Strrictly Ballroom Charachter of Barry Fife
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Baz Luhrmann's film Strictly Ballroom has many themes, but one of the most central ones is the 'fairytale' theme. Every fairytale includes several stereotypical characters. In Strictly Ballroom, these include the 'ugly duckling', the 'damsel in distress', the 'knight in shining armour', 'Cinderella and her wicked stepsisters' and, of course, the 'ogre'. It is no surprise that the role of the ogre is played by manipulative Barry Fife, the Ballroom Dancing Federation President.
The first opening shot of Barry Fife shows him in front of a red curtain. This is fitting, as throughout the film, all of the characters who are seen to have power in the Ballroom World, such as judges and officials, are seen in front of a red curtain. This metaphorically illustrates the fact that Barry Fife is important, as red is a sign of royalty. Luhrmann does this to poke fun at the fact that the entire ballroom world treats him as if he were royalty. The camera always looks up at him, to suggest that he is higher than everyone else, as this is how many people in the Ballroom World respect him and see him as extremely powerful.
His face constantly looks red, as if he were about to explode, and this is especially noticeable when he is in the kitchen and there is a symbolic comparison between him and piece of bloody, raw meat...