Whitewashing the Streets: Reinforced White Hegemony in Step Up 2: The Streets

• In Event: Scholar to Scholar I

Abstract

Step Up 2: The Streets marks a departure from typical urban dance film, eliminating racial cooperation in favor of racial dominance. The underdogs struggling for acceptance are not minorities or poor people, but middle-class whites attending private school, expecting immediate acceptance because of their desire to dance. This paper analyzes the film’s implicit racial codes, messages about the availability of cultural art forms for adoption, and the inherent value of whiteness.

Author

• Kimberly Singletary, Northwestern University