Why I Love the Movie...Flashdance
I know, I know. I'm the only one who bought Flashdance on DVD. I own eight DVDs and so Flashdance consists of one eighth of my collection.
Flashdance is the story of a welder/exotic dancer who dreams of becoming a ballet dancer. Now, before I go on, my mother has a history of letting me watch movies about strippers or otherwise sexualized women at a very young age. This movie came out in 1983 and I pretty much saw it right away, which means that I was 9 or 10 years old at the time. I later saw this movie on Beta. Yep, Doctor Detroit. I'll save that one for another time. The point is I seem to have developed the view that strong women dress like strippers (but this isn't about my teen years).
This movie fulfills my ultimate dream where, though unqualified, I make it as a dancer. I remember seeing this movie and thinking that Jennifer Beals was such a sexy lady. There's a scene where she meets Michael Nouri for a lobster dinner wearing only a lobster bib (or so it seems). It's either that or the bib of a tuxedo. Michael Nouri can't stop looking at her and she teases him by playing with pieces of lobster flesh, slowly drawing the meat between her lips. I think Micheal Nouri's ex-wife bursts in and upsets Jennifer Beals or something, because she storms off. But he follows her and even though she wants to be with him, she resists. So vulnerable, so strong. Please note that I have a history of remembering movies in my own way, so this scene may not have unfolded in this exact manner. Yes, I have the DVD, but I only re-watched it once and I "saw" the story that I wanted to remember.
The movie's most famous scene is the one in which Jennifer works out to "Maniac" by Michael Sembello. It's clear she's trying to get her frustrations out, furiously slamming the pads of her feet into the floor and losing herself in the music and workout. I love this scene because it represents one of the ways in which I love to work out. I like to lose myself in whatever CD I've conjured up in my computer. I almost feel like I'm dancing on that elliptical machine, but I really work out to relieve myself of stress. I feel as she feels. But this is now and Flashdance was definitely then. Back then I would go into the basement with my mum and we would play music so that she could practice her jazz dance moves: "corner to corner and leap." I used to flip through all the LPs and 45s creating a set list for our dance practice. I always picked the Flashdance soundtrack along with the Ipi Tombi soundtrack, Joan Armatrading's "Me, Myself and I" and Bruce Springsteen's Dancing in the Dark (on 45 of course, I still have it). My mom always put on her green striped bodysuit, I donned my powder blue ballet uniform and away we went - corner to corner and LEAP! When "Maniac" would come on I'd shake my head furiously and run in place as fast as I could until I couldn't do it anymore. The song always outlasted me.
This movie made me want to live in a loft. With a barre so that I could practice all my stretches. My loft would be better decorated though. Just pointing that out.
I know this movie is no Seventh Seal, but must a movie be so obvious in its philosophical commentary? The philosophical comment in Flashdance? Just because a woman accepts and embraces her sexual power doesn't mean that she can't build machines. If you can't see the philosophy in that, then you won't get the Seventh Seal without Coles Notes.
Flashdance is the story of a welder/exotic dancer who dreams of becoming a ballet dancer. Now, before I go on, my mother has a history of letting me watch movies about strippers or otherwise sexualized women at a very young age. This movie came out in 1983 and I pretty much saw it right away, which means that I was 9 or 10 years old at the time. I later saw this movie on Beta. Yep, Doctor Detroit. I'll save that one for another time. The point is I seem to have developed the view that strong women dress like strippers (but this isn't about my teen years).
This movie fulfills my ultimate dream where, though unqualified, I make it as a dancer. I remember seeing this movie and thinking that Jennifer Beals was such a sexy lady. There's a scene where she meets Michael Nouri for a lobster dinner wearing only a lobster bib (or so it seems). It's either that or the bib of a tuxedo. Michael Nouri can't stop looking at her and she teases him by playing with pieces of lobster flesh, slowly drawing the meat between her lips. I think Micheal Nouri's ex-wife bursts in and upsets Jennifer Beals or something, because she storms off. But he follows her and even though she wants to be with him, she resists. So vulnerable, so strong. Please note that I have a history of remembering movies in my own way, so this scene may not have unfolded in this exact manner. Yes, I have the DVD, but I only re-watched it once and I "saw" the story that I wanted to remember.
The movie's most famous scene is the one in which Jennifer works out to "Maniac" by Michael Sembello. It's clear she's trying to get her frustrations out, furiously slamming the pads of her feet into the floor and losing herself in the music and workout. I love this scene because it represents one of the ways in which I love to work out. I like to lose myself in whatever CD I've conjured up in my computer. I almost feel like I'm dancing on that elliptical machine, but I really work out to relieve myself of stress. I feel as she feels. But this is now and Flashdance was definitely then. Back then I would go into the basement with my mum and we would play music so that she could practice her jazz dance moves: "corner to corner and leap." I used to flip through all the LPs and 45s creating a set list for our dance practice. I always picked the Flashdance soundtrack along with the Ipi Tombi soundtrack, Joan Armatrading's "Me, Myself and I" and Bruce Springsteen's Dancing in the Dark (on 45 of course, I still have it). My mom always put on her green striped bodysuit, I donned my powder blue ballet uniform and away we went - corner to corner and LEAP! When "Maniac" would come on I'd shake my head furiously and run in place as fast as I could until I couldn't do it anymore. The song always outlasted me.
This movie made me want to live in a loft. With a barre so that I could practice all my stretches. My loft would be better decorated though. Just pointing that out.
I know this movie is no Seventh Seal, but must a movie be so obvious in its philosophical commentary? The philosophical comment in Flashdance? Just because a woman accepts and embraces her sexual power doesn't mean that she can't build machines. If you can't see the philosophy in that, then you won't get the Seventh Seal without Coles Notes.
posted by Laurelle St. Laurent at 10:05 p.m.
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home