Bring on the tough stuff. There’s not just one right answer.
- How do the characters in Dirty Dancing express themselves through dance? What do they say through dance that they're unable to say in words?
- What drives Baby to be a dancer?
- The first line of the film is, "That was the summer of 1963, when everybody called me Baby, and it didn't occur to me to mind." Why should Baby mind being called Baby? Do you think she'll ever go by her real name, Frances?
- Johnny initially doesn't like Baby. What changes his mind?
- Why did Johnny become a dancer? How does dancing allow him to transcend his lower-class status?
- Does Dirty Dancing make you nostalgic for any particular summer vacations of your past?
- What do you think will happen after the film's end? Will Johnny and Baby have a relationship, or was it a summer fling? Will Baby keep dancing? What will Johnny do for work?
- Was having a storyline about abortion a big risk for the filmmakers at the time? What does it add to the narrative that something else couldn't?
- Is Baby's relationship with Johnny authentic? Do you think part of it is rebellion against her parents and what they stand for?
- Don't you wish your dad was as understanding as Jake Houseman?