When a career-defining screenplay written by Norman Wexler slides across Studio President Michael Eisner's desk over at Paramount Pictures in 1976, Michael was told that a major record label, the Robert Stigwood Organisation (RSO), would be financing and producing the project; that a seventies rising star was going to be embodying the starring role, and that John G. Avildsen was lined up as the director. There were contributing factors that were certainly favourable to Michael. The first was that John G. Avildsen was going to be sitting in the director’s chair. The second was that Michael agreed to distribute Randy Kleisler's Grease (1978), with RSO financing and producing the picture; therefore, Michael already possessed a working relationship with Robert Stigwood. The third was that Paramount Pictures had also already established a working relationship with Norman Wexler, as the studio previously distributed Sidney Lumet's Serpico (1973), which Wexler wrote and received an Academy Award nomination for. In turn, Michael was aware of all of the moving pieces. All that he had to do was set the distribution in motion for Saturday Night Fever (1977) and present it to a worldwide audience.

However, there was one major reservation that everyone was having at the time. That major reservation was John Travolta. It's true that Travolta was already attached to Grease, with Paramount backing the film. It was just a matter of whether he was the right actor to portray Tony Manero. Questions and connotations like this circled the minds of many, along with, does he have substantial acting experience or is the audience going to connect with him as the star of the film? These questions pertained to reasonable and logical concerns. Eisner didn't have a lot to go off in terms of substantial work that Travolta had under his belt during that time, but it was enough, all things considered. For Paramount, they had to count what they could. Travolta's acting experience all had to add up one way or another. It had to reflect his acting ability to some professional level.

To begin with, you could maybe count Travolta's episodic television career, consisting of guest spots on NBC's action medical drama, 'Emergency!' (Travolta's first on-screen appearance), ABC's drama series 'Owen Marshall, Counselor at Law', ABC's police drama The Rookies', CBS's medical drama 'Medical Center', ABC's sitcom 'Mr. T and Tina', and his recurring role on an ABC sitcom entitled 'Welcome Back, Kotter' - wherein he played Vinnie Barbarino, an Italian-American high school student and leader of a group of wisecracks known as 'The Sweathogs' (keep this part in mind as we move forward into his career). You might even count his very short-lived TV movie career, starting with background work in William Hale's Nightmare (1974), Charles S. Dubin's The Tenth Level (1976), and ultimately ending with a starring role in Randal Kleisler's The Boy in the Bubble (1976). It would make sense to count his first feature film role in Robert Fuest's X-rated supernatural-horror The Devil's Rain (1975). This wasn't a major role for Travolta, however. He wasn't running the show in this one. Although he had started working his way into the film industry at this point. So, it's not nothing; it was a start. Even if he wanted to run the show in The Devil's Rain, he couldn't. Granted, he wasn't a star yet, but that didn't matter. His role as 'Danny' - a satanic cult member was the best it was going to get for him in this picture.

It was Ernest Borgnine who was running the show in The Devil's Rain. In fact, he WAS the devil that reigned. It was a role that was pretty much the best it was going to get for Borgnine at that stage of his career. B-films and supporting roles in Hollywood movies represented the height of opportunity for Borgnine in the seventies. Travolta, on the other hand, had an opportunity to watch his film career incline. Borgnine already had his day. He fundamentally contributed to the cinema art form with his seminal work in Delbert Mann's Marty (1955), earning him an Academy Award for an Actor in a Leading Role - portraying Marty Piletti, a 34-year-old butcher who lives with his mother, and has lost all hope on the idea of love, until he meets Clara (played by Betsy Blair), a like-minded woman who shares the same reservations on the idea of love. Other major contributions to Borgnine's filmography include Fred Zinnemann's From Here to Eternity (1953), Richard Fleischer's The Vikings (1958), John Sturges' Bad Day at Black Rock (1955), both: Robert Aldrich's The Flight of the Phoenix (1965) and The Dirty Dozen (1967), Sam Peckinpah's The Wild Bunch (1969) - arguably the last entry of the true American western film, and John Carpenter's Escape from New York (1981) - arguably Ernest Borgnine's last noteworthy role.

For Travolta, his first noteworthy role was about to materialize. He was about to have HIS day - something that was going to put him on the map, something that would truly count. That day occurred when one of American cinema's independent movie brats provided Travolta with the opportunity to play the main male antagonist in HIS supernatural horror. That independent movie brat was Brian De Palma, and that supernatural horror was Carrie (1976). It is a supernatural horror that is objectively not only of a higher quality than Travolta's last supernatural horror film, but it was also the one that was going to begin his film career. To an extent, this was his Ernest Borgnine satanic cult leader role. Of course, it wasn't as extravagant as Borgnine's role, but it didn't need to be. Travolta's performance as Billy Nolan is cunning, narcissistic, unapologetic, and evil in its own right. Actually, it's evil in every sense of the word.

With Travolta collaborating with Brian De Palma, the foundation was laid for him. It was the role that Eisner could count - the role that he could go off of. He decided to take the plunge on Travolta for Saturday Night Fever. It also helped that Travolta had portrayed an Italian-American greaseball and the leader of his friend group on television - sound familiar?. What really helped, though, was that Travolta had signed a three-picture deal with Robert Stigwood (ultimately transpiring into Saturday Night Fever, Grease, and Jane Wagner's Romance-Drama: Moment by Moment (1978)). Robert Stigwood had Travolta's back by contractually attaching him to three pictures; therefore, Paramount ultimately backed Travolta, too. Initially, Grease was supposed to be the first of the three pictures to start it all off. Saturday Night Fever was a filler role for Travolta while he was waiting for the production to begin on Grease. In a way, Stigwood and Paramount Pictures were preparing audiences for Travolta's performance as Danny Zuko. Travolta's "tough guy" act in Saturday Night Fever paved the way for his "tough guy turned soft guy" role in Grease. It was a good thing--for both audiences worldwide and Paramount Pictures.

