Submitted by shaktinah on Fri, 07/20/2007 - 20:32
I went to see the new "Hairspray" with an officemate today. If you've lost track, this is the movie version of the Broadway show that started off as a John Water's movie that came out in the late 80s. Written and directed by Waters, it takes place in his Baltimore in the early 60s, the town and time in which he grew up.
I had seen the original movie, being a big John Waters fan at the time (still am). What's shocking to me is how obvious the racial justice theme is in this movie given that I have no memory of this from the original movie. I'm sure that it was in there; I was just not framing things in terms of racial justice as much as I am now. It makes me wonder how much we miss due to what we filter. And it explains why people can be at the same event and walk away with completely different experiences.