Now I had the time of my life…revisiting this classic!
In today’s special patrons-only bonus episode, Tracie dives deep into the unexpected hit film Dirty Dancing. Join the sisters as they unpack Eleanor Bergstein’s very intentional and subversive storytelling that made abortion integral to the plot (which surprised the heck out of college-aged Emily when she realized the abortion subplot had sailed over her head as a kid). Though we still don’t know why it’s bad to put Baby in the corner, it’s delightful to learn that you can go home again…if you’re going home to Kellerman’s with the Houseman family.
Plug in your headphones and shake those maracas as you listen to this episode.
Our theme music is "Professor Umlaut" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Join the Guy Girls' family, secure exclusive access to bonus episodes like this one, video versions, and early access to Deep Thoughts by visiting us on Patreon.
Now I had the time of my life…revisiting this classic!
In today’s special patrons-only bonus episode, Tracie dives deep into the unexpected hit film Dirty Dancing. Join the sisters as they unpack Eleanor Bergstein’s very intentional and subversive storytelling that made abortion integral to the plot (which surprised the heck out of college-aged Emily when she realized the abortion subplot had sailed over her head as a kid). Though we still don’t know why it’s bad to put Baby in the corner, it’s delightful to learn that you can go home again…if you’re going home to Kellerman’s with the Houseman family.
Plug in your headphones and shake those maracas as you listen to this episode.
Our theme music is "Professor Umlaut" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Join the Guy Girls' family, secure exclusive access to bonus episodes like this one, video versions, and early access to Deep Thoughts by visiting us on Patreon.
Speaker 1:
I'm Tracy Guy-Decker and you're listening to Deep Thoughts About Stupid Shit, Because pop culture is still culture, and shouldn't you know what's in your head? On today's bonus episode for patrons only, I'll be sharing my deep thoughts about the 1987 film Dirty Dancing with my sister, Emily Guy-Burken, and with you. Let's dive in. Have you ever had something you love dismissed because it's just pop culture, what others might deem stupid shit? You know matters, you know it's worth talking and thinking about, and so do we. So come over, think with us as we delve into our deep thoughts about stupid shit. Okay, Um, I know. No, no, no, you have seen this movie, so lay it on me. What comes to mind when you think about dirty dancing?
Speaker 2:
All right. So dirty dancing was a regular like sleepover film growing up. Yeah, the thing that comes to mind is the fact that I saw it quite a bit through middle school. Yeah, I didn't see it again until my freshman year in college, which is when I learned that it's about abortion. I had no idea, zero knowledge, no comprehension whatsoever. Yeah, watching the movie and being like, oh my god, was this always in here? And then being like, how did this go over my head? Part of it is I didn't understand what in trouble meant. Yeah, yeah, yeah, like that, that, really. And I probably saw it around when it came out originally. Like the first time I saw it was probably in 1987 or 1988. So I would have been about eight or nine. So definitely understand not getting that the first time, but I probably, like I was probably 12 or 13 the last time I saw it before college. Yeah, so there's that. I of course, remember nobody puts baby in a corner, yep, because that makes no sense.
Speaker 1:
Nobody puts baby in a corner.
Speaker 2:
Yeah, because corners are bad.
Speaker 2:
I guess I remember the soundtrack, I remember the dancing, and I remember there is the, the asshole who got the dancer pregnant hands over an Ayn Rand book. I don't remember if it's Fountainhead, fountainhead, yeah, it's Fountainhead. And it's like some people are worth something and some aren't, or something like that. He says something like that too. I didn't remember that from when I watched it as a young preteen, but when I watched it again in college. But when I watched it again in college after having dated a guy who was into.
Speaker 2:
Ayn Rand. I was like, oh, oh, there it is. Yes, yeah, there's that, that, the Ayn Rand. Yes, I am correct for feeling like that is a red flag If anyone says this is my favorite book. So those are the things that I kind of recall about it. Tell me, why are we talking about this today? What's at stake here today?
Speaker 1:
Yeah, so we can thank my friend Allison for talking about this today.
Speaker 1:
Yeah. So Allison is a patron and regular listener and asked if we had thought about doing Dirty Dancing. And I was like, oh my God, dirty Dancing. And it just like brought back all these memories of middle school, as you say, like the soundtrack, like in my head I started singing the Kellerman song join hands and hearts and voices. So I it was one of those moments where I realized, wow, there's a lot of furniture in there that I haven't looked at in a while. So, um, let's take a look. And so that's, that's it was. It was this, this, this question from Alison about whether or not we had put it on the list, that made me want to put it on the list. So so here we are.
Speaker 1:
I'm excited to let you know a lot of the movies that we, or things that we, we revisit. In deep thoughts. You sort of think, oh, wow, you can't go home again, but the truth is, you actually can go to Kellerman's again. It really holds up. It really holds up. That's my TLDR on this. But, but I do have some things I really want to talk about, including the abortion subplot. I want to talk about agency and consent. I want to talk about classism. I want to talk about intergenerational communication and conflict and I want to talk about storytelling. So those are kind of the buckets that will come in our conversation. But before we get there let me try and give a synopsis, and I read over the Wikipedia one to see if I could like tighten this up. So hopefully this will be shorter than some of my other synopses. We'll see.