As far as Paramount was concerned, Saturday Night Fever was in safe hands with Norman Wexler, Robert Stigwood, and, of course, with John G. Avildsen at the helm. Avildsen had just won the Academy Award for his Boxing-Drama Rocky (1976). The film also won Best Picture - beating Martin Scorsese's Taxi Driver (1976), Sidney Lumet's Network (1976), Alan J. Pakula's All the President's Men (1976), and Hal Ashby's Bound for Glory (1976). Avildsen was the director of the year. Any major Hollywood studio would have hired him on the spot at any given moment. That's how studio presidents saw it - he was a critical and commercial goldmine.

For Avildsen, he saw potential in Wexler's screenplay. It was right up his alley - chartered territory, you could say. The only problem was - and this was a big problem - Avildsen still had Rocky on his mind. You see, John G. Avildsen tried to make Saturday Night Fever like Rocky. Who could blame him? - Rocky had just become the film of the year at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. It would make sense if John wanted to make his next film like his last. It does raise the question, though, how can Saturday Night Fever be like Rocky? Both pictures have two very opposing agendas when presented on screen: discothèque and boxing. Luckily, the discothèque scene in Wexler's screenplay was going to be explored through a competition, and the boxing scene in Rocky was also explored through a competition. Additionally, if you strip away the discothèque aspect of Saturday Night Fever, it becomes a street film, and if you strip away the boxing aspect of Rocky, it also becomes a street film. Saturday Night Fever has so much of an urban street film style and aesthetic that it can be compared to elements of Martin Scorsese's Mean Streets (1973) - consisting of gritty neighbourhoods, a group of unethical, immoral friends contemplating their identity, causing trouble, drinking at clubs, fighting, and navigating their way through Bay Ridge in a run-down car. It is essentially a New York street film. Underneath the discothèque sequences, Saturday Night Fever's urban backdrop allows for a street-crime picture to take form, and the discothèque aesthetic helps convey the main character's lifestyle and identity crisis. But we will delve into that later in the analysis.

In the case of Avildsen's Rocky dilemma, he had a lot of merit and precedent to make a case with, in terms of making Saturday Night Fever like Rocky. He had previously directed Sylvester Stallone walking around the streets of Kensington, Philadelphia, talking out of the side of his neck, causing trouble, and preparing for a competition. Now, he had the opportunity of directing John Travolta walking around the streets of Bay Ridge in Brooklyn, New York, talking out the side of his neck, causing trouble, and preparing for a competition. So, now you have the urban street-life backdrop and the exploration of the troubled protagonist at hand. Theoretically, this was what Avildsen could work with. Thus, why wouldn't the Rocky director try to go two-for-two and produce another contender for film of the year? If he wanted to make the film like Rocky, surely Stigwood wouldn't try to stop him. Well, as the story goes, Avildsen couldn't see eye to eye with Robert Stigwood's vision of the picture and with John Travolta. The material got in the way. Avildsen had his own vision for the story, and Stigwood had his. Creative disagreements occurred, and, in the eyes of Stigwood, this couldn't continue to happen. Stigwood had to stick to his guns. Especially since Saturday Night Fever was inspired by Nik Cohn's article: "Tribal Rites of the New Saturday Night", which Stigwood bought the rights to.

Nik Cohn's "Tribal Rites of the New Saturday Night" article chronicles the "living for the weekend" discothèque scene in the early seventies, and as the film was inspired by this, the conception of Saturday Night Fever couldn't really be altered. The factual aspect of the article correlates with Cohn's experience in the 2001 Odyssey discothèque, which sets the scene for the article. However, the fictionalized aspect is the protagonist's perspective of the Saturday night discothèque lifestyle. Cohn depicts the social and cultural change of a Saturday night. Teenagers and young adults worldwide had Saturday night fever at one point in their lives and continued to do so. With the discothèque scene emerging in the seventies, the idealistic Saturday night was in motion. As dancers formed worldwide, Saturday nights were the only thing on every dancer's mind from the moment Monday morning began. Since Wexler's screenplay was strongly related to Cohn's article, this meant that the story for Saturday Night Fever was set in stone, and Travolta was booked as the protagonist who would be exploring the anxieties and reliance on such a lifestyle.

If Paramount Pictures was producing Saturday Night Fever, John G. Avildsen could have made Saturday Night Fever like Rocky all he wanted. But, Paramount wasn't producing the picture - the Robert Stigwood Organisation was producing it, and Robert had everything mapped out. Additionally, with RSO being a record label and not a film studio, Stigwood was driving the picture's vision through the film's soundtrack. Ultimately, this meant that Stigwood could control the marketing for the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack, which then led to control over the soundtrack's sales and revenue. He knew what songs to incorporate into the picture so that the record could reach millions of people worldwide, and it did. Fifty million copies of the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack were sold. So, not only was Stigwood generating a multitude of revenue for the motion picture, but he was also generating a multitude of revenue for the motion picture soundtrack. Both go hand in hand, and he wasn't going to let anyone compromise his revenue - not even John G. Avildsen.

