Loss Of Happiness In The Movie Shall We Dance

The movies Shall we Dance embody the concept of a loss of happiness in one’s life and finding it in an unconventional way. Both deal with not being entirely joyful in one’s life though they appear to have everything they ever wanted: a family, a house, a stable job, and the ability to support themselves. In the American and Japanese version, they both look at how dancing might have the answer that the main characters needed to find a happy balance in one’s life and the positive impacts of it. For the most part the American version stays true to the Japanese on plot points, the main difference I find revolves around cultural aspects of the two moves. We expect this though, since according to Historical Particularism, each culture has its own
The American version has a woman with blond hair known as Bobby, who shows to have more of an eccentric touch with looser morals. She overworks to help fund her escapades to feel younger. Bobby’s daughter never has anything explained on her father though the writers did leave clues that Bobby did not have her in a stable marriage. When looking that the Japanese version, Bobby’s equivalent, Toyoko works to support her daughter as a widow. Her husband has a back story as a war hero. Both woman are prone to fainting spells, as they both over work themselves. Both woman enjoy buying costumes for their performances and use Ballroom dance as an escape from reality and as a fun pass time. Both woman cynically express themselves and will tell you how it is. Bobby’s actions, however, seem more out there. Bobby and Toyoko have some points that overlap more than
This separation creates a character arch that divides their perspective and drives the story, both to the same ending, just taking separate paths. Starting with Paulina’s reasoning to teach at the dance school. She wallows in her self-pity for being dropped by her partner, which covers the reason she teaches at Miss Mitzi’s school. Her motivation becomes finding a reason to love dance again. The Japanese version has Mai forced by her father to work at his studio. This comes after a devastating loss which she blames her partner for not protecting her. Her motivation becomes learning to dance as a team and not as an individual, again relating to shudan ishiki. Both woman learn to love dance again by the main male protagonist and find happiness in their situation, thus sending them off to bigger and better