ONE WOMAN'S JOURNEY THE UNOFFICIAL BLOG: HERALD SUN

Herald Sun

6 Feb 2021

NUI TE KOHA

GREASE is still the word — especially after superstar Olivia Newton-John verballed woke critics who slammed the classic film as misogynist and racist. The backlash to the beloved 1978 movie — which is set in a US high school in the 1950s, and follows the romance between Newton-John’s drab Sandy Olsson and John Travolta’s bad boy Danny Zuko — was sparked after it screened on television in Britain.

Haters posted their online complaints faster than greased lightning. Some objected to the “Did she put up a fight?” lyric in the hit song Summer Nights, claiming it made light of issues around sexual consent.

There were also claims of homophobia over a scene in which radio announcer Vince Fontaine says same-sex couples cannot compete in a dance contest. Others bemoaned the lack of racial diversity. “Watched Grease on the BBC, surprised they let it go, full of white people,” one viewer tweeted.

The film was also accused of “slut-shaming” a key character, Betty Rizzo, played by Stockard Channing. Rizzo was disdained by others for having unprotected sex while promiscuous men were celebrated as macho. But Newton-John, still hopelessly devoted to the hit movie musical, responded to the outcry on the A Life of Greatness podcast.

“In this particular instance I think it’s kind of silly,” she told podcast host Sarah Grynberg. “The movie was made in the 1970s about the 1950s. It was a stage play, it’s a musical, it’s fun, a fun movie musical, not to be taken so seriously … we need to relax a little bit and just enjoy things for what they are.” Made on a measly $6m budget, Grease has made $396m at the box office.

In 2020, the film was selected for preservation in the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant.” Newton-John said her only concern about the film was playing a teenager.

“I was nervous that I was too old,” she told Parade last year. “Now I look at it and think about how silly that was. It’s all relative. “I was 29 and concerned, but as John Travolta told me at the time, ‘Listen, none of us are teenagers, don’t worry about it’.” The movie was made in the 1970s about the 1950s. It was a stage play, it’s a musical, it’s fun, a fun movie musical, not to be taken so seriously !