To this end, the studio decided to let Avildsen go as director of the picture. In turn, Stigwood offered the directing role to another John, a director known primarily for his work on television - John Badham. Within the year of Badham being hired, he had completed his first motion picture that was distributed by Universal Pictures - entitled: The Bingo Long Travelling All-Stars & Motor Kings (1976). Aside from this picture, John directed episodic television and TV movies. He had already directed Travolta in The Boy in the Bubble, so there was that connection straight out of the gate. That definitely helped. John was a capable director, though. Saturday Night Fever was just going to be his biggest feat yet. It was the turning point in his career. He had to make it work. On paper, it seemed unlikely that he could make it work, given the several disadvantages that surrounded him when signing onto the film. To begin with, Badham did not know anything about the discothèque scene. He had never visited Brooklyn, New York, and he didn't have a major studio motion picture under his belt. It was something that he took on headfirst, however, and delved into every element that the picture entails. Once he was on board, he made it his mission to know everything about the discothèque scene and got caught up sooner rather than later.

So, what does Saturday Night Fever fundamentally entail? Well, Badham's dance-drama walks the line of examining taboo subjects, including identity, class, gender, and race, while also reintroducing disco to America's cultural zeitgeist. Although the underlying thread of the film consists of unethical and unlawful themes, the film is primarily recognized for becoming a pop cultural phenomenon as a result of its aesthetic, soundtrack, and, of course, John Travolta's Academy Award-nominated performance as Tony Manero. Additionally, the film would not be what it is without David Rawlins' editing, Charles Bailey's production design, Patrizia von Brandenstein's costume design, Joe Ruben's hair design, and the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack. Those filmic elements not only contribute to the creation and development of the film's protagonist, but they also become their own entity. Each filmic element becomes a character within the film. One element wouldn't work without the other. Every aspect of the film runs simultaneously with one another. If Saturday Night Fever did not have songs by the Bee Gees infused within it, the editing techniques, hair and costume design, as well as the discothèque sequences, would not be amplified. If the film were not set in Brooklyn, New York, Tony's working-class background would not be authentically conveyed. It all fits into the person that Tony is and his lifestyle.

Ultimately, it's a lifestyle and a world that allows Tony to escape from his own personal struggles. A life that he is stuck in. It proves necessary to him that on weekends, his life is different from what he experiences at home. This is because - at home - he is always being looked down on, being judged, and being compared to his older brother Frank Jr. (played by Martin Shakar). That is why - each weekend - Tony escapes to the '2001 Odyssey' -- a discothèque club in Brooklyn, New York. At the disco, Tony is respected and idolized. He takes pride in being treated this way, but he is also accustomed to it. He just wants to be with his friends and dance -- whether that involves solo dancing or collective dancing (with people that know him, and people who go to the disco every week). There is one person, however, who doesn't quite know who Tony is, nor seems to care. That person is Stephanie (played by Karen Lynn Gorney). Tony expects her to give him attention at first glance. However, she can see through him. He has to work for her attention. Although he is ultimately out of his depths. Stephanie has got her life together. At least, more than Tony does. She knows her values and who she is, as well as who she wants to be. Those are fundamental ideals that Tony hasn't discovered for himself yet.

Tony's morals and values were not always in the right place. His morals might be more in check around his family, but when it comes to the outside world, he doesn't understand the way in which he should conduct himself. He just isn't self-aware, at first. He doesn't know how to treat women with respect or be friends with them. He is homophobic and racist, and his friend group - known as "The Faces" - does not positively influence him. The Faces live the same life week after week; going to the same disco, being greeted by the same people, and reserving the same table at the club. It's more than a tradition or a hobby - it's a lifestyle. It's not only what Tony is known for, but also what he knows himself to be - a rebel without a cause.

Travolta had a three-year run of embodying teenage rebellions. From playing Billy Nolan in Brian De Palma's Carrie to portraying Tony Manero in Saturday Night Fever, as well as bringing to life his world-renowned performance as Danny Zuko in Grease, it's safe to say that Travolta had the immoral tough guy act down during the late seventies. The major connection between each of those three characters is that it always took a woman to set them straight - or, at least, try to set them straight. Billy Nolan never indicated that he was ever going to change. He didn't plan on it. He was self-aware for five minutes each day. Those five minutes may have occurred at the right time when hanging out in his car with Chris Hargensen (played by Nancy Allen). But once those five minutes ended, he was back to being insensitive and cruel. Lucky for him, though, Chris was also insensitive and cruel before she had a moral epiphany during the third act of Carrie. Billy's extreme pig guts prank on Carrie White (played by Sissy Spacek) told us everything we needed to know about him - killing an innocent animal just to humiliate another person in a room full of other people, that's not a guy with any redeeming qualities. At least, Tony and Danny eventually knew that they needed to change. Still, there is no excuse for how they both treated women prior to their self-realization. They were just lucky to be offered a second chance, especially Tony.

