MovieChat Forums > Imitation of Life (1959) Discussion > Do White People Look At this Movie Diffe...

Do White People Look At this Movie Differently Then Black People

posted 10 years ago by marbleann
8 replies | jump to latest

I do. Me and my friends use to sit around and watch 2 movies if they came on TV this and A Summer Place..

Looking at it now it never occurred to me until I got older that this was suppose to be a real tearjerker and people had gotten upset over it.
We thought it was the mothers fault the daughter has so much self hatred. Why in the heck didn't the mother put a stop to her foolishness way in the beginning instead of acting like it was something to be sorry for, being black. I never advocated violence, but when her boyfriend hit her for passing we thought that if her mother had let her know being black is not bad, she would not been out there looking for a racist white guy, Susie's part was the smartest character about race in the movie. And I am serious. Lora was condescending, but at least she said something to Sara Jayne, but the mothers is apologetic.

The remake is even worse then the original but the daughter had the same problem and the mother acted the same way. The funniest scene was the end when she runs to the funeral profession. The original at least had Marcus Garvey people at the funeral.

[–] disinterested_spectator 10 years ago

White and black people are bound to look at this movie differently. On the other hand, it would not surprise me if some white and black people would agree that the moral of the movie is that everyone should accept who he or she is and not pretend to be something else, while other white and black people would say that the message of the movie is that everyone should know his or her place and stay in it.

Those in the former camp would probably agree with you that it is not bad to be black, not something to be sorry for; those in the latter camp would disagree, especially considering the way things were in the 1950s.

If I had been

[–] marbleann 10 years ago

White and black people are bound to look at this movie differently. On the other hand, it would not surprise me if some white and black people would agree that the moral of the movie is that everyone should accept who he or she is and not pretend to be something else,

That more or less is how I feel. Which make me so mad at the mothers character. I am not so mad at her passing which I would never do even though I could and do not knowing that I am doing it. My parents made sure that I was proud to be a black person , so it would never occur to me pass. But I am if I was thinking about it I am also sure they would of told me of the dangers. But this mother mentions nothing but go along with Sarah Jane and her self hatred. Apologizing for her behavior. Lora an her daughter gave more positive messages even though apparently they employer her mother as a maid. What white child gets black baby dolls back in the 50's? I thought that was odd ,but good. Even Lora got mad at Sara Jane when she mocked her mother. No the mother says nothing. They even encouraged her to tell her mother about the boyfriend beating him up. I wanted to shake the mother. I think the movie tells the story about how self hatred is so deeply rooted that it even last today and even is worse.

I never read the book but I can tell you this remake takes a backward step from the original. At least they found a black woman to play daughter( Peolea ) and the mother was a entrepreneur who owns a company with the white woman. They lived on a more equal plane and the white woman friends were not condescending. I understand the book was closer to the original. And in the end the daughter marries a white man and moves to South America. So it seems like the white husband knows she is passing. Not sure but I have to read the book.

PS I always have to tell this little ditty about Troy Donahue. A good friend of mine brother car hit him while he riding his bike. Now this in Troy circa 1972, I think. So of course we thought of all crazy reason for the brother to see him, because we wanted to see him. It was nothing big so they were friendly. I finally got to meet him and I was warned. He was very nice but like all of us time took a beating on him.

[–] RomanceNovelist 10 years ago

The mother told her that being black was nothing to be ashamed of, and that she should stop trying to "pass". Sarah's actions had so many consequences whereas in modern times, she could identify however she chooses.

What people need to understand is that, you must judge people according to their time.

Do white people judge this movie differently? I think they can feel pity, for the situation, but not have a real understanding of what was happening to these people.

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[–] AUnERA 9 years ago

As much as I have always felt a strong love for this film, this thread and your post bring up an interesting point. I am a white woman so no matter how much I cherish this film, how can I know if I understand it the same as a woman of color?

How can we know what we don't know?

I do know I have always felt more fondness and even related more to the non-white characters and that my tears at the end, and all through the movie have never lessened.

[–] RomanceNovelist 9 years ago

I think, you feel a connection with the black characters, because you are not viewing the movie as " a white woman" watching black people or characters, but as a human being empathizing with other human beings. It's a terrible situation to be put upon, and terrorized the way they were. So its normal, and natural to feel a connection with the victims rather than the perpetrators. only a truly evil person could look at the victims of this crime against humanity, and try to justify it in any way or feel a connection with the evil people committing these crimes against other human beings.

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[–] xsomanymoviessolittletimex 10 years ago

I just saw this for the first time. I cried several times during this movie. I was born in the 50s and am a white woman. I grew up in a very rural area and there were many different races/cultures in my town. I don't remember seeing racism growing up, although I know it did happen especially in the south (I'm in CA).

Imagine being a biracial girl in the 40-50s, who grows up with an affluent white family. If I were her, I would expect to have all the same opportunities as the white girl. I hated seeing the differences between the races (as far as the types of jobs each race had and the underlying tone of how they were treated) and I especially hated seeing the black girl being beat by the white boy.

This movie was a time capsule and the thing that sticks with me is that I'm glad that it's no longer like that - at least where I live. I realize racism still exists in the US. I'm curious what it's like for non-whites in other "white" countries. I feel like here in the US, we are obsessed with labeling everything and everyone and feel like that is part of the problem. I may be in the minority on that subject, but that's how I feel.

[–] thispropertyiscondemned 9 years ago

I cried my eyes out when I first saw the film decades ago when I was little. In fact I can only watch it up to a certain point when it comes on TV now. I have to turn it off when Sarah Jane's mother dies. It's too heavy. The end bit where SJ runs to her mother's funeral is heartbreaking. It must have been hard hitting stuff in the fifties. I think it's hard to watch even now in 2015. I'm white and no I don't know what it feels like to be black and watch it but it definitely knocked me for 6.

[–] liscarkat (18541) 7 years ago

Intelligent people look at this movie differently than unintelligent people. Stupid people believe that if you are any percentage non-white, even if it's less than half, you must identify as non-white. Smart people realize that's nonsense.