The original Broadway play has turned fifty recently. Its famous cinematic adaptation is almost forty-four. Its failed sequel is turning forty this year. Its television remake was released almost six years ago. Each version differs from the others. Grease is the word Gen X heard tirelessly, until the moment Gen Z cancelled it.
The musical was created by Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey, its plot, characters, and dialogue were inspired by Jacob’s high school experience in Chicago and Casey’s in New York. The title was named after the 1950s working-class youth subculture in the Southern and Eastern United States, which was well-known as ‘greasers’. Some considered it one of the first types of street gangs. The name came from the Greaser Act in 1855, which was a protective and oppressive law created in California against Mexicans who were unarmed, but not peaceful or quiet. In addition, “greasers” were Mexicans that greased carts in the mid-1800s, one of the worst jobs that anyone could have, therefore the word had negative connotations. In the 1950s, Greasers went against social norms and post-war traditionalism and conformism. Its members were influenced by the rising rebellion of rock and roll music and attitude. In addition, the title also refers to the hair grease this gang used.
Grease was first performed in the original Kingston Mines Theatre in Chicago in 1971. Originally, there were unlikeable characters, controversial issues, and themes, such as teenage pregnancy, peer pressure, gang violence, love, friendship, teenage rebellion, sexual exploration and to some extent, class consciousness and conflict. Besides that, the play was considered rough, aggressive, and purposely vulgar (littered with cursing, sexual references, and grit). These factors contributed to the initial bad reception and reviews. However, this changed when the producers, Ken Waissman and Maxine Fox changed its location to the Big Apple. So in the following year on Valentine’s Day, Grease was released in Broadway theatres. There were modifications to the play, including softening the vulgar content, changing the references to Chicago to something more universally relatable, and more singing and dancing (each character had their own solo). Curiously, its initial audience was mostly nostalgic blue-collars.
In the present day, the film has been one of the targets of Gen Z’s culture-cancel due to its lack of diversity and representations of toxic masculinity, homophobia, misogyny, sexism, fatphobia, xenophobia, and racism. In addition, a popular interpretation of the end message is to change to impress someone else. Before adopting this interpretation it is fundamental to consider its context.
First and foremost, the differences among the audiences and generations should be taken into consideration. Even though it is a young market, youth culture has changed, as have the characteristics of these age groups and the products consumed. For example, smoking cigarettes which for a long time was considered cool but has recently been villanized. Nowadays vaping is a trend among young people. Radio and television were the voices of youth and the main means of communication, today the internet occupies these spaces.
At the moment Grease (Randal Kleiser, 1978) was released, there were not many teen movies, and youth culture was a recent concept, so the film and its characters, dilemmas and themes gave an important sense of relatability to a young audience, despite the fact there were older stars in the cast. This is a part of the film’s legacy that is undeniable and clear in many subsequent productions, like Gen Z’s beloved High School Musical (Kenny Ortega, 2006), which was initially meant to be a sequel of Grease and homaged in Glee (2009-2015).
Another important consideration regarding Grease is the positive depictions of some issues that are relevant nowadays. For instance, an element of diversity through an international couple in the leading role. Sandy is from Australia and Danny is from the United States. Additionally, characters’ names, such as Sonny LaTierri (Michael Tucci) and Chacha DiGregorio (Annette Charles) implies that both are from other ethnic backgrounds. Diversity is represented in Latin music (La Bamba) and doo-wop and rock music as both genres were originated in the African American community. In addition, there are female characters in powerful job positions, such as Principal Greta McGee (Eve Arden) and Mrs Murdock (Alice Ghostley) as a mechanic teacher.
Besides that, it is evident that Grease pays homage to the 1950s aesthetic creating a sense of nostalgia. Danny Zuko is a mixture of Elvis Presley, James Dean and Paul Newman, while Sandy is a blend of Sandra Dee and Doris Day. However, in the movie, there is a subversion of the decade’s common tropes and roles, being more a genuine portrayal of the post-1960s. The swinging sixties were well-known by the sexual revolution through the women’s liberation movement and access to the contraceptive pill. In the film, the decade’s culture is demonstrated by the affirmation of sexuality from both sides, complex and blended gender representations, sex as a form of self-expression and awareness of safe sex.
Four years later, Grease gained a sequel, directed by Patricia Birch, and starring Michelle Pfeiffer and Max Caulfield, however, it failed and was considered outrageous. In 2016, Fox broadcasted the television special, Grease Live! (Thomas Kail & Alex Rudzinski). This version tries to be faithful to the 1978 film through the replica of the dialogues and even cameos from the first movie. Despite these similarities, there are clear differences due to its format and context, including more popular music stars of the present time, and increased diversity through including a black Pink Lady member, her secret Korean boyfriend, male cheerleaders, and same-sex couples in the dance contest. I dare mention there is a High School Musical influence, mixing the school tribes, near the end, when Danny passes the baton to Eugene (the nerd).
This year, the streaming platform Paramount+ released its prequel Grease: Rise of the Pink Ladies on April 6, an upcoming musical romantic comedy…Will Grease still be a word for the younger generation? Or will it turn into a prohibited word instead?
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