As Travolta's role in Grease is formulaic in comparison to his other layered and raw performances during the seventies, it wasn't exactly a surprise that Sandy Olsson (played by Olivia Newton-John) agreed to be with Danny. It was always going to be the resolution of the movie - it's a musical, after all. Taking into account Danny's disrespect towards Sandy throughout the picture, she was always going to take him back. The plot is evidence of this. Every character is a plot device, and the plot leads its audience to one conclusion - a happy ending. Grease was always heading that way, and so were Sandy and Danny. Danny may have acted like a wise guy, he may have hung around wise guys, but he was ultimately not a wise guy. Also, when I say "wise guy", I don't mean wise guys in the sense of the mafia. I'm referring to guys who are trying to act wise. They are trying to act smarter than they are, and bigger than they are -- they are being a wise guy. It has nothing to do with mobsters or gangsters. It has everything to do with high school rebels trying to mask their insecurities by acting wise. Those insecure guys - including Danny - were known as the "T-Birds". Travolta's portrayal of popular high school student Vinnie Barbarino, and the leader of the Sweathogs in Welcome Home, Kotter, was definitely pulled from, in this case. Travolta had this in his wheelhouse to pull from at any moment. It was in his acting toolkit. Remember when I told you to keep that in mind earlier? - That was why. Travolta's experience as an Italian American on the ABC sitcom set the stage for him to portray arrogant yet popular Italian American teenage rebels who led a group of like-minded teenage wisecracks. The only difference was that the leaders (Tony and Danny) were one step ahead of their friends, as they were ingrained in the lifestyle of the group dynamics and patterned behaviour, while the leader ultimately experienced a moral epiphany. Until then, the groups had their own way of doing things, their own identity, and their own foundation.

In Grease, the "T-Birds" were representative of a subculture - consisting of school kids and young adults - during the fifties. This subculture was known as "Greasers". It modelled their name after individuals who slicked back their greased hair, wore leather jackets, had distinguishable mannerisms, and tried to assert their "cooler-than-everybody-else" attitude. That's everything that a greaser was known to be. It is, of course, dramatized and emphasized in Grease, but the characteristics and aesthetics were all there. It was who Danny and his T-Birds claimed to be. That's who he was surrounded by. When surrounded by a group of wisecracks and a formulaic Hollywood plot, Danny was set for failure from the moment Sandy was introduced to his group of friends at Rydell High School's pep rally. He couldn't act like he normally would with Sandy -- as he did during their summer together at the beach. That's not how a formulaic Hollywood movie script - involving a group of high school rebels and cheerleaders - pans out. The primary teenage rebellion must act like a jerk and prioritize his friends over the girl he wants to be with before he ultimately gets to be with her. Before he could truly be with Sandy, Danny realized that it was time for a change. He decided that he should change. He had to try if he wanted to win Sandy over. Therefore, he decided to change his T-Birds leather jacket (symbolizing his change in identity) for a letterman sweater - indicating that he wants to be who he thinks she wants him to be, you know? By that stage, she had already accepted who he was. So, luckily for him, she met him halfway. As a result, Sandy wore a leather jacket - symbolizing her acceptance of who he is and his identity as a 'Greaser'.

Although Sandy was informally yet technically a member of The Pink Ladies - a group of rebellious high school girls led by Betty Rizzo (portrayed by Stockard Channing), followed by Frenchy (played by Didi Conn), Jan (depicted by Jamie Donnelly), and completed by Marty Maraschino (portrayed by Dinah Manoff) - she didn't have to swap out The Pink Ladies baby pink jacket for a leather jacket. She was never provided with a Pink Ladies member jacket in the first place. It is primarily because Sandy is her own person and has her own identity. Also, she didn't really conform to groups. It was Frenchy who took her in as the newest member of The Pink Ladies. Sandy was just glad to have friends and be welcomed by Frenchy. With Frenchy being in the group, this kept Sandy grounded. The other members of the group were hostile towards Sandy, especially Rizzo. So, this led to her becoming reluctant to give herself over to the group. Frenchy was the closest thing to Sandy, in terms of someone who is not obnoxious and someone who could be a true friend to her. That was certainly not something Rizzo was capable of doing, at first. She ridiculed Sandy any chance she got -especially, during The Pink Ladies' sleepover, consisting of Rizzo comparing Sandy to Hollywood actress Sandra Dee. It sounds like a compliment, and it kind of is. But not in the tone that Rizzo conveyed it. In Rizzo's defence - even though she was being mean at the expense of Sandy - Sandy Olsson and Sandra Dee do share similarities. To be honest, though, Rizzo is the one who shares the biggest similarity with Sandra while wearing a blonde wig. She looks so much like Sandra in that wig that she could have entered a Sandra Dee lookalike contest and won. Her impersonation and facial features are uncanny in comparison.

Rizzo's impersonation of Sandra Dee is in the form of a musical number led by her singing 'Look At Me I'm Sandra Dee'. The song references Hollywood icons consisting of Doris Day, Rock Hudson, and Elvis Presley, as well as Sandra Dee's A Summer Place (1959) and Imitation of Life (1959) co-star, Troy Donahue. Sandra Dee may not have been an icon in the same vein as Doris Day, Rock Hudson, or Elvis Presley, or even shared the same career trajectory as classic Hollywood actresses such as Elizabeth Taylor, Grace Kelly, Audrey Hepburn, or Marilyn Monroe, but she still had a career worth mentioning. Primarily, Sandra Dee was a product of the 1950s and 1960s romantic comedies. Among this work, she had film contributions that stood out. She still worked with noteworthy directors. Sandra Dee's first on-screen performance was in Robert Wise's Until They Sail (1957), starring Jean Simmons and Paul Newman.

