Themes from 'Saturday Night Fever'

This is an analysis of 'Saturday Night Fever' starring John Travolta

HIs role as Vincent in Pulp Fiction was great but this role, as Tony Manero in Saturday Night Fever, started it all. I did a plot analysis for this film and later I will be posting a scene analysis to go with this. Thanks and leave a comment. 

Saturday Night Fever is about the need we all have for acceptance:

• The celebrity icons on the posters on Tony’s wall, like Rocky, Farrah Faucett, Bruce Lee, and Al Pacino; someone in the film even tells him that he looks like Serpico, a character played by Al Pacino
• Bobby C feels pressured to marry a girl he got pregnant because her parents and his parents believes he should. Tony even asks Bobby what he wants to do about it
• When Stephanie and Tony go out on their 1st date, Stephanie makes herself out to be superior to Tony in every way. She knows all the important people, she lives in Manhattan, etc
• Tony’s is disappointed that he isn’t more like his brother, Frank, who is a priest
• Annette believes that by conforming to the sexual whims of Tony and his friends that she can get Tony to love her

The Film is also about the fact that we all need help sometimes:

• Throughout the film, Bobby C cries out for help prior to accidentally killing himself
• Annette needs someone to teach her how to love herself
• Tony wants to get to the other side of the bridge but by the end of the film he realizes that he needs help
• Even though Stephanie acts high and mighty in front of Tony, she receives help from the older guy she lives with

This idea that we all need help is summed up at the end of the movie by Stephanie taking hold of Tony’s hand.