Long Nguyen

Step Up 2 The Streets (2008)

This movie is casting a bad light on urban dancers. As someone who is pretty close to those people in Montreal, I can vouch for them and say that they are very civilized and they don’t cause any more “public disturbances” than everybody else.

For a movie about dancing, there isn’t enough good dancing or maybe it is good, but the clips are so short that viewers don’t have time to enjoy it. For those who have enjoyed it, you haven’t seen anything yet.

Dancing isn’t just body movement. Music is very important and following the beat is important. The first thing director Blake tells Andie is “listen and interpret”.

The fictional tension between dancers, portrayed in the story isn’t only unreal, but it is also the sort of thing that give people the wrong idea about urban dancers. We could all say that it’s just a movie like any other, but ultimately, society’s current thoughts on these people and those who dress in a certain way isn’t going to help anybody.

In the end, it comes down to misinterpretation and prejudice. The only way to avoid that is to learn and understand the things that we ignore.

Also, no dancer is rich enough to afford any of the cars seen in the movie.

Filed by Long at March 8th, 2008 under Movies