How do you relate the 2007 movie Hairspray to identity?

I think that the concept of identity is an important
element to the film.  On one hand, Tracy has a firm conception of herself and what her
passions are.  She goes to school, and then she and her friend, Penny, live to watch the
Corny Collins show and love to dance.  Throughout the film, Tracy's identity changes in
terms of recognizing the social injustice of racism and seeking to remedy a structural
problem through local action.  Tracy's sense of identity becomes linked to this cause,
and in the process, she both recognizes and represents that which is right in the face
of practices that are wrong.  Tracy actively seeks to fight for the cause of racial
equality and integration as part of her identity. The individual carving of identity has
become something larger and more universal in Tracy's evolution.  Her passions have
become merged with this larger component, and this is something that she expects out of
the people around her.  In the end, her "dream" of racial integration accomplished,
Tracy's identity is displayed as something that proves to be both self affirming as an
adolescent and one that is representative of the strong sensibilities of a democratic
order.