Review of Hairspray (2007) by Edgar — 25 Jul 2007

Did anyone else find this film a little racist? The squares are demonized in such a way as to suggest a more or less bankrupt culture, and then it's Funk to the rescue. There seems to be no end, in this film, to the pontificating, bible thumping verdict that all white people need to do is to adopt African American culture wholesale.

The treatment of the white people in this film is no more sophisticated than the way white people treated African Americans in, let's say, the 50s. The pendulum has now swung quite a ways since then, yes? Should we not be concerned about the obvious racism in this so-called fluff film? Is it not disturbing that no one seems to care that we so easily swallow this mess of negative stereotypes? I'm disturbed when, in older films, I see African Americans being marginalized.

I'm just as disturbed by this very commercial entertainment and by the lack of responsibility required from the filmmakers to treat each character as a human being. There's much to love in most cultures today.

I just don't understand why we feel the need to sanctify one over the other. It's worrisome, to me.