The sixties saw Sandra Dee take over Debbie Reynolds in the Tammy film series, with Reynolds starring as 'Tambrey Tyree' in the first instalment entitled: Tammy and the Bachelor (1957), as Walter Brennan and Leslie Nielsen acted alongside her. Sandra Dee continued the film series with Tammy Tell Me True (1961) - starring opposite John Gavin. She then acted with Peter Fonda in Tammy and the Doctor (1963), with Fonda playing Dr. Mark Cheswick. It was, however, Debbie Watson who completed the film series as she starred in the fourth and final instalment: Tammy and the Millionaire (1967) - wherein she portrayed Tammy Tarleton. Debbie Watson had already portrayed Tammy Tarelton in ABC’s sitcom ‘Tammy’, which completed its one-season run in 1966. Each actress may have had different names (to a small degree) in each picture and television adaptation, but, on the grand scale of things, they were still portraying a version of a young woman setting off on adventures involving mischief and tomfoolery as she ultimately finds love in her life. Each picture isn't a mind-boggling experience. They are predictable enough that you could figure out that Tammy will find love before she even finds it herself. The film series is a Hollywood studio vehicle. It is nothing more than that, and the television show represents financial capitalization from the motion pictures. The most prominent motion picture (as previously mentioned) that Sandra Dee acted in is Douglas Sirk's melodrama Imitation of Life. Before her Tammy days, she starred in her first romantic comedy: The Reluctant Debutante (1958) - directed by Vincente Minnelli. She then embodied the starring role of Francie Lawrence (Gidget) in Paul Wendkos' Gidget (1959). She accompanied Rock Hudson in Robert Mulligan's Romantic Comedy Come September (1961), with Bobby Darrin in a supporting role. A year later, she played the wife of Bobby Darrin in Henry Levin's If a Man Calls (1961). As her career in the sixties involved working with Hollywood stars, she was provided the opportunity to act alongside James Stewart in Henry Koster's comedy Take Her, She's Mine (1963), as she plays the wife of Stewart. As I said, she had a career worth mentioning. Even if her career wasn't on power with elite Hollywood icons in the fifties and sixties, her name still stuck with people regardless.

Sandra Dee's name certainly stuck with Sandy Olsson, as she sang her own version of "Look At Me I'm Sandra Dee", with alternate lyrics from her perspective, which includes her singing: "Goodbye to Sandra Dee". This indicates that she is saying goodbye to the version of herself that everyone knows her to be - the sweet, innocent blonde. This was the moment that Sandy decided to meet Danny halfway. She had decided to give herself over to him. Danny still had to prove his love to her. He had to meet her halfway, too, which he did in the form of a dance number at their high school graduation carnival. Sandy had to know for sure that he was going to take her seriously and take their relationship seriously. Which, he did, and which, he does. It's the way a high school Hollywood musical has to be. It can't pan out differently. What can pan out differently, however, is a dance-drama. For Tony Manero, being friends with Stephanie was his best outcome. They were perfect dance partners. The only thing was, dancing wasn't going to solve Tony's psychological and internal issues, as well as his extensive lack of respect for Stephanie. At least Danny had genre tropes to save him. There was no one to help Tony figure out his problems. He had to try to solve them on his own. Character problems may be easily solved in a musical (and also a romantic comedy), but not in a drama.

As Travolta starred in Grease the year after boogying in Saturday Night Fever, it's safe to say that an array of confusion took form regarding Saturday Night Fever's genre. Audiences may as well have merged the two pictures together. It was made to believe that just because John Travolta dances in both pictures, he is starring in two musicals back to back. However, that's not how film genres work. Yes, John Travolta does showcase the Brooklyn Shuffle, line dance, as well as perform in a dance competition - and, yes, the premise is concerned with 1970s discothèque, but that doesn't mean the film is a musical. Is Quentin Tarantino's Pulp Fiction (1994) a musical because John Travolta's Vincent Vega and Uma Thurman's Mia Wallace enter the Jack Rabbit Slim's dance twist contest, wherein they twist to Chuck Berry's 'You Never Can Tell'? It's just something the characters want to do. The dance twist contest is world-famous after all - Ed Sullivan (portrayed by Jerome Patrick Hoban) said so as he introduced the contest while standing next to Marilyn Monroe (played by Susan Griffiths). It is worth noting that this was the second time Susan portrayed Marilyn Monroe on screen. Griffiths' first portrayal of the blonde bombshell was in John Patterson's TV movie (an ABC production) entitled Marilyn and Me (1991) - leading to Tarantino casting her in Pulp Fiction to once again embody the Hollywood icon. Back to the matter at hand, does Pulp Fiction continue playing as a musical when Vincent drives Mia home, (after eating his "bloody as hell" Douglas Sirk steak and drinking his vanilla Coke, while Mia finishes her bloody Durwood Kirby burger and slurps her five-dollar milkshake) leading to Mia inviting him in for a drink, kicking off her shoes, loading up her stereo and dancing to Urge Overkill's 'Girl, You'll Be a Woman Soon'? The film still couldn't turn into a musical if Vincent and Mia spent the remainder of their screen time entering dance competitions together.

A musical obtains its own genre conventions. It takes more than the character's dancing for a film to be considered a musical. Musicals must follow a specific storytelling formula - one that involves a male and female protagonist systematically becoming attracted to one another, while they articulate their feelings, their desires, and their problems through the expression of song and dance (known as a 'dance number'). The male and female protagonists typically display their interest or affection towards each other after twenty or thirty minutes into the picture--which leads to the remainder of the musical developing the male and female protagonists' relationship, and their personal lives. Saturday Night Fever couldn't follow this formula even if it wanted to. Tony's life doesn't begin to progress until the closing moments of the film. So, where would the musical numbers even fit in? Additionally, Hollywood musicals do not involve characters profusely swearing, being racist, being sexist, and being homophobic, as well as sexually assaulting women. This, once again, begs the question - where would the musical plot points fit into Saturday Night Fever's narrative structure?

