ASJ Blog Analyzes Opening Sequence

ASJFoundationPortfolio, a blog written by Amie Wood, Samantha Tait and Jessica Daley in Hartlepool, UK, includes an interesting anaylysis of Dirty Dancing's opening sequence, the slow-motion dance with the title and main credits. Their article:

In the opening sequence of the film the director uses medium close ups to show the intimacy of the dancers, this is significant as the film is called Dirty Dancing. The camera focuses on the characters by using extreme close-ups so the audience can see their facial expressions. The camera then follows different characters; the camera movement is very steady.

The opening sequence gives the audience an idea of a later enigma, as the closeness of the dancers later relate to the intimacy of the two main characters in the film. The opening sequence is also a montage of the full film.

The costume design, hair and make up are all symbolic as it represents the period that the film is set in, which is the 1960’s. The female’s costumes are very revealing, which reflects the sexual relationship that the characters have.

The edits during this sequence are rather slow which refers to the pace of the song, which creates the impression that music is an important convention involved in this genre of film.

The use of black and white also gives the pink text more effect as it makes it stand out and look visually appealing. The style of the writing is very feminine suggesting that this film shows the life of a young girl.