“Shall we Dance” is an American film that takes after a 1996 Japanese film. The film creates a perfect world for John, a world distant from the usual routine of going to the office, practicing law and going back to his family. Through music and dance the film both the American and the Japanese version revolve around the issues of urban environment, urban density and culture, urban isolation and family network, family values and support, oriented urban development and western dancing. The movie also shows the importance of dance in personal liberation through the life of John.
The movie looks deeply into John’s life that seems perfect and satisfying but the truth is that he feels that there is gap in his life. From a conversation he has with his wife in the film, the wife proves this to be true when she comments that she cannot buy him anything because he has it all. As a result of routine, he suffers from social isolation .The interest that he has on the lady he sees every day on his way back home from work is also an indication that he is in search of something. John’s life is a translation of the lives of urban dwellers whose lives have become a routine and from the face value the world thinks that they are fine and they got everything they need which is not the case (Lurskin and Nicholson 6). This routine lifestyle makes it difficult for them to adopt change even if there is need to do so. In this film, John makes the tough decision to break the usual cycle of his life and go the school and for the very first time, he interferes with his routine and from the very first lesson, John embraces his new found life. The highlight of this new life is when he gets private lessons from Paulina a lady he has just connected with.
The environment refers to what surrounds a person and has a direct impact on an individual. Urban environment in this film shapes the lives of both John and Paulina. Both are confined in their small world doing their routine jobs until they meet during the dancing classes and they impact on each other’s lives. Both of them manage to break free from what would be considered as a monotonous and boring life. Paulina once again enjoys dance and the freedom that comes with it and John meets new people in his class and discovers the meaning of life he has been searching for. The environment not only shapes individuals but lead to social networking which also have an impact on people. Like in the film “Maria Full of Grace” where social networking has led young adults to go out to neighborhood hangouts, to meet people and dance this film has similar impacts on the characters. This can be entertaining but also tempting like in the case of John, who is a married man with a family, at the beginning of his dance classes is infatuated by the gracious Pauline without thinking of the consequences but after a stern warning from Pauline, he strictly focuses on dance.
Culture hides the desires of people for a true and fulfilling life and involvement in arts; poetry, music and dance provide avenues through which one is able to express themselves (Brown n.p.). In this film, the director uses dance as the avenue for John to discover his true identity.
The film “Shall we Dance” is meant to help people break from away from things that hold them from enjoying life. The director of the film uses dance as an avenue to introduce freedom into the lives of the characters and especially in John’s life. This film and “Maria full of Grace”, reveal the importance of family support, benefits of social networking, impact of the environment on people as well as how culture denies people freedom to enjoy life.
Work cited
Brown, Nell Porter. "Dancing "Makes us more Alive"." Harvard Magazine May-June 2011.
Lurskin, Diana Biodi and Nicholas R Nicholson. Social Isolation. Maynard: Jones and BUrtlett Publishers LLC, 2012.
