Reaganite Entertainment Film Analysis

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What is “Reaganite Entertainment”, and to what extent do you think Dirty Dancing exemplifies this ideological outlook? In this essay I will be discussing what Reaganite Entertainment is and focussing particularly on Reaganite cinema. I will explore how the social and political climate of the time shaped Reaganite Entertainment and its themes. I will also discuss how the social and political climate of previous decades played an important part in bringing about Reaganite entertainment. I will then discuss how not all films in this era fitted the Reaganite mould and how some unequivocally clashed with the Reaganite ideologies. I will then move on to explore if and how Dirty Dancing illustrates the Reaganite ideologies of the time. Reaganite…show more content…
John Belton defines the term as follows: ‘Reaganite Cinema is a term that labels a large amount of movies that were produced during the 1980's and early 1990's. This particular kind of cinema values "reassurance, optimism, nostalgia-qualities embodied in the political persona of Ronald Reagan’ (Belton…show more content…
The main protagonist is a woman, which is unheard of in typical Reaganite cinema. The woman would usually be allocated a demeaning role where she would be a sex object or would require rescuing at some point. Reaganite Cinema depicts white, muscle bound, masculine men fighting a personal battle. Although it could be argued Patrick Swayze fits this description, his character is not the main protagonist of the film and his profession as a dancer emasculates him. He is also seen as a sexual object by some of the woman at Catskills and Baby eventually rescues him. This is a complete role reversal. Although Dirty Dancing does attempt to address some important social and political issues it will always be seen by most as a love story, which of course it is.
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