Good Morning Baltimore!

Have you ever heard of John Waters? He is a great filmmaker from Baltimore with a pencil mustache. I have two favorite movies and one of them was made by John Waters and I am not going to reveal that one until we get there in the countdown. 

My first favorite movie I only own on VHS- it is called Paris When it Sizzles staring Audrey Hepburn and William Holden. I will review that film for the blog if we get to the VHS reviews. Since I have been so good at maintaining and continuing to blog with just the DVDs eh?

Anyhoo, John Waters was the first guy to make the move Hairspray. I own both copies and the story is very similar, which is refreshing. You know how when people remake films these days and they change the story itself which is not really re-making a movie in my opinion. The 1988 version is better, of course, but I enjoyed both films.

The movie follows Tracy Turnblad and her love of the Corny Collins show, a popular dance TV show in Baltimore. Tracy is a progressive young lady in the 1960s when the movie takes place. Not only does she weigh more than the other girls on the Corny Collins show, she is also asks a lot of questions about Negro Day. Negro Day is one time a month where black teenagers can dance and be on the Corny Collins Show. There are other important characters like Link Larkin (Amber then Tracy's boyfriend), Amber Von Tussle (the too beautiful girl with the pushy parents who used to be the fav on Corny Collins), and Penny Pingleton (Tracy's bestie) that help in Tracy's adventures. 

Tracy wins the popularity of viewers of the Corny Collins show, becomes a show regular and she does not understand why Negro Day cannot be everyday. She sings some songs, Penny falls in love with Seaweed, a black teenager show who is the son of the Negro Day co-host of the Corny Collins Show, Motormouth Maybelle, and Tracy inspires a race riot in Baltimore. 

These two movies have lots of great messages, Tracy as the spokesperson for Mr. Pinky's Hefty Hideaway that specializes in plus sized clothes is a great vehicle to start discussions about body image and the role it plays in this film. Especially if you factor in the pressures with zits, big hair, Amber's pressures to be what her parents decide is "perfect," you can have quite the discussion with your residents after watching this film.

The easiest program to plan with this film is to talk about race and how it is portrayed in this story and you can compare that to how race is portrayed today. Conversations about race are important in everywhere, but especially in the residence halls in institutions of higher education. Respectful discourse about race and the differences among us is how we learn about each other. College is a place where we learn about ourselves and in that context we learn to make decisions about things for ourselves that will influence our outlook on life. This film can spark that conversation and by bringing in information about current events that involve race, for example Ferguson, MO, a program that features this film could be successful in helping students learn outside the classroom.