Meta analysis thread on why #DirtyDancing is one of the sexiest films in cinematic history & a perfect coming of age film, in which we see Baby – via dancing, Johnny, and the trials & choices she faces – go from infantilised Daddy's girl to self-defined strong young woman. 1/

LET'S START WITH SOME SEXY STUFF!

The dance training montage sequence has such exquisite sensual imagery. The camera focuses on closeups of HANDS (hands are a language) & body parts. The eroticism is undercut by Baby's ticklishness & giggling, reminding us of her immaturity. 2/

HIS GIANT HAND SPANNING HER ENTIRE WAIST!!!

TIGHT GRIPS!!!

BODIES PRESSED TOGETHER!!!

LORD HELP ME!!!

That first image lives rent free in my mind. I want to be both the hand & the body being handled 2/

THE SHEER STAGGERING BISEXUAL ENERGY OF THESE SHOTS!!! VOYEURISM!!! FEELING YOURSELF & PERFORMING UNDER THE GAZE OF OTHERS!!!

Johnny's gaze here isn't lecherous or predatory which I love.

I can only assume they immediately banged each other's brains out after filming these. 3/

EYE CONTACT!!! SWEATY SKIN!!!

All this erotic imagery but Baby & Johnny are not feeling that AT ALL! At least not consciously. Baby is fucking up/goofing off, Johnny is super serious/focused on the job & both of them are about to kill each other. WHICH ONLY MAKES IT HOTTER!!! 4/

They've got all hot & bothered & now they need to cool off...

Water symbolises emotional release & the subconscious.

They start off in torrential rain which washes away their stress & inhibitions – "YOU'RE WILD!" – and allows them to laugh together for the first time. 5/

This leads into the log scene in the woods – in fairytales, going into the woods symbolises crossing over from adolescence into adulthood, and sexual awakening

Johnny opens up to Baby for the first time about himself & they start to have fun & enjoy each other's company. 6/

LIFT PRACTICE!

They start off in a field. Johnny says, "You'll hurt me if you don't trust me".

LAKE!

More water! Deep water that renders them vulnerable, symbolically naked, and forces them to cling to one another, representing their new emotional closeness. FEELINGS STIR! 7/

This moment after the dance is so cute. They no longer have the dance (their reason for spending time together) to define their dynamic & there's now space for feelings. Suddenly they're quiet & awkward, trading missed glances until they catch each other & share a shy smile 8/

Baby is an inherently good person, her first instinct is to help others, as taught to her by her father.

But in order to grow up, she has to come to a new world (the Summer camp) in order learn how to apply that instinct in adulthood & what she's willing to sacrifice for it. 8/

Her eyes are opened to hard truths about class & privilege via how Johnny, Penny & the entertainment staff are treated by the higher class staff (Robbie), management & guests (incl. her own father).

At first, her trials are fairly easy – asking Daddy for money. 9/

Although this requires her to lie to her father – "It's not illegal is it?" "No, Daddy."

But they get harder – learning the dance to help Penny & then revealing to her father that she did lie about the money being for something illegal when the abortion goes wrong. 10/

Baby isn't judgemental, just naive & sheltered. Her father's assumptions about & treatment of Johnny shatter Baby's rose-tinted perception of him as the perfect man. She sees him for the first time as a flawed person, a rite of passage many of us experience around this age. 11/

Similarly, her father's perception of Baby as his innocent, perfect little girl is threatened. He suddenly realises she's growing up, lying, keeping secrets & he doesn't like it AT ALL.

"You're not the person I thought you were, Baby... And take that stuff off your face". 12/

Wanna take a moment to talk about Johnny because he has a lovely little emotional arc. At first glance, Johnny is all macho swagger & arrogance, but we see that under the surface is a little boy who believes he's not worth anything because that's how the world treats him. 13/

In the Summer camp world of the film, he's a second-class citizen. He's poor, he's used & discarded by the rich women who objectify him, and it's clearly had a damaging effect on him. He refuses to shit talk Baby's father because he thinks he deserves to be treated that way. 14/

Both Baby & Johnny learn self-worth by seeing themselves through the other's eyes. They believe the other to be an inherently good person, worthy of love & standing up for. They are each other's animus/anima or missing masculine/feminine, learning from & balancing each other. 15/

This conversation sums up the themes & journeys for both Baby & Johnny. They're being intensely vulnerable & honest with one another & how they see themselves & each other.

This causes Baby to declare her feelings for Johnny & claim both him & her own desire. THIS SPEECH! 16/

CUE ONE OF THE GREATEST NEEDLE-DROPS & SEXIEST SCENES EVER!!!

This scene ruined me for life because I will never have dance-sex with Patrick Swayze in a cabin at a 60s Summer camp & so everything is inevitably disappointing in comparison. IT PHYSICALLY PAINS ME!!! 17/

I NEED TO GO THROUGH THIS SCENE BEAT BY BEAT BECAUSE IT IS A SUBLIME PORTRAYAL OF DESIRE & SEDUCTION.

HANDS! He wraps his arms & whole body around her & we see a man get his neck kissed AND see him enjoy it in a way that feels rare, his eyes literally roll back in his head! 18/

Now Baby takes the lead, circling him, practically drinking him in as he stands there & allows her. She touches his back, his ass. He removes her shirt, equalising their nudity & we get a symmetrical masc/fem (i mean symbolically, not biology) yin/yang shot of their torsos. 19/

MORE HANDS! There is something unbearably beautiful & elegant about the way he gently tosses her shirt away, I can't explain it but it genuinely makes me tremble.

They repeat this move where he leans her away & pulls her back throughout – the push & pull dance of seduction. 20/

The blocking, cinematography & editing in this film create such a sensual & visceral visual tapestry that is so evocative of awakening sexuality, not just in terms of coming-of-age, but between two people. It doesn't rush but lingers on & savours the blossoming & exploration. 21/

Screaming at Baby sitting at breakfast the next morning, sipping her juice like "none of these mfers know i got my back blown out by a giant male dancer last night"

We see Baby's father ignore her & switch his attention to Baby's sister, who he's barely interacted with. 22/

THREAD CONTINUED HERE!

I'M SORRY THIS IS SO LONG, I HAVE A SELF-CONTROL PROBLEM THAT I PLAN ON DOING NOTHING ABOUT BECAUSE I'M HAVING THE BEST TIME!!! https://twitter.com/Laura_K_A/status/1338704974545625088?s=20