Week 4 - Strictly Ballroom

Strictly Ballroom

Freedom

Among the many themes of existential psychology, one of the themes that struck me in Strictly Ballroom was the theme of freedom of choice. Jean-Paul Sartre believes that we are all born without having our fate set for us, that we are the ones who give our lives meaning, we have the freedom to be whoever we want to become, and we have the freedom to choose our very own destinies.

The movie title itself is "Strictly Ballroom", and to me, it implied that there are many set rules for a dance to be considered as ballroom dancing, that there are boundaries which dancers are supposed to stay within, taking away and restricting their freedom of choice, their freedom of expression.

The juxtaposition here is that dance is a form of expression that is free, just like many other art forms, be it music, painting, or poetry. The rules and boundaries set by Barry Fife, president of the Ballroom Confederation, denied dancers of the very essence of dancing, which is freedom.

The peak of the juxtaposition is when Les Kendall, Scott's dance coach, told him to follow the rules, and at the same time, told him "You have a light in you boy, let it shine."

Scott Hastings 

Just as Scott started to break free from the conventional world of ballroom dancing, he was constantly torn between two sides. 

On one hand, he loves inventing and using his new and creative dance steps because dancing is a means for him to express himself and to be true to his dancing would mean that he is true to himself. 

On the other hand, following the rules because that it is the safest way to win the competition, that it's what everyone is telling him to do, that it's what everyone including his mother, coach, and partner think is best for him. 

"I won't dance with you until you dance how you're SUPPOSED to dance."

Bad Faith 

Jean-Paul Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir both described "Bad faith" as falling away from one's freedom of choice from the result of societal pressure, become inauthentic beings ruled by external forces instead of making conscious decisions for oneself. 

Authenticity

The opposite of bad faith would be to live with "Authenticity", which means to have authentic freedom when one is making choices, and even more so when one decides to involve oneself in projects that unfold possibilities for others, such as the pursuit of science and artistic endeavors.

Scott's Battle with Bad Faith and Authenticity

We see Scott swaying, and almost acting in the direction of bad faith when it was decided for him that he would be partnered up with Tina Sparkle, the reigning queen of ballroom dancing. 

As he contemplates, he was thinking of the chances he would have of winning the Pan-Pacific Grand Prix if he partnered up with Tina.

And as he was talking to Fran behind the curtains, he got a clearer picture of who he really wants to dance with, and the next thing he does is dance with her. 

Up till this point, Scott has been living his life with authenticity, dancing the way he wants to even though everyone else tells him not to, even if it may cost him the Pan-Pacific Grand Prix. Letting things be decided by others is also a sign of bad faith, as one is not actively deciding about what one really wants. 

Then we have Barry Fife, and the only one reason he set so many rules to constitute and define ballroom dancing, restricting other dancer's freedom of expression, is because ballroom dancing is business to him. 

"Where do you think we'd be if everyone started to make up their own steps?"

"Out of a job" 

What happens when a selfish businessman feels that his business is going to be sabotaged? Well, he used the same method he used on Scott's parents, manipulation. 

Seeing how neurotic Scott's mother is, he somehow planted ideas that if she danced with her husband and his flashy dance moves, she would lose everything, her title, the championship, and even her business. 

Scott doesn't know the truth behind his father's dancing, and Barry took this opportunity to lie about the past to get Scott to dance within the rules, to not make the same mistake as his father when he was younger, selling the idea that he'd be winning it for his parents, realizing their dreams.

This is when Scott showed bad faith, where he decides to listen to Barry and follow the rules, he did it in bad faith even if the reason was that he did it for his parents. 

Listen to Your Heart

At the finals, after Scott's father shouted "We lived our lives in fear!", with the lingering echo effect of the word "fear", it struck me. 

I started to ask myself some questions as the movie continues on.

How do I want to live?  

Who do I want to be? 

What would be a meaning life be like for me?

To live with authenticity is to live life with courage, even if society is against it, even if one has fears of taking the first step, as long as it does no harm. I think Scott's father's message made Scott ask similar questions, asking himself what really matters at this moment, was it the championship or was it dancing? 

We all understood Scott's dynamic answer to that as he slides into the ballroom, proceeds to dance with Fran. 

Scott lived and danced with authenticity. 

And the thing about living with authenticity is that when we live with authenticity, we give other people the permission to do so as well.