How does one begin to compare two views of New York from two movies such as Mad Hot Ballroom and Do the Right Thing? Comparing dancing children to a community filled with racial tension is like comparing apples and orangutans; you can try to compare them, but its much easier to just mention how vastly they differ. The community depicted in Mad Hot Ballroom is made up of eleven year old public school children, and while they do show a certain sense of maturity for their age, they are in no way similar to the community in Do the Right Thing. In Spike Lee’s Do the Right Thing, the people in that community quickly reveal their opinion of different races through racial slurs and growing frustration with each other. In a place where many different minorities reside it’s easy to see that tension would arise, but it’s difficult to actually watch it happen.
Relating to Mad Hot Ballroom would probably a little easier, since I too was once a little kid in public school, I remember thinking that boys were “icky” and the thought of coming into contact with one of them was gross (thankfully I grew out of that stage after a while). I could also relate to taking a dance class, but my connection to the movie goes beyond that, seeing these students try to be mature and watching them go through their everyday lives reminds me a little of myself.
So while identifying with one more than the other is possible, comparing the two is still much like the apple/orangutan thing I mentioned earlier. I definitely didn’t like the violence in Do the Right Thing because I’m not a violent person. I’m a dancer at heart, so any anger or other negative feelings get “danced out of me” so to speak. Useless fighting only serves to irritate me, especially since I see it sometimes amongst some of the Bolivian dance groups here in New York. Two groups in particular (who shall remain nameless) are known for despising each other, and go to great lengths to insult and push each other’s buttons. Pride is the downfall for both groups, much the same way that pride in one’s race causes racial prejudice. Both groups (which consist mostly of dancers around ages 16-30) are guilty of causing physical fights, which give the dance groups a bad name. This is pretty similar to how different races fight amongst each other, and in the end, the lasting image is one of violence and hatred. Why do they need to fight? Why is violence the only way to “settle” a dispute? Because we can’t be wiser, because we can’t clear our heads and grow up. Because no one can do the right thing, and just say that they are above this.