Throughout Saturday Night Fever, Tony doesn't break out into a song and dance in the middle of a scene like Gene Kelly and Debbie Reynolds do in Singin' in the Rain (1952) or even the same way Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers do in Top Hat (1935) (not unlike Danny and Sandy in Grease, as they are referred to as "Fred and Ginger" during their high school prom). In addition, there are no musical numbers occurring for ten minutes at a time that transition from location to location, or that are filmed on a soundstage. Tony and Stephanie do not swing around a tree or a lamppost, and they do not hop onto a park bench with their tap shoes while performing a dance number. They do not climb on top of a wall, while the camera frames them through the use of a low-angle wide shot, as they sing to the neighbourhood with their arms stretched out wide. Tony and The Faces do not sing and dance as a collective while they hop over fire escapes and climb down to the run-down streets of Brooklyn - this isn't West Side Story (1961). It just so happens that Tony's lifestyle involves going to a club every weekend. It also just so happens that the club he goes to every weekend is a discothèque club. As Tony was deep into his coming-of-age era in the seventies - a time when disco was reintroduced to the Saturday night clubbing scene - he became one of the best dancers in New York. In doing so, he tries to make a name for himself at his local discothèque.

The Saturday Night Fever soundtrack fundamentally drives the discothèque sequences within the film. It's all soundtrack in that disco. Even the final dance sequence involving Tony and Stephanie dancing to the Bee Gees' 'More Than a Woman' is for a competition. It allows them to prove to themselves that they are good enough to win and to be considered the best. They don't do it because the genre tells them to, or because the film is ready for another musical number; the characters decide to do this themselves, for themselves. This is what the two characters have been practicing for since the second act of the film. They found each other. They decided to be dance partners. Not because they had to, but because they wanted to. In a musical, the dance numbers are not part of the main storyline; they are separate. Characters in a musical don't talk about the dance number they have just engaged in. The story immediately shifts back to what the characters were doing prior to the dance number, once they have stopped singing and dancing. However, in Saturday Night Fever, Tony talks about his dancing afterward. Before dancing with Annette (played by Donna Pescow), they converse about dancing, then after he finishes dancing with her, he discusses his dancing ability with his friends and again with Annette. She doesn't give him a choice when discussing their dancing; she essentially ambushes him at his reserved table and seeks validation. That wouldn't happen in a musical. Everyone has the same dancing ability in a musical. Also, the dance numbers are already put into place before they occur; they are not just decided at the last minute or in the moment. They are always going to occur and are never questioned.

Moving on to the role of the film's soundtrack, it has important significance surrounding the film's theme of identity. This specific theme is vital in understanding Tony's position in his life. After all, the film revolves around Tony. There isn't a scene that he isn't present in. Saturday Night Fever's themes, connotations, and filmic elements embody everything Tony stands for. Thus, the film soundtrack denotes Tony - it only plays when he is on the streets of Brooklyn, alone in his bedroom, and, of course, in the disco. When he is surrounded by his family or his boss, the soundtrack is not present. When he is alone and in the disco, he is confident and independent. Therefore, the film's soundtrack is only associated with Tony. As the film is from his perspective and his lifestyle, the soundtrack symbolizes Tony's identity.

In addition to the role of the film soundtrack, the film's thematic exploration of gender, class, and race is examined through Tony's view of the world, the way in which he views himself as well as the people around him, his relationship with his friends, and his personal life. These themes play a fundamental role in understanding Tony's education, morals, and culture. The theme of gender is first put into question alongside the film's soundtrack within the opening sequence. Tony's masculinity is conveyed through the use of a low-angled shot of his pelvis, symbolizing Tony's overbearing confidence and subjectivity towards himself as he believes himself to be a womanizer and sexualizes women, as well as someone confident with their body. Next, the camera pans up from Tony's shoes to capture his swaggered walk as the Bee Gees' Stayin' Alive plays - reaffirming the soundtrack's role in not only conveying his identity but also evoking his confidence. As Tony struts through his neighbourhood, passing independent stores while grasping a tin of paint, Badham simultaneously highlights the juxtaposition between Tony's personal life and independence through the use of popular disco music with his working-class lifestyle, as he is running an errand for his boss at the paint store. Additionally, the opening sequence represents Tony being his true self when he is alone, which the soundtrack denotes.

As Tony continues to navigate past various storefronts, he gazes at women walking by him; however, they do not look in his direction. This indicates that in the real world, people don't know him or seek him out. Tony believes that just because people treat him like a celebrity in the disco, every other person in the outside world is going to do the same. Unfortunately, that's not how it works. The people at the disco are exactly like Tony, or at least, close to being like him. The disco is all they have. It just so happens that everybody else has opposite lifestyles to this. While Tony's masculine front works in the disco, it isn't going to work in the real world. John Badham emphasizes the difference between the real world and Tony's idealistic view of the world by capturing Tony through the use of Dutch angles and jump cuts as his confidence increases. These filmic techniques reaffirm the mindset that Tony currently possesses within this sequence, as he is always thinking about the disco and his identity. Therefore, Badham utilizes stylistic cinematography to convey the fast pace of the disco. As everyone at the disco moves quickly and in many directions, the cinematography and editing techniques function the same way.

