Footloose vs The Renaissance

The Metaphorical Similarities of the Renaissance presented in Footloose

During the Renaissance, art was an important part of secular life. It began to feature humanist concepts like the human body, everyday life, and human problems. This type of art was not favored by religious leaders, as it did not portray Christianity. It especially angered Girolamo Savonarola, a Dominican friar from Florence, Italy who cursed any type of luxury. He was a tyrannical leader, and was not popular during the height of the Renaissance. The ideals presented during the Renaissance were similar to those presented in the film Footloose.

Footloose is about a teenager named Ren McCormick who moves to Bomont, a conservative midwestern town. In this particular town there is a law against dancing, loud music, and late curfews. Unbeknown to Ren, he makes some enemies fairly quickly. The incident that inspired the laws took place one night after the teenage son of a preacher and a few of his friends got drunk after a night of partying and dancing. They tried to drive home but were struck by a truck and killed on impact. Prompted by the death of his son, Reverend Shaw Moore creates these laws to save the children of Beaumont from the eternal damnation of hell.

Reverend Shaw Moore is the modern reincarnation of Girolamo Savonarola. They were preachers who loved God and dedicated their lives to saving others from the ways of the devil. They believed that art, literature and music that didn't uplift God were immoral. Savonarola condemned any vanities-art, music, literature, fancy clothes, food, or furniture. Anything that brought pleasure was unholy, and Savonarola relentlessly encouraged his followers to spy on their neighbors and report indulgences of any kind. Reverend Moore had the same philosophy, but fortunately was not as extreme as his predecessor. He simply established laws banning what he considered to be the devil's work; obscene music, graphic books(whether they be violent or sexual), and anything else that could "corrupt the minds of today's youth"(Reverend Shaw Moore, Footloose, 1984). ( Ridolfi,Britannica and Girolamo Savonarola, p1)

Savonarola and Reverend Moore had a great deal of followers supporting their causes. Although the preachers had support, they also had opposers. In Reverend Shaw's case, it was the teenagers of Bomont. The Reverend takes away their music, which was reasonably important since the movie takes place during the 80's, which happened to be the age of Rock n' Roll. The teenagers were experiencing their own rebirth, and it was being stolen from them. Savonarola's opponents were supporters of the secular movement. They had no time for leisure activities and were tired of the boring and religiously-oppressive life of the old world. (The Catholic Encyclopedia and Savonarola,1)

In Footloose, when the law banning public dancing were too much for them to bear, the teeagers gathered at a city council meeting to propose their reasoning for why they should be allowed to have a dance. In essence, the teenagers put Reverend Moore on a trial for his conscious, challenging him and his morals. They killed his negative view of dancing and rock music by using what he loved most; the word of God. Savonarola was put on trial for preaching after his excommunication from the church in 1497 and for his oppressive rule of Florence. He was of course found guilty and executed along with two of his top supporters.(Ridolfi, Britannica and The The Trial and Execution of Savonarola,3)

Savonarola was always quite radical when it came to spreading his philosophy, but the most critical moment came when he gave the orders for the Bonfire of the Vanities in 1498. This particular bonfire was not the first, but it was certainly the largest of them. Savonarola and his supporters marched around and collected luxuries and pleasantries of all kinds and set flame to them. Furniture, books, soaps, cosmetics, art , books, clothes, and anything pleasant was thrown into the fire. Similarly, in Footloose, there was a bonfire of the literature, an act in which members of the community burned books from the library they deemed immoral. They were followers and strong believers of Reverend Moore's teachings, which led them to partake in such an immoral act. ( The History Channel and The Bonfire of the Vanities,1)

Two of Reverend Moore's faithful minions were Coach Roger Dunbar and his wife Eleanor Dunbar. They were firm believers of Reverend Moore's philosophy. They led the bonfire of the literature at the library and objected to anything that was too violent or vulgar. In the beginning of the film, both parents make a reference to the book Slaughterhouse Five, and how upset they were that it was being taught at the high school. The Dunbars were similar to Friar Salvestro and Friar Domenico, Savonarola's right-hand men. When put on trial for their crimes, they were asked whether they believed Savonarola was a prophet and got his influence directly from God. They said yes, and were sentenced to death. They were excommunicated from the Church and executed with Savonarola for their beliefs and radical ways. Just like the Dunbars, they believed they were in charge of saving the souls of all the people of the Earth. (Cavendish and The Execution of Florentine friar Savonarola, 1)

At the end of Footloose, the teens of Bomont finally got their dance, which is the end of the religiously conservative period in the town. At the end of Savonarola's life there was an execution, and the people of Florence were finally free of the oppressive reign of the friars and his followers. They are finally able to enjoy their luxuries without fear or persecution. Luxuries were celebrated again, and peace was temporarily restored. The hard and boring life was over, and it was time to start anew. (Kreis, History Guide and Savonarola, 1)

The Renaissance and Footloose are prime examples of what is possible when ideals and philosophies are taken to the extreme. In Footloose, the ideas that rock music and public dancing are wicked caused an entire town of nice, sensible, christian people to turn into immoral religious fanatics that were obsessed with saving everyone, even at the expense of one another. They were so obsessed with ridding the world of evil that they unintentionally brought it home. It was the same with Savonarola and his followers-they needed to save themselves and each other before committing to themselves to the world.