Close Analysis of Strictly Ballroom

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The characters’ characteristic is enhanced by the choice of costume. In this scene, Scott is wearing a white singlet and black trousers, while Fran is wearing a white shirt and a black ankle-length skirt. Doug, on the other hand is wearing a brown jacket, trousers and shoes with a white shirt tucked underneath. The dressing style of Fran evolves throughout the whole film, at first she is seen in an oversized t-shirt and pants, as she starts to dance with Scott – as seen in this scene, she wears clothes that are more suitable and more flattering, it changes as she grow more confident in herself. No longer using her spectacles starting in this scene, it accelerates her metamorphosis from the ugly duckling into the dazzling swan that boldly dances in a red flamenco dress in the final scene.

Immersed in dancing, Scott is often seen in costumes suitable for dancing, as such shown in this scene. He is more often shown in neutral coloured costumes such as black and white, with the exception of the usage of gold and yellow in his Latin-American themed dances in the competition.

As of Doug, he is donned with clothes that are of earthen colours and neutral ones. He seems shabby with his dishevelled, almost bald head, making the story told by Barry Fife in a later scene that he is a broken man more convincing. The father of Scott is a loner and this can be seen as he dances alone at night and is ‘always hiding away doing something’. This however, is contributed by his wife’s scornful speech and treatment towards him.

The film, as stated before tells the story of a rebellious hero fighting against oppression by authoritative figures. In the end he wins after several hindrances, gets the girl and captures the hearts of the crowd. In a way, the films shows how rebels are celebrated and that authoritative figure are distorted and abuse their power – which is shown through the characters Barry Fife and Shirley. It makes one wonder, how can one trust the higher ups when they are more often than not, portrayed as either idiots, in the case of Les Kendall or misbehaving as shown by Barry Fife. The film in a way touches the issue of a power swindle and how the authority uses their influence to suppress people’s thoughts and ideas, injecting them with their vision instead. Although in the end, it chooses to show that the power to influence others resides in goodness, by giving the protagonists a happy ending.

All in all, the rooftop scene where Scott and Fran can be seen dancing happily with each other and below them, Doug dancing alone with fervour is a key scene that foretells how the story will unfold and how gaping loopholes will be filled. It is a scene where music is used nicely and arranges the mood of the film, captivating audience to remain in their seats until the end. The film though seems light and easy manages to touch on bigger issues than just the main character’s inner struggle for freedom of self expression and finding true love.

REFERENCES

Jane Albert, House of Hits: The Great Untold Story of Australia’s First Family of Music, Hardie Grant Books, 2010

Lisa Hammond, Strictly Ballroom, Singapore, Pascal Press, 2003

Aofie O’Driscoll, Strictly Ballroom, 24 September 2014,