The Films That Make Us: Hairspray
Cameron and Her Mom
Interviewer: Cameron Northlake
Interviewee: Julie Northlake
My immediate family alone spans across many decades. My dad’s a St. Louis native who still has his tickets from Woodstock. My mom’s a Florida-grown southerner whose family has traced their genealogy back to the first man who got off the boat from Germany. I could have asked my parents about a lot of movies and experiences they’ve seen throughout their lives. However, the first thing that came to my mind was my mom’s love for Hairspray. As someone who grew up in the South in the 60s and 70s, Hairspray brings back memories of integration for my mom while also being an extremely fun and lighthearted movie. I can remember her excitement when my high school did a production of the musical, and her bringing the CD of the soundtrack in the car as we ran errands together. Though I was well aware of her love for the movie, I wanted to interview her about her thoughts on it, particularly as an adult, to get a further look at why this film is so important to her.
First, can you tell me a little bit about yourself?
My name is Julie, and I was born in 1959, so I was a child in the 1960s and a teenager in the 1970s. I was born in Orlando, Florida. I’m the daughter of southerners; my family’s been here for almost 100 years in Central Florida.
Julie Northlake (bottom center) with her parents and four older siblings in the early 1960s
So, Hairspray. Do you remember the first time you saw it?
I do. I do remember the first time I saw it. I saw the 2007 musical version of Hairspray and I thought it was great.
How’d it make you feel, watching it for the first time, do you remember?
Yeah, you know, I loved that movie. There are several versions of this story out there and I really enjoyed this one because- number one I liked musicals, but also, I thought that the storyline was really… fuller in this version versus others. I thought that when the movie ended, it ended on a really happy note, and I think I felt really happy at the end of the film, given all that the characters had been through from the beginning to the ending.
So, what specifically about this movie was so impactful to you?
I think what was impactful to me was seeing this story of segregation being told in the way […] I think I just like the fact that the good guys won [laugh], if that’s the right way of putting it. I think I like the fact that what needed to happen did happen, and it happened without violence, and I thought that that was a real plus, given the fact that a group of individuals did come together and protest and did make a stance — that they won, that their goal was met, and that equality was achieved versus inequality.
How has this movie changed you? Or how do you think the experience has changed you?
Well, I was a little girl during that time period that the movie took place, which was in the early 60s, or middle 60s, so I was just a little girl and I only remember things from, y’know, what I saw from my brothers and sisters and in my household here in the south. I grew up in a segregated school in town at that time, and it wasn’t until 1970 maybe that we saw integration, slowly, by way of teachers coming into the white schools, that started first, and then students began to be bust in and out. So, I sort of saw that time - that story - from a child, so watching that movie, I saw it from the point of view of an adult… and I guess a few things sort of solidified in my mind, kind of what happened. I think I was just really proud to see that story told. I liked the fact that it all kind of worked out at the end.
Protests for Desegregation led by Motormouth Maybelle (Queen Latifah) and Tracy Turnbald (Nikki Blonsky)
Have your opinions or thoughts on the film changed since the first time you saw it?
Well, yes and no. The first time I saw it I was just happy. I just loved how it was told and I loved how there was no violence. That was 2007 and here we are at 2021 and… we’re still telling this story and I still feel like there’s a lot of racism and we’re not getting any better, and if anything there’s more violence associated with racism now than ever, and that makes me really sad, and makes me a little bit… well, I’m very disappointed. I’m disappointed in… I guess my race. But, on the other hand, we have made some progress and I think that companies - and I see it in my own company, company that I work for, rather - is having discussions about racism and inclusion and all these things and I like the fact that there are discussions being had that I don’t think were being had before, or at least not fully. That part I’m glad for but I still think we have a long way to go, and I hope we get there.
What’s your favorite scene from the movie, or your favorite character?
I have a couple of favorite characters. One of my favorite characters is the host of the television show that the story’s centered around - there’s a dance show in Baltimore and the host of the show, the character’s name is Corny Collins, and I thought that he was comical, he’s played by James Marsden – who’s very talented – but the character, he’s very progressive, and for that time period I was just thrilled to see that, from a white man, to be honest, to see him sort of see the future and see what was important as far as integrating that all-white television show. If you remember the movie, they tried early by having what was called “Negro Day” and they brought in all-black dancers to fill that and that in itself was sort of silly, but you have to look at it as part of the steppingstone to where they finally got. So, I enjoy that character and sort of set up the movie to say that times were changing, this guy was making it known that it was changing and we’re going to see it in media, and I guess because I work in media, I was glad for that.
The Corny Collins Show in Hairspray (2007)
And then the other character I really loved just because he’s so talented was a guy named Elijah Kelley who played Seaweed Stubbs. He’s a supporting character and I just enjoyed his talent, his singing ability, but in the story he’s attracted to a white teenager - he’s black, and he’s attracted to a white teenager - and he’s fearless, you know, he’s just a very likable character, but he pursues his goal, or his desire, to be with a person that he cares for and loves or, or at least likes very much, and she just happens to be white, and I think during that time period interracial couples were trailblazers in a lot of ways but you have to admire then for their strength and stamina for going against what was not accepted at this time.
But there are plenty of characters in that film that I liked a lot and I thought they were entertaining, but those two characters - Seaweed Stubbs and Corny Collins - they sort of represent- one guy’s white, one guy’s black, they both see the injustice and they both bring to light that there’s just no difference between someone with black skin and someone with white skin. And they stood up for what they believed in.
That’s one thing I like about that movie, and similar movies, is that it is a heavy, pressing topic, no matter what time period it’s set in, that one just happens to be segregation and integration and civil rights movement, but it’s played in a lighthearted way. I don’t want to say “lighthearted,” but it’s a very positive movie and the subject matter is treated seriously, but the whole movie is in good spirits and makes you feel good - it doesn’t make you feel bad about what’s happening or what was happening.
You’re exactly right. You’re exactly right, and it tells a very important story in a good way- in a nonthreatening way. I thought it was thought provoking, to be honest. I think when I first saw it, silly me, I applauded at the end of it because I just thought it was so fun, I just thought “Oh this has gotta win every Academy Award and I was so surprised that it wasn’t nominated for any because I thought it was a fabulous movie and hit all the right notes and that the casting was very good. It had some silliness to it, lightheartedness, the characters, Tracy Turnblad’s parents were quirky but entertaining, and I think that brought some levity to the seriousness of the film. You have someone like Queen Latifa who played Maybelle, I think it was […] I like the fact that she’s a supporting character, but she had quite a presence and she of course was one that helped organized the march.
I thought all the characters were great - Allison Janney, who played a […] fundamentalist, Christian, racist woman, not that all those things go hand in hand at all… she just was a real stick character and I thought she was a nice balance, if you can call it that. You had to have some of these extreme characters, if you want to say it that way, to sort of “represent,” unfortunately, you have to kind of explain and set up what the times were like. I don’t know if anyone today, really, unless you lived it, really understood how bad it was. How bad racism was and how important civil rights movement was and continues to be.