The early flashback of her mother¡¦s death establishes Sara¡¦s confused and unsettling mind presented through a myriad of scenes and images of the events that led to her ballet audition and consequent death of the her mother. These flashing images with rushing Dutch-tilt window shots of the train passing its surroundings create the mood of unsettling frustration that Sara feels. She blames her mother¡¦s death on herself and gives up ballet only possessing a ¡¥magazine¡¨, to which the camera zooms up on, in memory of this part of her life.

The film utilizes a wide selection of camera shots to portray different meanings and effects to reflect the change

The employment of the recurring motif of the train further symbolizes the changing character of Sara in a new society. The train takes Sara into the black community but also presents her opportunities to watch, perform and relive her dream of ballet. In the train Sara also experiences negative reactions towards her befriending of Derek, of black American descent, shown strongly by the close-up shots of disgust by an elderly white lady. Sara¡¦s audition at the end of the film shows her dancing a mixture of classical ballet and hip hop to portray her changing self and integration into society. The scene portrays Sara¡¦s new and happy self and a montage created by various camera shots and angles highlight her complete and changed character.

Sara¡¦s difference in society is portrayed through the regular zooming out in scenes to highlight Sara¡¦s white Anglo-Saxon attributes amidst a crowd of black Americans. Such cases are seen at school, at the dance club, and in the clinic where a close-up is shown of the uncomfortable reactions two children towards Sara¡¦s presence, which slowly zooms out creating a segregated attitude towards Sara.

To portray the psychical living conditions that change from Sara¡¦s moving to Chicago, lots of cacophonic city sounds of car honks, police sirens, and rattling trains tracks are contrasted to the peaceful diagetic ambient sounds of birds chirping in her hometown. Sara faces a new environment where the black American majority listen to ¡¥hip hop¡¦ and Sara adapts it to fit into society. There is however, negative

Some topics in this essay:
Sarah Johnson, Sara Sara¡¦s, Chicago Sara¡¦s, , Thomas Carter, ¡§save dance¡¨, camera shots, changing character, character sara, changing character sara, changing self, accustomed living predominantly, black ghetto society, shots recurring, mother¡¦s death, recurring motifs, hip hop, portray changing, living predominantly black, predominantly black ghetto,