... and although some of the films on the list seemed pretty obvious, my first reaction to this one was - Seriously? I've seen this several times and it treats everybody with dignity.
For anybody who doesn't know, the film is about a liberal white couple (Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn as Matt and Christina Drayton) who learn that their 23 year old daughter is returning from vacation with her fiance that she has just met while on that vacation. And that fiance just happens to be black. When the Draytons were bringing up Joanna and teaching her that all people are equal, they probably did not imagine this scenario. The weird thing about all of this is that when the fiance arrives -Sidney Poitier as John Prentice - he tells the Draytons that they must consent to the marriage or he will not marry their daughter. I'll get to this weird ultimatum in a minute.
If I were one of the parents I'd have tons of problems even today, and none of them would be about race. They are:
1. Age difference. She is 23 and he is a 37 year old man who travels a lot for his job. Maybe to places she cannot go safely. She may have to be home alone quite a bit.
2. He is a widower she has known for exactly 10 days. When a spouse dies it doesn't matter what problems they had, the dead spouse becomes enshrined in the widow/widower's mind as somebody who did no wrong when they were alive. And as the live spouse this is the standard by which you are measured.
3. More on the ten days issue - They are still in the honeymoon phase of their relationship. What happens when all of those hormones calm down?
Now back to the weird ultimatum thing. At age 23 Joanna didn't legally require her parents' consent, but women in the USA at the time (1967) were still treated as so delicate that they had to move from their father's care to their husband's care. That was changing rapidly in the 60s, but it was still a norm. This is probably at least part of what is going on with the permission issue. The changing independence of women in American culture was happening at the same time that the civil rights era was beginning to yield real fruit, so this is an interesting mix of issues.
I think the only thing that made me wince just a little is when Spencer Tracy introduces Isabel Sanford, the maid, as "a member of our family for 22 years". No, she works for you. When she gets too old to work for you does she get a pension? Did you remember her in your will? If not, she is an employee. Do not sentimentalize this relationship however much you might like and respect her. And then there is the issue of - when Joanna and John kiss in the cab - making sure that the audience cannot actually see them kiss - it is a reflection in a mirror, and even then it is hard to see. Who knows, in 1967 that might have made the film illegal in 17 states.
I also think it is odd when John's mother is talking to Joanna's dad (Spence) out on the patio. She says that men forget all about love and passion when they get old and forget about sexual things. Seriously? Do men ever actually forget about sexual things? Isn't remembering sexual things when they are in no shape for that kind of activity what puts a double digit percentage of them in their grave?
The best scene - John is talking to his dad, a retired mailman. They have it out, father and son. And John says the defining line of the film "You think of yourself as a black man, I think of myself as a man". Because that is really what the civil rights era boils down to. Looking at people without race as an issue.
This film has aged a bit - it's been a culturally busy 54 years. But it still holds up quite well.
For anybody who doesn't know, the film is about a liberal white couple (Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn as Matt and Christina Drayton) who learn that their 23 year old daughter is returning from vacation with her fiance that she has just met while on that vacation. And that fiance just happens to be black. When the Draytons were bringing up Joanna and teaching her that all people are equal, they probably did not imagine this scenario. The weird thing about all of this is that when the fiance arrives -Sidney Poitier as John Prentice - he tells the Draytons that they must consent to the marriage or he will not marry their daughter. I'll get to this weird ultimatum in a minute.
If I were one of the parents I'd have tons of problems even today, and none of them would be about race. They are:
1. Age difference. She is 23 and he is a 37 year old man who travels a lot for his job. Maybe to places she cannot go safely. She may have to be home alone quite a bit.
2. He is a widower she has known for exactly 10 days. When a spouse dies it doesn't matter what problems they had, the dead spouse becomes enshrined in the widow/widower's mind as somebody who did no wrong when they were alive. And as the live spouse this is the standard by which you are measured.
3. More on the ten days issue - They are still in the honeymoon phase of their relationship. What happens when all of those hormones calm down?
Now back to the weird ultimatum thing. At age 23 Joanna didn't legally require her parents' consent, but women in the USA at the time (1967) were still treated as so delicate that they had to move from their father's care to their husband's care. That was changing rapidly in the 60s, but it was still a norm. This is probably at least part of what is going on with the permission issue. The changing independence of women in American culture was happening at the same time that the civil rights era was beginning to yield real fruit, so this is an interesting mix of issues.
I think the only thing that made me wince just a little is when Spencer Tracy introduces Isabel Sanford, the maid, as "a member of our family for 22 years". No, she works for you. When she gets too old to work for you does she get a pension? Did you remember her in your will? If not, she is an employee. Do not sentimentalize this relationship however much you might like and respect her. And then there is the issue of - when Joanna and John kiss in the cab - making sure that the audience cannot actually see them kiss - it is a reflection in a mirror, and even then it is hard to see. Who knows, in 1967 that might have made the film illegal in 17 states.
I also think it is odd when John's mother is talking to Joanna's dad (Spence) out on the patio. She says that men forget all about love and passion when they get old and forget about sexual things. Seriously? Do men ever actually forget about sexual things? Isn't remembering sexual things when they are in no shape for that kind of activity what puts a double digit percentage of them in their grave?
The best scene - John is talking to his dad, a retired mailman. They have it out, father and son. And John says the defining line of the film "You think of yourself as a black man, I think of myself as a man". Because that is really what the civil rights era boils down to. Looking at people without race as an issue.
This film has aged a bit - it's been a culturally busy 54 years. But it still holds up quite well.