What Dance Movies & Superhero Movies Have In Common

Superheroes save the world. And dancers express music with their bodies. They're from two different worlds but in the entertainment industry, they may have more in common than you think. Superhero movies have become a familiar genre, especially during the summer blockbuster season. Everyone has become accustomed to rules, cliches, and archetypes of superhero stories to the point where it's part of our common pop culture language. Now, they're being reinvented. Are dance movies following the same path as superhero movies? Dance movies have stereotypes and familiar tripes, and we're reaching a plateau where dance is becoming more accepted in mainstream entertainment culture. Maybe a reinvention of dance in films and television is needed right now.

In the late 1990s, Hollywood was laying the groundwork for the comeback of the superhero movie. Marvel and New Line Cinema released the first Blade film. This was followed up by the first X-Men movie distributed by Twentieth Century Fox in 2000. Then, the king of all superhero movies in the early 2000s - Spiderman - unleashed its mantra of great power coming with great responsibility. We were in the golden age of superhero cinema. These films have become big business and they replaced the typical action-adventure stories of earlier years. Now, as an audience, we're so familiar with the idea of superheroes to the extent that filmmakers are taking chances and reinventing the genre. Whether it's Zack Snyder's Watchmen, Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight, or the recent Matthew Vaughn film Kick-Ass; the superhero movie is coming of age and maturing. Why can't we do that with dance movies?

There are some important differences between these two genres. Superheroes touch something deep inside our souls. They inspire us to become more than what we are and to change our surrounding world. They're empowering for those who feel powerless. And they're big business these days. Hollywood's business model has changed where franchises are sought after properties. They're willing to bet on something that has a following in order to get their money back. Dancers are not traditionally seen as storytellers, so it's hard for a studio to see a dance movie as something more than what we've seen in the past. Dancers aren't seen as touching people's souls or inspiring them to become more than what they are. They're not as ingrained in pop culture as superheroes.

But we're getting close to a point now where dance is becoming more of a familiar element in entertainment. Whether it's backup dancers in Fox's Glee or Nickelodeon's The Fresh Beat Band, dancers are popping up more in the mainstream. The familiar reality dance TV shows like So You Think You Can Dance and America's Best Dance Crew have filled the airwaves with dance on television. But where's the reinvention? Dancers are superheroes. So it's not a surprise that Jon M. Chu's LXD posits dancers with superheroic abilities and stories. For reinvention to occur, we need to convince investors and studios that dance movies are able to make a big profit. This will attract top notch filmmakers and actors who may not be interested in this genre at first. Look at Iron Man and The Dark Knight as parallel examples in the superhero movie genre.

One day, it's possible that dancers will become valued as superheroes in mainstream pop culture. Are we nearing that stage? If anything, it will be more feasible for an inspired kid to become a dancer than a costumed superhero in real life. That's a practical application.