In 2007, director Adam Shankman decided to remake the 1988 musical drama, Hairspray. Casting Nikki Blonsky, playing Tracy Turnblad, and Zac Efron, playing Link Larkin, to portray the two main characters, he perfectly executes the times in which they were living. Based in 1960 in Baltimore, segregation was at its height. The film revolves around a dance show called “The Corny Collins Show,” which Tracy Turnblad auditions to be a part of. After making it onto the Corny Collins Show, Tracy recognized that there was a special night once a month called Negro Day; this was where the Corny Collins Show allowed the African Americans to integrate and dance with the white dancers. Even then, there was a rope completely separating the two and they danced on different stages. Within the film, through the use of visual aspects there is a motif of the mistreatment of African Americans and the movement of integrating races on the Corny Collin’s Show, led by the main character, Tracy Turnblad.

At this time, schools had been integrated. But there is still a clear line of distinction. No mixed couples and no mixed friend groups, the African Americans sat together at lunch and the white kids sat together in lunch. Most of the African American students spent their days in the detention room, but this wasn’t as bad as it seems. One day, Tracy Turnblad received a detention for inappropriate hair height, which another student complained about and went into the detention room. Her hair constantly being too high was where we saw her rebellious side and the film began to hint that she would take a stand in what she wanted, and what she believed in. Once she arrived in the detention room, the visuals completely changed. The room was dark and dull, the desks were drawn all over and not nice, there was no teacher even looking after the African American student. This image immediately changed the feeling of the movie, the viewers could tell because of the duller colors and differences that they were viewed as less, and given worse conditions to learn in. 

In the detention room, Tracy was surrounded by a completely new style of dance. Wanting this dance to be shown on the Corny Collins Show, she made the suggestion of the African American students coming to dance with them. This was automatically turned down; it was socially unheard of to have a racially integrated TV show during this time period. This was when Tracy’s efforts to make this change were put into place.  As Link, the “perfect, all American boy,” and Tracy began to get closer; he stuck up for her when she got another detention, landing him in detention as well. But in the film, one could visually see the discomfort on his face when he walked into the room full of African Americans, almost immediately regretting his decision. There was a clear, distinct line between the whites and blacks. This immediate discomfort the Link was showing was unfair to the African Americans but it was the typical treatment that occurred during that time. After getting comfortable, he saw how truly talented the African American dancers would be on the show, and how unfair the treatment was. Link was considered a main component of the show so for him to begin to notice this was a big deal in Tracy’s effort to integrate the show.  

After an incident on the show, the “privileges” of Negro day was in the process of being revoked. Tracy’s biggest act of integration was when the African Americans decided to take a march after in defense of Negro Day, after it was taken away. They went from having one day on the show every month, to having absolutely nothing. Tracy was the only white woman to stick up for this, a courageous act that could have had her dream of being on the show taken away. When a rude police officer was speaking to them and not paying them the attention they deserved, she tapped him on the head to have him listen. As he turned around though, the visual expression of him realizing that it was a young white woman who was in this protest was unforgettable. His astonished facial features were significant in that things were changing, and many people weren’t ready for it. This is blown out of proportion saying that she assaulted the police officer and there was now a warrant out for her arrest. By standing with the African Americans in this time, she began to be treated with the same disrespect that they were treated with. This was something that she was willing to put up with for the cause that she believed in. 

Every year there was a dancer on the Corny Collins show that was voter by the viewers to be “Dance Queen”. This movie in particular revolved around the crowning of the 1998’s Corny Collins Dance Queen. Tracy was in the running, along with many other cast members and most importantly the reigning champion, Amber. Tracy starts a dance number where others who are not on the show join in and sing and dance together. During the final number, Link ran down and grabbed an African American girl, Little Inez, who has been dreaming of dancing on the show one day. In this visual, facial expressions said everything. Little Inez was ecstatic, for she thought that this day may never had come. And many of the older white people were surprised, and many looks disgusted at the change occurring. The couple danced and she was able to show off what she could have offered to the show. The phones started ringing off the hook. Even though she was not in the competition, Little Inez received more votes then any other girl in the competition. She was the first African American to do so and won the competition, Little Inez landed herself the lead spot on the show for next year. Tracy’s efforts to change the show were occurring through the help of other’s beliefs changing and others becoming far more accepting. 

Finally, there was the monumental final scene where Tracy was lowered onto the floor of the live show wearing a checkerboard dress. Her fashion choice and the image of this represented the bringing together of races and ending of segregation on the show. The visual image is a direct illustration of the theme of the two colors coming together at the end of the movie. The dress was offensive to many of the white folks who were still against segregation but it was a bold visual statement signifying integration was now official. Earlier in this scene, a white girl on live TV looks into the camera and said, “I’m a checkerboard chick”, and proceeds to kiss an African American man for the whole world to see.  The host of the show, Corny Collins, announced that the show will be officially integrated and Negro day was no longer. In the final dance number, there were mixed couples, which was unheard of during this time. Everyone was finally coming together. Throughout the entire movie, Tracy made an extreme effort for the African Americans to be treated fairly and for all races to be brought together on the Corny Collin’s Show. 