme, the sequence of events that took place happened in different orders and well as some characters were not present in the remake as they were in the original. The acting, dancing, and setting were varied slightly but it followed the same trend as the original. Directors Herbert Ross and Craig Brewer, directed the same film, while Craig Brewer made the film more modern, while keeping the film following the same trend.

    Read More

  • Critique Of The Cakewalk Dance

    1035 Words  | 3 Pages

    Legendary jazz artist, Nina Simone, once said, “To most white people, jazz means black and jazz means dirt, and that 's not what I play. I play black classical music.” This quote perfectly embodies how the Cakewalk dance was treated during its dawning in the late 19th century. The dance was both praised and criticized by its observers. The Cakewalk started out as a way for African-American slaves to mock their masters and live in autonomy. But, quickly enough, the Cakewalk gained popularity and began to evolve into formal dance competitions where the winning couple would be awarded a large and ornate cake. The Cakewalk’s popularity was also a result of minstrel shows where white actors in blackface and poor black actors and actresses would

    Read More

  • The Stereotypes Of Women In Blackrock By Nick Enright

    818 Words  | 2 Pages

    According to the oxford dictionary a stereotype is; a widely held but fixed and oversimplified image or idea of a particular type of person or thing. In the text there are two female stereotypes that are depicted. These stereotypes are, that the girls are sex objects and are only there for the males pleasure and use. The other is, that the older women are typical stay at home mothers, not having a job or a life. The first stereotype is what the play has been written about, the most predominant example is the gang rape of Tracy. This example shows exactly how the boys think of the girls as objects; another example is how Ricko only talks to Tiffany so he can have sex with her. Through

    Read More

  • Stereotypes Of African American Women

    1426 Words  | 3 Pages

    Stereotypes strongly influence how people interact, communicate, and establish relationships with others around them (Fries-Britt and Griffin 2007). In mainstream America, black women are often stereotypically portrayed as sex workers, welfare queens, blue-collar service workers, video vixens, and entertainers (Collins 2004). Within these stereotypical depictions, black women are viewed as loud, angry, ghetto, hypersexual, and sometimes violent (Chavous et al. 2004; Childs 2005; Collins 2004; Nguyen & Anthony 2014; Wilkins 2012). In contrast, positive stereotypes of black women showcase them as strong, independent, resilient, loyal to their families and romantic partners, and responsible for sustaining the African American family. These images promote constructive illustrations of black women even though popularized images negatively portray black women (Chavous et al. 2004; Settles 2006; Wilkins 2012). These stereotypes of black women describe positive characteristics that many black women tend to ascribe to and attain. I argue that even though these stereotypes may yield positive behaviors from black women, they are still considered stereotypes because the majority will utilize these stereotypes to negatively categorize black women. In the words of Pat Hill Collins (2004: 263), “African American women’s race and gender classification disadvantages them”. Thus, these

    Read More

  • Stereotypes In Tyler Perry's House Of Payne

    808 Words  | 2 Pages

    Throughout the narrative of the story, several examples of characters being portrayed by their race’s negative racial stereotypes. A great example of the negative racial stereotypes is the character Calvin Payne. In the episode “Payneful Assistance”, Calvin was arrested for owing child support to his “baby mama”. This scene in particular where Calvin is in jail and meets some random family member in jail. This exemplifies the racial stereotype against African Americans by portraying them in a negative light. The show portrays African American fathers as deadbeats and having multiple kids by multiple mothers. Another way I believe that scene in particular shows that racial stereotypes are present is the fact that Calvin, while in jail, had 2 cousins in jail with him randomly. This scene tries to make it seem like if you are black, you are guaranteed to have someone you know in jail. Also, throughout the show, many racial undertones are present, for example most of the all the characters talk with a certain loud slang and absent fathers are common. This conforms to the negative racial stereotypes placed upon African

    Read More

  • Silent Dancing Analysis

    1540 Words  | 4 Pages

    She demonstrates the meaning of Silent Dancing through perspective, imagery, and repetition which depicts how her culture goes through discrimination. Her thoughts become based off on the “typical” immigrant Puerto Rican decor. Furthermore, she includes the history of a girl–Niña– mocked by people in her hometown. She wanted to change who she was, not accepting who she was and the culture she was born in. Initially, the repetition of “la gringa” would overwhelm her mind. Niña becomes traumatized daily by the repetition of “la gringa” which means white female because she wanted to become more Americanized than being Puerto Rican. There is irony in this piece since she never ended up in the U.S., but isolated in the village far away from communities

    Read More

  • Examples Of Stereotypes In The Movie Crash

    1312 Words  | 3 Pages

    Also, when Anthony and Peter had hit the Asian man, they refer to him as a Chinaman. This is a stereotype because the man is not Chinese, but is most likely Korean. However, society just lumps the Koreans, Chinese, and Vietnamese groups together and sticks one label on it. A stereotype that displayed about African Americans is that they are being portrayed as bad individuals who are more than likely trying to rob or do harm. This is shown when Sandra bullock clutched her husband 's arm when two black men pass by her. She most likely does due to the fact of how African Americans are viewed in this society. Another stereotype about African American would

    Read More

  • Language, Gender, and Culture in Society

    1684 Words  | 4 Pages

    At one point in time, these stereotypes may have been true; however, in today’s modern society, most of these stereotypes are outdated and false, which leads them to turn into misconceptions. Usually, stereotypes are utilized to humiliate and degrade the person or group; they also do not provide any beneficial outcomes. Stereotypes focus on how a particular group acts because of the radical ideas and actions of the few, how a particular group looks, or how that group is physically lacking in some way. These stereotypes often lead to conflicts because the group does not appreciate the way it is perceived. Seldom are the stereotypes placed on a group of people truthful and accurate.

    Read More

  • Discrimination And Prejudice In The Movie Crash

    744 Words  | 2 Pages

    This was especially evident when they were being pulled over by a racist white cop. She felt that he could have done more to defend their rights instead of accepting injustice. There is also a Persian store owner, who feels that he is getting the short end of the stick in American society because his store was robbed multiple times. Then the Hispanic locksmith encounters racial slurs and discrimination, although he just wanted to keep his family safe. The partnered detectives and lovers of different races, one is a Hispanic woman and the other is a black male, who are dealing with his drug addicted mother who feels that he does not care enough about taking care of his family. In this movie, discrimination and prejudice are the cause of all kinds of collisions. We easily prejudge people with stereotypes, and we are concerned with our pre-thoughts of what kind of person he/she should be, we forget to actually get to know them. It is human nature to have some type of prejudices in one way or another; we fear the unknown. There are stereotypes that black people are angry or tend to be violent; white people feel they are the dominant race and discriminate against all; Asians are thought to be poor or ignorant, and people with higher economic statuses are distinguished to the working class

    Read More

  • Film analysis Guess Who and Guess whos comming to dinner

    1152 Words  | 3 Pages

    This movie has the potential to fall into all of the stereotypes we have come to expect from black and white comedies. There is a little of that: Kutcher’s character is goaded into telling black jokes at dinner with Theresa’s family that includes her racially intolerant grandfather and Mac’s character lies about his daughter’s boyfriend to an employee describing him as a black man named Jamal who lives in Atlanta, plays basketball and went to Howard University. However, while poking fun at the problems of inter-racial romance, the movie reminds viewers that discrimination and stereotypes are still alive and well in the new millennium.

    Read More

More about Save The Last Dance Analysis

Open Document