Tony's masculinity is further explored when he arrives home from work and prepares for his disco night. As the Bee Gees' 'Night Fever' plays, this symbolizes that Tony is now getting Saturday night fever. A quick cut of people line dancing in the 2001 disco is displayed as Tony grooms his hair to perfection -- indicating that he is thinking about the disco. Badham captures a shirtless Bruce Lee poster - hung up on Tony's wall - through the use of an extreme close-up. Badham then captures Tony standing in front of his bedroom mirror, shirtless - mirroring Bruce Lee - as he is one of Tony's masculine idols. Tony proceeds to re-enact a martial arts move as he flexes in front of the mirror. In this moment, Badham frames Tony through the use of a low Dutch angle, capturing him in his underwear. This highlights the theme of masculinity systematically being heightened within the film. As Tony puts on his jewellery, a medium close-up captures Tony's chest - reaffirming that the film is from his perspective and the audience are voyeurs and flies on the wall gazing at Tony's half-naked body. Tony walks towards his closet - with the camera capturing him in his underwear from a medium shot from behind - as he chooses an outfit for the disco. Badham further enforces the masculinity theme by framing Tony zipping up his trousers through the use of a medium tilt shot, informing the audience that they need to look at exactly what Tony is doing when he is doing it. If Tony is doing something, wearing something, or not wearing something, the audience has to look at it. Badham is subjecting the audience to Tony's lifestyle and mindset.

Additionally, Tony's comparison to Al Pacino is represented within the film, as well as in Nik Cohn's article, where Tony was once told at the disco that he looks like ‘The Godfather’ actor. Tony, once again, stands in front of his mirror shirtless - with his Al Pacino Serpico poster in the reflection - examining his features in comparison to Al's features. He states to himself, "I do look like Al Pacino", before exiting his room in his underwear. Tony then repeats the actor's name, before referencing the famous line in Sidney Lumet's Dog Day Afternoon (1975) wherein Al Pacino stands in front of a group of armed police officers and a crowd of civilians shouting "Attica! Attica! Attica!". A poster of Sylvester Stallone as Rocky also hangs on Tony's bedroom wall, confirming that he possesses an array of masculine men circling the walls of his bedroom, reflecting his stance and view of masculine idols whom he looks up to and tries to emulate.

Next, the theme of class, which has been briefly touched on throughout this analysis, will be further explored through Tony's working-class, urban background, alongside a look into his educational background. As previously mentioned, after high school, Tony's job at his local paint store keeps him financially stable each week to go to the disco every weekend. His job at the paint store contributes to him being stuck in his life. Tony's date with Stephanie reaffirms his position in his life and demonstrates the difference in their lifestyles and education. As Tony and Stephanie walk through Bay Ridge in Brooklyn towards a diner, Stephanie states, "See, where I work, the people are very remarkable, they are not like these Bay Ridge people". Tony responds, "You mean snobs instead of slobs, right?" Tony continues by stating: "Bay Ridge ain't the worst part of Brooklyn, it ain't like a hell hole or nothing." To which Stephanie replies: "Well it ain't Manhattan. It isn't Manhattan". Stephanie made it clear to correct herself when she used the word "ain't" instead of "isn't" - she had to remember that she has an educated vocabulary now, compared to Tony, who uses street slang and bends the English language to his liking. This interaction immediately highlights various key differences between Stephanie (who is now more sophisticated) and Tony (who is injected with the urban Bay Ridge lifestyle). As they enter the diner, Stephanie discusses Zeffirelli's Italian romantic tragedy Romeo and Juliet (1968). Tony informs Stephanie that he read that in high school and states that it's Shakespeare. First of all, in Tony's defence, Romeo and Juliet is Shakespeare. This is probably the only time that Stephanie could have given him the benefit of the doubt. Tony tried, and he wasn't entirely wrong. He just wasn't entirely right either. I think they both could have met him in the middle and agreed to disagree. The only thing was, Stephanie was on the topic of the film's director, Franco Zeffirelli, not William Shakespeare. She just could have let that one slide for the sake of their lunch date and the benefit of Tony. Although Stephanie isn't going to apologize for what she knows. Tony's high school education was only going to get him so far. He was trying, while simultaneously being outclassed and outsmarted, which he ultimately didn't appreciate.

Tony could learn a thing or two from Stephanie, though. Actually, he could learn a lot from her. She was the best thing that had ever happened to him, aside from his dancing ability. Stephanie symbolizes and embodies the turning point in Tony's life. She is trying to help him by showing him that there's more to life than what he knows in Bay Ridge. She is the reason he wants to change, just as Danny wanted to change for Sandy in Grease. As I said, it always took a woman to set them straight. It was going to take a bit more than a lunch date with Stephanie to set Tony straight, however. Stephanie took a chance on him to get to know him. She was in his position once, so she wanted to help him, as a friend. So, zoning in on his background, education, and life ambitions was her path to helping him. As their lunch date progresses, Tony offers Stephanie a menu to order food; although, she proclaims: I'm not hungry, I'm just going to order tea with lemon. I started drinking tea recently, it's really a lot more refined." Stephanie then informs Tony that the women executives in her office drink tea with lemon, and that's the reason she began drinking it. The contrast of their lifestyle is further highlighted as Tony replies: I like coffee, you know?, I drink coffee." The film draws attention to how Tony is unaware of the idea of drinking tea with lemon, as when he orders it, he asks for "lemon with tea".