Speaker 1:
It's 1963. It's 1963. Baby houseman francis, who goes by baby houseman, is on the way to the cat skills with her family. Dad's a doctor, mom, I guess, is a housewife they never say and then her older sister, lisa. This is their first time going to the mountain. The dad's best friend is the owner of this particular resort. We the picture that we get of this family in the beginning baby's still like completely a daddy's girl, like really enamored with her dad. She is going to change the world. Her parents know it and she knows it. She's going to join the Peace Corps. Her sister's much less globally minded.
Speaker 1:
There's a little bit of a rivalry between them for dad's affection At the mountain. Baby feels a little out of a rivalry between them for dad's affection at the mountain. Baby feels a little out of place and awkward and like one night kind of goes exploring and finds the staff quarters where she happens upon this party, where there's dirty dancing happening which really is just like they're just dancing but close in in couples. She is young and awkward and kind of geeky in this space. How old is she supposed to be? She's supposed to be 17. She's starting college next year. Okay, 17 or 18, she's starting college next year. Mount holyoke, and she uh, she actually had carried a lot, though like she kind of befriended Billy when they first got there because she actually carried her own luggage and he's carrying these three giant watermelons to this party, so she helps him carry a watermelon. She is totally attracted to Patrick Swayze, who is one of the dance instructors.
Speaker 2:
Johnny Castle, isn't it Johnny Castle? That is the furniture of my mind.
Speaker 1:
Johnny Castle. So the conceit is we discover that Johnny's partner, dance partner Penny, who is not his romantic partner, is pregnant and she has to get an abortion. Like she doesn't feel that she has a choice. She makes a living dancing and she can't afford to not make money. And Billy, the person who actually brought baby to the party in the first place and is Johnny's cousin, ends up kind of telling baby the story. Robbie is the dad, as you say. Robbie's this iron rind reading um staff person there. He's a waiter and Billy has a lead on a real MD who's going to be moving through the local town next week. Only one day. He can get her an appointment but it costs $250. So baby borrows the money from her dad. She doesn't tell him why.
Speaker 2:
Can we pause for a second to see what that would be? And yeah, cause it was 1963. Yeah, holy shit, um $2,551 and 73 cents in 2024 money.
Speaker 1:
That is not a small amount of money. Yeah, so it's going to cost $250 for an abortion which they don't have. And they make it clear, like Penny even says I can't take the rest of your paycheck, johnny, and besides it wouldn't be enough. So baby borrows the $250 from her dad. She doesn't tell him why.
Speaker 1:
Doesn't she say it's for something important. Yes, she said someone's in trouble, or to help someone, or something like that. And he says it's not illegal, is it? And she says no? And anyway, he, he gets her. The money which you just looked up for us is over $2,500 in contemporary dollars. So he gets her the cash, she proudly, excitedly, walks it over to them, to the staff quarters, and gives it to Penny.
Speaker 1:
Initially Penny rejects it because she and Johnny have a gig dancing on Thursday and that's the day that the doctor is going to be in town and they can't afford to lose that money. At another resort they do a show and there's no one else to dance in her place because the one other person like has a thing or there's a reason. And so Johnny says yeah, what are you going to do it, miss? Fix it to baby. And Billy says, well, that's not a terrible idea. And baby's like no, I can't even do the Macarena. Penny says, johnny, you're such a strong, you're such a strong dancer, you could leave. As long as she follows your lead, you could do it. So they, that's. That's the solution that they come to is that baby's gonna stand in for penny on thursday night at the other resort so that penny can go get this abortion.
Speaker 1:
So then there's this like long montage of of them dancing, which in my memory it was the whole damn summer. It's one week, wow, one week. They do the gig. She doesn't do the lift, but it goes over well, it's fine. And then when they get back, penny is in a bad way. The doctor was a quack, it was just a butcher job. Billy says he had a dirty knife and a folding table and I tried to get to her. I heard her screaming and I was trying to get to her and the door was locked and I couldn't get to her. So Penny and it's the middle of the night, baby runs back to her cabin on the guest side of the resort, wakes her dad, grabs his medical bag and takes him back to Penny.
Speaker 2:
He saves Penny's life and I remember he also, she'll still be able to have children in the future that he, she tells Penny, tells um, johnny that a little bit later, so he saves her life.
Speaker 1:
And then, as he's leaving, well, at one point he says who's responsible for this girl? And Johnny says I am. Now he means that like she's my friend, I'm taking care of her. Of course Dr Hausman hears this is my, this was my baby. That's not what was said, but that's what was heard. And so when they're leaving, billy shakes the doc's hand and says thank you so much, thank you so much for saving her. You know, it really means a lot. Johnny sticks out his hand and says the same thing and Dr Hausman just ignores, like snubs him Baby and doc leave. Dad says I don't want you hanging out with those people anymore, like it, like he doesn't say for the word forbid, but that's that's the impression. I do not want you to hang out with those people anymore. Just ignores, like snubs him.
Speaker 2:
Sorry, listener, our deep thoughts about dirty dancing are a patron exclusive. But you can become a patron. It's easy. Just go to our Patreon page Link is in the show notes and choose the tier that works for you If you head over to guygirlsmediacom slash, sign up and share your address with us.
Speaker 1:
We'll send you a sticker. It really is that easy, but don't wait, there's a limited quantity. Thanks for listening. Our theme music is Professor Umlaut by Kevin MacLeod from incompetechcom. Find full music credits in the show notes. Until next time, remember pop culture is still culture, and shouldn't you know what's in your head?
