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The website LSE Review of Books has published a review of Stephen Lee Nash's book Deconstructing Dirty Dancing. The review was written by Penny Montague, who earned an MA in Literary Linguistics and a BA in English Language and Literature.
Montague's book review includes the following passages.
.... Deconstructing Dirty Dancing attempts to unpack the film and reveal the reasons for its longevity. Stephen Lee Naish sets out to prove that Dirty Dancing ... exposes a great deal about America in the early 1960s and beyond. It is a slim volume of fewer than 70 pages, but the range of information it contains belies its size. Naish is an established writer on film, politics and popular culture ....I still intend to read Naish's book Deconstructing Dirty Dancing and to write my own review.
Naish ‘deconstructs’ Dirty Dancing though three different perspectives ...
The first section, ‘The Strange Coalescence of Dirty Dancing and Blue Velvet’, compares two films that initially appear thoroughly dissimilar in terms of genre, plot and directorial strategy, but also share some compelling similarities. .... The author presents a number of parallels between the films, such as the depiction of the early 1960s through the lens of the late 1980s, the loss of innocence and the representation of secret sexual relationships. .... This brief comparative study succeeds in pushing the reader beyond superficial romantic interpretations of Dirty Dancing.
The references to Blue Velvet also continue in the central section, ‘Interpretation of Dirty Dancing’, which is a fascinating study for any student or fan of the movie. The chapters within this section are marked by timestamps from 00:00:00 to 1:37:03, when the end credits roll.
The first chapter begins with the description of the Vestron logo, then ‘one minute and forty seconds of uninhibited grinding hips, flowing skirts and stares of intense passion’ ....
Throughout this section of the book, Naish analyses and illuminates each moment of the film, its dialogue, music, wardrobe, plot and themes, particularly drawing out its political threads. ....
Not only does Naish interpret the film from a historical perspective, his commentary also decodes the film though a twenty-first-century lens, as shown when he describes Neil as ‘mansplaining’ during a conversation with Frances. Later, the discussion of the crucial scenes concerning the unplanned pregnancy of Penny, Johnny’s original dance partner, reminds the reader that the film is set ten years before abortion could be obtained legally in the USA, and so the options available to her as an unmarried woman were to ‘abort illegally, or give birth and become an outcast from society’. ...
The author also engages with existing film scholarship on Dirty Dancing and beyond. For example, he applies Michele Scheiber’s notion of a ‘postfeminist cycle’ of contemporary romance films to the narrative, showing how Dirty Dancing fits the pattern whilst also subverting it with the lack of a happy-ever-after ending.
Furthermore, like a textual film commentary track, the behind-the-scenes information revealed by Naish provides fascinating insights into the crafting of the narrative. For instance, he describes several deleted scenes from the film or early drafts of the screenplay, and reflects on how they might have affected the end result. An example of this is when he reveals a removed scene in which Neil is beaten up by the dancers, which would have made his character more sympathetic.
Lastly, the final section, ‘A Personal Essay’, delivers Naish’s individual perspective on the film. He describes being introduced to the film during his childhood by his older sister and being particularly taken by its soundtrack. Later, as a young adult, he felt that he could never live up to Johnny Castle’s ‘vision of almost-perfect masculinity’. Naish also presents the universality of the film in its evocation of family holidays and the awkwardness of approaching a potential love interest, both of which he compares to episodes from his own life growing up in Britain. The essay is an absorbing account of his uneven relationship with the film, which will resonate with a wide range of readers, whether fans of the film or otherwise.
In conclusion, Deconstructing Dirty Dancing is an idiosyncratic and accessible analysis of this popular film. I would particularly recommend it to fans seeking insight into the historical, political and cultural contexts surrounding Dirty Dancing. It is also an excellent addition to the existing field of scholarship ...
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