I had never previously seen it, and here’s my take on it: If my child returned from vacation and announced that he or she was going to marry someone they had known for 10 days, I’d be mighty upset too.
That is all.
:dubious:
See if you can find the MAD Magazine with the satire of the film. It is hilarious!
MOTHER: Why dear, this is such a shock!
DAUGHTER: What, that I fell in love with a Negro and I’m going to marry him?
MOTHER: No, that you met him in Hawaii. I didn’t even know you were away!
The movie got pushed into a shortened engagement for dramatic reasons. In a normal relationship, the couple would have dated for several months before becoming engaged. This would have meant the parents would have had two stages to deal with: the idea that their daughter was dating a black man and the idea that their daughter was going to marry a black man. But to make it a more dramatic story, the couple got engaged immediately so the parents had to deal with both situations together. It’s the same reason the couple had tickets to go to Europe the next day; the tight schedule introduced heightened drama.
But then that just makes them look like short-sighted, poor decision-makers. I haven’t seen the movie but I’m guessing they weren’t supposed to come off like that, so that’s pretty stupid. It seems like they could have just said they’d been dating for a while but had kept it secret or something.
It used to be more common in movies and TV shows for a couple to get engaged fairly quickly. Whether this actually happened in real life is harder to say. I can’t find any definitive reference about this, but here’s a relevant TV Trope:
In any case, moviegoers back then didn’t find it to be bothersome that they got engaged so quickly.
The whole point is that their love was totally natural, without race having anything to do with it. And she assumed her parents would feel the same way. So they’d have no reason to keep it secret, as if they had something to hide.
Speak for yourself. I’ve always thought that movie was pure, unadulterated horse crap.
Her parents had never many any offhand remarks that might give her pause, and it was 1967, and it didn’t even occur to her that her parents could think anything of it?
And in 1967 race would always have something to do with it, parents or no. This movie makes no sense.
Her parents were supermegaenglightened by the standards of the time, so yeah, she wasn’t expecting any kind of negative reaction. The movie is about the parents finding out that their guts are less enlightened than their brains, and that their reaction to “my child is marrying a black guy” isn’t the same as their opinion on miscegenation laws, and how they deal with it.
I grew up being told by parents and teachers that now there was no difference between men and women except medical ones. The first time I went to a job interview and was treated like a walking vagina wasn’t just offensive, it was unexpected.
terentii writes:
> Speak for yourself. I’ve always thought that movie was pure, unadulterated
> horse crap.
Do you have any evidence that a significant percentage of moviegoers back then were bothered by the quickness of their engagement?
Well, at very least, the guy should have warned her of the possibility. There is no way in hell a black person in the 60s (or at any other time) could not know that white parents might not be quite as cool with it as they think, when it comes to their daughter.
If he did warn her and she completely dismissed it, then their marriage is going to have some serious problems because she clearly has no idea what she’s getting into (nor does anyone else after 10 days).
This movie was supposed to make interracial relationships seem okay? Because at this point I’m starting to think they might be a terrible idea.
In the Mad parody of the film, his parents walk into the house and grab their son. They’re not going to let him marry her. They consider her an idiotic flibbertigibbet who’s far beneath their son.
If I recall correctly, the son’s parents expressed strong reservations in the actual movie as well.
And now, the sequel: Guess Who’s Moving From MPSIMS To Cafe Society?
Look, this is a film by Stanley Kramer. Kramer was the master of contriving a heavihanded situation to make a political and dramatic point.
Look at The Defiant Ones – a black man and a white man are handcuffed together, which teaches them that racism is A Bad Thing (and allows Kramer to linger on a shot of the two men attempting to grasp each other’s hand so the can get aboard a train and escape). And that was one of his best films.
Most of his films were “serious” dramas to make a point. At his best, the films did highlight serious concerns, but the contrivances – noticed when they were released – are far more creaky and over-obvious today.
It also didn’t help that Kramer had no sense of humor. He made It’s a Mad Mad Mad Mad Word to counter that criticism and proved his critics right.
This belongs in the mod note hall of fame. Keep up the good work.
“After much soul-searching, I’ll reluctantly tolerate it – but only if he’s a rich and deferential doctor with movie-star good looks working in Europe.”
Were there other people who were unaware of Sidney Poitier’s diplomatic career? I was just poking around online and discovered he’s been an ambassador since 1997.
IIRC, I think we’re supposed to accept the daughter was impulsive, or acted on instinct, as an explanation for the short courtship. It happens, I suppose.
Not the most subtle of films.
I seem to remember lots of interiors and a small cast.
I found myself bothered by both the short engagement and the age difference. Daddy issues, anyone?