I Carried A Watermelon by Katy Brand

I Carried A Watermelon by Katy Brand 

Like Katy Brand, I was a teenager when Dirty Dancing was released in cinemas and I loved it. I wasn’t allowed to go and see it at the cinema so I had to wait until my friend got it on VHS and we organised a sleep over. I loved it immediately and since then have watched it countless times. I can’t say I’d ever thought about it as obsessively as Brand does but it does stand out for me as a rare film with a female protagonist and I wanted to be Baby so badly. I blame her for my perm. 

Brand’s book is a must for Dirty Dancing fans. It treads a fine line between autobiography and academic study of the film. There’s no doubting she’s a super fan but she also makes observations that show this is not simply a feel good film about dancing. The reasons I loved Baby when I was 14 still stand today. In a decade of the kind of glamour shown by her sister Lisa or dancer Penny, she isn’t overtly sexy. Although her clothes become skimpier, it’s for the dancing and because she’s a girl becoming more aware of her body and its ability to move. Before the final showcase her sister offers a makeover but relents: ‘you’re prettier in your own way’. She’s also intelligent and has aspirations beyond her looks: she reads, she keeps up with world affairs and wants to join the Peace Corps. 

In characters like Baby and Jonny, as well as the decline of Kellermans and old fashioned characters like the waiter Robbie, the film presents us with a microcosm of social change. Women like Mrs Houseman, who incidentally rarely speaks, are the old order. Baby and Penny represent the new feminism - they have different aspirations and progressive moral values. Brand makes the point that the abortion storyline central to the film’s set-up is handled without any moral angst or disapproval. It makes the political point of access to safe, legal abortion but Baby borrows money from her father for Penny without any comment or question. Similarly, Dr Houseman treats her afterwards without any moralising on his part. He is disappointed that Baby has lied to him and borrows money for something illegal but he doesn’t utter a word against Penny for her choice. It’s observations like this that take the book above mere fandom and into a proper analysis of the film that makes you think. 

Added to this is insider gossip from on set and from the original Kellermans where you can still stay on very popular Dirty Dancing weekends. I love Brand’s enthusiasm and unapologetic love of the film. This is a great gift for someone who loves the film and wants to know more about the background to the film’s production, but also more about where it sits in terms of social commentary. It will make you want to watch the film all over again.