“Flashdance” directed by Adrian Lyne is a film that follows a woman Alex (Jennifer Beals) who works in a steel mill as her day job but dances at a bar during the night. Alex’s goal is to eventually become a professional dancer, but in the beginning she doesn’t have the confidence to audition as she feels that everyone else there is more qualified. Only after she confronts her mentor and enters a relationship with her boss that tells her she is special does she gain the confidence to apply for an audition, which ends up with her making it into the Pittsburgh Conservatory of Dance and Repertory.

Whats rather interesting about this film is how they decided to advertise it to their audience. The New York Times talks about the way they used clubs and the music in their movie accompanied by footage of the film, they also state, “some 200 videocassettes were sent to the most popular clubs in 60 major cities. The club promotion replaced the standard technique of using radio advertisements, which is the reason Mr. Weaver described it as ‘invisible.'” It’s interesting that they just rode the popularity of music videos in clubs to promote an entire film. Their marketing team definitely made a smart move as people who are already going out are at the clubs and so they’d be more likely to go to a movie. This is yet another way that the film industry found a way to make money with advertising by using what people were already interested in and adding to it.

A large amount of critics say that Flashdance is just a really flashy movie with a terrible plot that just shows off girls dancing. A few of them say that it’s a good film because it has a working-class hero that rides to the top. While one critic claims it’s an inspiration saying, “With its sexy dance routines, unforgettable inspirational dialogue (“You give up your dream, you die!”) and attempt at a statement on gender relations, Flashdance is still so hot that you will need a bucket of cold water poured on you after you watch it.” To make a claim that the film has strong gender relations seems incorrect as the only non stereotype is that she’s a steel mill worker. However, one critic says something a little different, “I joke, of course, but this is simply a reversal of what is fast becoming a showbiz cliche: the working-class hero who dreams of dancing. In Billy Elliot a miner’s son makes it to the Royal Ballet School. And now in Flashdance, based on the 1983 Adrian Lyne movie, we see a female apprentice welder, Alex, getting a place at Pittsburgh’s top dance academy.” I would have to agree with the majority in saying that the movie wasn’t all that interesting and seemed to just be an excuse to have pretty girls do provocative dances, with the best part being its soundtrack.

I can see why people would like Flashdance. It has a high energy for a majority of the film with a wonderful soundtrack that holds the pace for the film. However, I don’t agree that it holds weight in showing a new idea about “gender relations” since the only thing that could be really argued is that she works in a steel mill that’s considered to be a “man’s job” but other than that, there’s a normal love story with a dream to dance professionally. I wouldn’t recommend the film as I found myself losing interest at many points and feeling a lack of plot. However, if you just want to have a movie about risque dancing then it’s just for you.