Save The Last Dance Analysis

In the film Save the Last Dance as well as Street Dance 3D, dance establishes the different social classes present through an ongoing theme of inter-class conflict, specifically between the lower and upper classes. In Save the Last Dance, the main character, Sarah, is a white female and ballet dancer who is of upper middle class. Her social class is apparent through her ballet because it is perceived as being dominant and a high art form that is costly and often exclusive to certain incomes (Boyd, 69). She even auditioned at Julliard, a world-renowned music school, known for its exclusivity and expensive tuition. In addition, prior to moving in with her father, she goes from attending a top-rated, white high school to one with only black …show more content…
She is told she doesn’t belong in their “world”, but attempts to assimilate into the black culture anyway, widely expressed through hip hop, an opposite of ballet. Hip hop not only has a different dance style, but is associated low and working-class due to its history in relation to black oppression (Boyd, 71). Even more so, in the film, blacks are depicted as thugs, unfit parents and teenage mothers as seen through Malakai’s drive by and arrest (Adler, 2001, 1:41:00) as well as through the characters of Chenille, her child Christopher and the baby daddy who can’t even pick up his son without making him cry (Adler, 2001, 1:21:10). These black characters hold the stereotypical low-class traits, however, Derek, Sarah’s boyfriend is an exception with hopes of becoming a pediatrician. Derek is given little personality and shows no interest in