The most iconic romantic-dance movie out there in the world is Dirty Dancing (1987). It holds 11 awards from 1987-2008, which includes one Oscar for Best Music-Original Song (Franke Previte, John DeNicola, and Donald Markowitz for the song "(I've Had) The Time of My Life") and one TV Land Award for "Movie Dance Sequence You Reenacted in Your Living Room." The film was directed by the late Emile Ardolino, the openly gay American film director, choreographer, and producer. He died at the age of 50 in 1993 due to complications from AIDS. The film was based on screenwriter Eleanor Bergstein's own childhood. She originally wrote a screenplay for the Michael Douglas film It's My Turn but ultimately conceived a story for a movie that became Dirty Dancing. The film is rated 7.0 on IMDb and a shocking 69% in critic consensus on Rotten Tomatoes (but a 90% in audience score).
Dirty Dancing stars Jennifer Grey as Frances "Baby" Houseman and the late Patrick Swayze as Johnny Castle, with costars Cynthia Rhodes, Jane Brucker, the late Jerry Orbach, and Jack Weston. Fun fact, Jane Brucker co-wrote "Hula Hana," which Lisa sang during the show rehearsal. Principal photography for Dirty Dancing took place in Lake Lure, North Carolina, and Mountain Lake, Virginia, using the Mountain Lake Lodge in Pembroke, Virginia, for the exterior shots of the Kellerman's Resort. Dirty Dancing follows the story of Frances "Baby" Houseman and her summer holiday at the Kellerman's resort with her family, showing how she falls in love with the camp's dance instructor, Johnny Castle. How does Kellerman's resort show social class differences in their different approaches to guests and staff?
The film's setting is a holiday destination for wealthy people: Kellerman's Resort. Because of this setting, it's a given that social classes play a significant role in the narrative. Most of the plot digs into class prejudice that takes place at the resort. Being occupied primarily by affluent families on vacation, the class difference is shown between the guests and the working class staff. In addition to this, there is favoritism within the staff. Those who are attending Ivy League schools (waiters) are treated better than the blue-collar workers (dancers). Baby witnesses the disparaging treatment of the staff when she walks past the mess hall before the dinner rush, especially the way Max Kellerman treats the waiters differently from the entertainment staff.
Robbie and Penny's relationship is the best way to explain the situation. When Penny finds out she's pregnant because of Robbie— Penny's a dancer, and Robbie's a waiter— she gets an abortion. Unfortunately, it's botched, and she falls horribly sick. Baby gets her dad and asks him to treat Penny in the staff's bungalow. After treating Penny, he turns to Baby and sees Johnny in front of her. For no apparent reason, he hates Johnny and bans Baby from seeing him again. Johnny is seen as having low self-worth in the presence of the guests, even expressing that he knows his place in the social class. In that case, the class prejudice in Kellerman's has molded him into a self-pitying individual. This illustrated the rift between the social classes and how it impacts the staff employed at the resort. Then again, after Baby admits to being with Johnny the night of the pickpocketing scandal, Johnny's still fired for engaging in a relationship with a guest.
Dirty Dancing is overflowing with commentary on society. From the guests at the resort to the waiters going to Ivy League schools to the dancers who live paycheck to paycheck. By separating the dancers from the rest of the resort, Kellerman emphasizes the attitude that the dancers are social outcasts. Baby, however, is incredibly confused by the hesitations from the staff. She was brought up in privilege, so she doesn't see social classes. What she learns at Kellerman's is eye-opening for her, and she wants to change it.
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