Sarah: Black Sheep

November 16th, 2007

Things always surprise me the second time around. I guess in part because you never forget your firsts. That goes for art and for life. But let’s get back to art, it’s much less personal. Or is it?

The cinema. I love the movies just as much as anyone can love anything that can’t love you back. Finding a small mirror in a movie scene is like receiving a pen pal letter from a best friend you didn’t even know you had: Awesome. Movies often do that for me, and sometimes they go even deeper around the second time. Just past Halloween I watched Carrie and realized that the pig blood perpetrator in the 1976 screen adaptation of Stephen King’s novel is John Travolta. Whaaaaat? I guess my love for him wasn’t the same when I first met him, ahem in the cinema. Nonetheless he also starred in one of my favorite flicks of the 80′s, Hairspray, which as we know has been remade and reached new cult classic status. Although I miss the ‘pleasantly plump’ Ricki Lake, Divine and Debbie Harry from the original, the new version is definitely visual cotton candy and plays out sweetly including great vocal arrangements, dance moves and who could have anything bad to say about a movie which makes enough room on screen for Michelle Phieffer and Queen Latifah?

Through all the campiness, the central messages of the movie’s plot have always stuck with me. Themes of acceptance, tolerance and strength have always weighed heavily on me and racial issues depicted on screen seem like a nearly forgotten history lesson worth revisiting. I had the fortune to speak with Adam Shankman (Hairspray’s choreographer/director) and Elijah Kelley (star of “Seaweed”) and having the ability to speak with them on those issues was interesting, especially since it’s fascinating and perhaps mind boggling that everyone faces discrimination no matter how much greener the grass always seems.

I’ve been the black sheep of my family since I can remember, but I’ve realized that’s part of why we’re part of each other, because caring for others doesn’t have to mean they understand all of you, just that they care.

Hairsray in on DVD at the moment and I promise it’s only half as cheesy as this blog.

peace.

Posted on Friday, November 16th, 2007 at 12:49 pm by Kate M. and is filed under Celebrities & Pop Culture.