As Stephanie attempts to make conversation, she asks Tony: "Hey, you know who came into the office the other day?" Tony replies with a grunt as a way of saying "who?" while lighting a cigarette. Stephanie informs him that it was Laurence Olivier who came into her office. Tony asks who he is, but, after Stephanie can't believe he doesn't know, Tony pretends he does know who Laurence Olivier is. Stephanie is relentlessly flexing her sophisticated lifestyle in front of Tony, once again informing him of what else is out there besides the urban street life and the disco scene. She wants him to know that she made it out and that their lives are now the opposite of one another. She further states to Tony: “Well, I just don't think you can handle hearing about it and my life is completely different to yours." Tony responds with: "You mean better, don't ya". Stephanie states: "Yes, I mean better. Sure, it's better. I'm out of this scene almost completely, you know?, this Bay Ridge scene. I'm moving into Manhattan. I'm getting my own apartment, I'm changing."

Stephanie continues to inform Tony that she is "really changing and growing," as well as the fact that nobody knows how much she is growing as a person. Tony's personal manners and lack of sophistication are emphasized throughout this exchange as he chews his burger with his mouth open while laughing at Stephanie and states, "Why don't you go on a diet?" Stephanie informs Tony that they can be dance partners, but that's it. She doesn't want anything more than that. She contends: "Nothing personal. I don't want you coming onto me." Tony asks, "Why?", to which Stephanie makes a point to assert her dominance over Tony by stating: "Because I don't date guys like you anymore, for one thing. You're too young, you haven't got any class." Tony asks Stephanie: "Would you like to know what I do?" She replies: "It's not necessary". This is because she knows what he does. She knows the type of guy he is. Tony continues by stating: "I'll tell you what I do. I work in a paint store and I got a raise this week." Stephanie informs Tony: "Right. You work in a paint store, right? You probably live with your family, you hang out with your buddies, and on Saturday night you go, and blow it all off at 2001, right?". Tony informs her that she is right. Stephanie takes the high ground by contending: "You're a cliché. You're nowhere, on your way to no place."

Tony's education is questioned by Stephanie when she asks him, "Did you ever think of going to college?" Tony informs her that he didn't. She pushes him to find out the reason, as she is enrolled in college courses and is trying to better herself. Eventually, Tony lashes out at her as he feels that she is progressively "bugging" him. He informs Stephanie that he wants to feel the way he does about dancing someplace else. He just doesn't know where, but it's a start. At this point, he sees that his lifestyle isn't sustainable forever; it's just temporary. He just has to look for that some place and try to follow in the path of Stephanie or try to create a new path for himself.

Moreover, the theme of race is fundamentally and primarily conveyed in the film through the ignorance and arrogance of The Faces, as well as rival street gangs that consist of the Barracudas (a Puerto Rican gang) and a Spanish gang. All three gangs equally share a hatred towards each other. The main connotations ingrained within said hatred are race and culture. If it weren't for each group being a different race, being from a different culture, or being from a different neighbourhood, each group wouldn't be at each other's throats so much. The Faces believe that Bay Ridge is their territory. They don't want or like any other gang in their territory. They believe that they run the show. A sequence involving racial remarks made by The Faces begins when they arrive outside the 2001 in the first act of the film. Tony and his friends make racial remarks towards the black and Spanish community, demonstrating their immoral values and attitudes toward other cultures and races. They believe that they are the important people and that other cultures are below them or rivals to them. Another instance of racial stereotypes involved Gus informing the rest of The Faces that the Barracudas were responsible for hospitalizing him. Therefore, The Faces take it upon themselves to crash into the Barracudas’ bar as a form of revenge - engaging in a fistfight with each of them. When visiting Gus in the hospital afterward, The Faces bask in the glory of defeating their rival gang by informing Gus that they took out the Barracudas and achieved their revenge. Gus then confesses to his friends that he is not sure whether it was the Barracudas that stabbed him, and that it could have been 'the Spanish" instead. This sequence demonstrates that the groups have too many rivalries as a result of their egos, ignorance, and racial remarks, and they could easily make their lives worse by engaging in fights that they shouldn't be engaging in.

Lastly, with the dance competition finally in motion, Tony and Stephanie compete with a black couple and a Puerto Rican couple - Hector and Marie. When the black couple finishes dancing, a group of Spanish men shout "No good", and when the Puerto Rican couple is announced to dance, Joey (played by Joseph Cali) shouts "Wrong neighbourhood". As the Puerto Rican couple (Hector and Marie) engage in their rehearsed dance, Tony acknowledges that they are good. His friend replies: "They are spicks, look at them greasing up the floor". It just so happens that they are better than Tony and Stephanie. However, Tony and Stephanie won the competition. Following his win, Tony states that the competition was "rigged". Stephanie and his friends try to explain to Tony that they deserve to win, but Tony knows that the 2001 was biased. He wanted everyone to be truthful with him about his dancing. He would rather have been told that he was second best than lied to about being first best. Tony contends, "If the spicks are good, they deserve it. That's all there is to it." This is the breaking point for Tony. He can now see things for what they are. He knows that because the Puerto Rican gang "dumps on them, they gotta dump on the spicks". It's all a ripple effect. Tony set aside his pride, yet he is still not completely rising above racism. It was a start. He was ready to move on from the 2001 disco lifestyle and from his friends who were going nowhere. He could see right through them, and ultimately, being friends with Stephanie was a way to become a better person. He had to learn from his mistakes first and find a way to feel good about something once again in his life. If he could find it once, he could find it again. He just needed to know where he was going this time around.