“Footloose” The Movie

Insights about Reverend Shaw Moore’s Role

Famous for the amazing dancing, and it is, the movie Footloose also has an underlying theme of dismissing pain.

Reverend Shaw Moore (John Lithgow) states multiple times in the movie that he feels “responsible” for the spiritual life of the community. Clearly he has chosen to be and is given permission to be ‘the voice of the community’ by so many. Not all, but many.

Why has he taken on this ‘responsibility’ without really being asked by the community to do so? Yes, he is the minister of a local church. I’m guessing it’s not the only church in town. However, we don’t know because that isn’t presented.

We discover part way through the movie that Rev. Moore’s senior in high school daughter, Ariel (Lori Singer), sharing with Ren (Kevin Bacon), that one night a few years ago her older brother was killed while driving drunk. And that her father has taken on the mission to “save the town.”

He dismisses his pain. Instead of taking a path of publicly grieving and admitting some guilt or sadness or deep, profound pain around this death, Rev. Moore stuffs his feelings from this wound. He becomes abusive in establishing the morality of the community according to his rules.

Self-proclaimed as the ‘moral compass’ for the community feels like maybe in that role he will have some control. Maybe he can ‘atone’ for his guilt of not preventing his son from drinking and driving. In reality, he can’t. However, he’s not in reality. Rev. Moore is in a manufactured life style to avoid feeling.

Born out of pain, his attempt at controlling others drives his life. It impacts his marriage and his relationship with his only child now, his daughter Ariel.

Instead of engaging with her, Shaw has established himself as ‘the police of her comings and goings and her behavior.’ At least that’s how Ariel feels. We don’t see interaction for a good part of the movie that indicates otherwise.

It doesn’t feel like Rev. Moore has made a conscious choice. It feels reactionary.

In this role as the minister, he “knows what is best for his community.” And it is NOT dancing or rock ’n’ roll music in 1984. He is absolutely sure about that. Dancing always leads to promiscuity in his mind. Ignoring anything else that might lead to promiscuity, dancing is definitely ‘out’.

Rev. Moore turns his feelings of powerlessness, grief and maybe even guilt, into his life’s mission. Constantly attempting to feel powerful (which he doesn’t) he continues to search outside of himself to control others. Judgmental and shame-inducing in his behavior towards others is his motivation. That creates false power. Temporarily he feels like he’s in control or in his power but it doesn’t last. Never real power.

In order to keep pushing away his feelings, the need, like an addiction, increases as he continually preaches things like “my Lord is going to come to me and ask for an explanation for the lives of each and everyone of you.”

What?????

That is such a manufactured, made up belief Rev. Moore carries so that he can, again, try to feel powerful. By shaming his congregation, by trying to make them feel guilty for his relationship with the Lord he is completely in false power.

With Ariel, most of his communication is what she is doing wrong, how he has no control over her, how he is losing her. Let’s get clear, he’s not asking her what’s happening for her, how she feels, how she is dealing with the grief of her brother. No. That conversation is off the table. Nobody is talking about or feeling directly the grief. It’s all being deflected into other behaviors.

Hitting Ariel across the face one day, he has reached such a point of anger and feels so out of control.

Ariel is emotionally and physically abused by Chuck, a guy she is dating. Do you see the correlation? Her father is emotionally abusing her, not listening to her, not trusting her so she is challenged about trusting herself. He’s not spiritually guiding her to become a human being who is self-trusting and self-loving.

Shaw later tells his wife, Vi (Dianne Wiest), “I’ve never hit anybody before.”

Vi agrees with him. When Shaw tells her that he feels like they are losing Ariel, Vi sees Shaw chasing after his daughter and Ariel is running from him. Able to deliver a piece of truth, Vi tells him that he needs some work on his one-on-one relationship skills.

What’s missing in all of this is honesty. Emotional honesty.

Imagine the movie if Rev. Moore had chosen a path of feeling grief, admitting to his congregation the pain he feels, the sense of loss of his son, the deep remorse or guilt — whatever is his truth.

What if that became the real conversation which opened up permission for everybody else to acknowledge their pain and grief? What if the support he provided was a shoulder for people to cry on, an authentic sharing of stories and feelings about what it’s like to lose somebody you love so deeply?

What if the ‘compassion’ he once preached about became real? What if the compassion was listening to Ariel instead of trying to control her? What if that emotional gap were closed and they connected through authentic feelings?

Of course, there wouldn’t have been the dramatic fight on Ren’s and the high school seniors’ part to ‘earn’ a prom. The story could have unfolded where Rev. Moore shared his fears, his concerns, his beliefs and yet allowed others to have theirs with as much conviction as he did. There could have been a ‘learning from’ vs. a ‘it’s my way in this town’ attitude.

Yes, it would have been a very different movie. I get it.

To me, the real strength of a person who feels responsible for the spiritual life of the community acts differently then Rev. Moore. They invite everybody with whom they communicate to have their own emotional truth, to encourage authentic feelings and communication. They honor other viewpoints. They encourage self-trust. They teach self-love.

Fortunately, this is a Hollywood movie from the 1980s so there is a redeeming experience, when Rev. Moore says that he’s learning about his role, like a first time parent. Adding, in his sermon, that the community needs to start trusting their children if they want their children to be trustworthy, he’s referring to the dance that has been established in the next town over for their senior prom.

In spite of him, the kids find a way to have their prom, with the help of an adult or two, one of which is Rev. Moore’s wife, Vi.

Shaw and Ariel have a few moments of hugging as she apologizes for not making things easier for him. Pretty sure he isn’t apologizing for his behavior, however. What is that teaching her? That to have a relationship of closeness with her father, at all, it’s up to her and she takes responsibility for her behavior and he doesn’t. Wonder what kind of men she might be attracted to?

In summary, being conscious of being in pain and admitting it creates more authentic communication and relationships than stuffing pain, and trying to control others to create a sense of personal power — that never lasts because it’s false power.

I so appreciate the writing of Dean Pitchford (who also co-wrote many of the songs in the movie) for sharing this story and providing an opportunity to see it from a different viewpoint — and to see the potential impact!

Pamelah Landers is an Intuitive Business Mentor and Relationship Expert. www.PamelahLanders.com