Dancin' in the Streets

I have to preface this blog post by saying that I really think that the musical adaptation largely trivializes and undermines labor's importance, choosing instead to focus on the seriousness of Babe and Cid's romantic relationship. In fact, it's the romance that ultimately solves the problem, due to Cid's need to reunite with Babe. Additionally, the union's claims are repeatedly reduced to silliness and the workers are mocked as lazy drunks. As an aspiring member of management, Cid is presented as a hard working hero, while Babe never really explains her motivations for believing so strongly in the union. Clearly, many of the (already minimal) labor issues wound up on the cutting room floor as the novel moved to the silver screen and attempted to reach a broad audience.

However, I do think the film at least expresses class solidarity through the dances in the film. Upper management never dances in the film, and Cid's few dance steps are solitary and usually pretty lifeless. Hasler, on the other hand, never dances at all through the film. While this probably stems from the talent of the actors in the film, I do think that the traditional musical chorus does show some unity within the union. The most animated dance scenes involve the full chorus of factory workers in brightly patterned clothes moving in unison. The union picnic and the rally at the end utilize a full cast operating to produce an impressive visual effect. The well-rehearsed tangle of bodies at the picnic illustrates unity within the labor movement, but also fails to differentiate individuals.

However, the image of a chorus can be problematic as a lens to see the working class. While all members of the management team are stoic and not very fun in the film, they have clearly distinguished characters. The chorus remains a coordinated but faceless mass of bodies on the screen, blindly moving as one unit. I think this image is strengthened by the “dancing” steamed pajama tops in the first all-cast dance. The pajama tops fill up with hot air as a part of the choreography, but underline how replaceable anyone in the cast really is. They simply stand in as bodies within the factory setting and as consumers, never fully realized as characters.