#01c

Dirty Dancing

Act 1

1-15 Minutes

Setting was shown early on and the characters were introduced and the narrative starts to become clearer. Learn more about the characters and who the main the characters are.

25-35 Minutes

The two main characters Johnny and Baby start to form a relationship when they both get up and dance with each other. Penny has a breakdown and Baby finds her on the floor. They decide that Baby can take Penny's place and dance with Johnny.

Act 2

75-90 Minutes

Montage of Baby learning to dance as Johnny teaches her all of the moves to the dance. This shows the progression in the characters attitude as their personalities change during this part. We learn more about Baby and Johnny as characters. their relationship develops during this part.

5-10 Minutes

They then develop feelings for each other and it becomes more than just being dance partners and this shows with the way they are with each other and  how they dance with each other shows how far they have come together since they first met when Johnny first shows Baby how to dance.

Act 3

1-5 Minutes from the end

The characters developed a relationship to a stage where they were really close and performed a dance to show how far they had come and that they were on the same level. The big finale was the dance that Baby and Johnny did and this brought everyone together and baby parents loved Johnny and saw the real him and that wasn't the man who he thought he was.

Down By Law

There is a basic 3 act structure that is followed by many films, in brief the 3 acts can be summed up as: 1) Set up 2) Confrontation and 3) Resolution. I will be analysing the film ‘Dirty Dancing’ according to these 3 stages as well as being an example for linear narrative, meaning the events happen in sequence. 

1) Set up 

In the first 25 minutes of the film we get to know our main character, we know she’s the lead because she has a voice over narration and shots are seen from her perspective. They also set up the relationship between her and her father and the rest of the family. Once she arrive at the resort we also find out what her plans for the future are through dialogue and we get a sense of what kind of person she is. We also are introduced to Johnny through Babys perspective and a few of the other dancers at the resort. 

2) Confrontation

In this stage many of the conflicts are introduced; Penny's abortion means that Johnny needs a new dancing partner and Baby has to learn to dance so she can be his partner. Baby is also starting to lie to her dad and there is further conflict between the waiter and babys sister. The main content of this stage is Baby learning to dance and her growing relationship with Johnny, we see this develop over a couple montages. once she has learned to dance and a few conflicts have been introduced and developed on we’re now approaching the climax and resolution of the film. 

3) Resolution

Johnny leaves the resort and many of the conflicts have been resolved, there is a reflective period after he has gone and baby mends her relationships with her sister and dad who have also come to resolutions in their own subplots. At the end of the film Johnny returns at the end of season show and dances in front of everyone with Baby. The film ends with the entire cast dancing joyously.

As we can see from the above the film follows a linear 3 act structure. All events happened in chronological order. There were 3 clear acts and obvious turning points that are present in 3 act films, making the film fairly predictable. Other films that follow 3 act structure include most big studio projects, such as Marvel films, Titanic and Jaws. 

On the other hand there are films that do not follow basic 3 act structure and are non linear.

A non linear narrative means the film doesn’t conform to a linear 3 act structure, they  often have a non chronological approach to time which is used for a variety of reasons depending on the film. For example in Memento it is used to reflect the psychological state of the character another reason it could be used is to reflect themes of the film. 

As an example of a non linear narrative I will be using ‘Down By Law’

At the beginning we are introduced to two of our three main characters, we see Bob, but are not yet aware he will be a main character. We get a sense of the two main characters Zack and Jack, we cross cut between the two of them and in a short space of time they’re involved in situations that result in them being arrested and placed in the same cell, this is unconventional because it cross cuts between the two leads whose stories are seemingly unrelated, also the events which lead to their arrest could be 3 act structures in their own right. After spending some time together in the cell Bob is reintroduced to the audience as he is also arrested and placed in the cell. this is followed by a stretch of dialogue driven scenes in the jail which seemingly do not propel any kind of plot forwards. The three escape the jail and get lost in the swamp surrounding the prison. Eventually after being lost in the swamp they come across a building in the woods. There they meet Nicoletta who Bob falls in love with, Bob and Nicoletta stay together in the woods and Zack and Jack go their separate ways.