Media Outtake 4: Sonny's Dance

I saw an instant connection between Thomas Carter's 2001 American film "Save the Last Dance" and James Baldwin's "Sonny's Blues". In the short story,it talks about how two brothers who had a hard time communicating with one another.In the beginning,I got the feel that the narrator felt like maybe the deaths would help them understand each other more.At first Sonny was so quick to be judged from others including his own brother because of his use of drugs.His brother seemed to have him figured out but in reality he had no idea what roads led Sonny to where he is now.The narrator gives you the idea that he is arrogant because he is a teacher who is better off than his brother who happens to be a junky.In Carter's movie,it is about how a white girl named Sara has lost her mother and is now living with a relative.Sara has to adjust to a new school where she does not feel accepted.Many of the students at the school were also judging her after their first encounter. My connection between "Save the Last Dance" and "Sonny's Blues" came about when she was able to express herself through her dancing.Her peers did not understand what she had been through to get into this predicament.She was able to show her struggles through her dancing. Similarly,Sonny was somehow able to finally get his brother to connect with him and it happened to be through Sonny's jazz music.At the end the narrator in "Sonny's Blues" was able to open his eyes and actually see the different things his brother had to face that resulted in his drug use. Both characters had labels put on them immediately no matter their previous hardships and were able to connect with others through something they enjoyed doing.

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=PSxvIaOHJR4