Religious theme of concern in film

In the film, black people are seen as a lower class to whites. This is highlighted by the fact that White kids are promoted on weekdays on a daytime TV show, whereas Black kids only get a monthly slot on the show (Negro Day). It is also said in the film that the demographic of a Black person is a cleaner or something on that level. This derogatory attitude examples the negativity and prejudice different people had to face in this time and the lack of respect others had for black people.

The film also shows negativity towards Blacks by promoting a hairspray that takes care of stubborn/afro hair and makes it straight, like other ethnicities. This illustrates how whites saw themselves as superior.

There is also a certain discrimination against overweight people for example when Tracy Turnblad auditions for a part on the TV show; she is turned away as a result of her size and optimistic attitude to racial equality.

Tracy continues to promote integration and equality by protesting with the Black people of Baltimore in spite of the fact that this could risk her dreams of dancing on TV.

The overall message of the film is that racial segregation doesn’t stop people from mixing and everybody should be equal. It is also shown that sacrifices sometimes have to be made to do what’s right. This is pin-pointed when Wilbur Turnblad bails the Black people out of jail because it is obvious they did nothing wrong, even though this causes him to lose a lot of hard earned money. Also, when Link Larkin risks his chance of being signed by an agent, he grabs Little Inez Stubbs (a Black Girl) so that she gets a chance to dance on TV. The words “Yesterday is history”, “Tomorrow is a brand new day” and “You can’t stop a river as it rushes to the sea” are all very positive in promoting the overall message of the movie. This is basically saying that what’s in the past doesn’t matter because tomorrow is another day and anything can happen to change it and make a difference. It also states that you can’t stop something from moving forward because things will always change; in this case for the better. I think the methods used to discuss racism and integration are presented well as we can connect emotionally with the songs and characters.