Representation of African Americans on Screen.

 Stereotyping of races in American movies has modeled the racial ideologies of the society. The American movie industry is dynamic because its representations of races are modeled and remodeled according to cultural shifts, and the prevailing socio-cultural norms. During the era of Jim Crow laws, blacks were excluded from film production, and hence the perspectives and prejudices of the white person prevailed in the film industry. However, the civil rights movement led to the enactment of the Civil Rights Act in 1964, and this act established the EEO (Equal Employment Opportunity) which led to the employment and integration of African Americans in the film industry, and this had the effect of lessening the stereotyping of African American in films. The leitmotif of racism against African-Americans in the American movie industry has significantly decreased after the enactment of the Civil Rights Act.

This theme of stereotyping the representations of African Americans in the American movie industry will be explored using two exemplar films:  Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner (1967) and its contemporized remake Guess Who (2005). These two humorous films cautiously attack the vice of racism. The contemporary remake illustrates the reversal of adversarial racial attributes in contemporary films. This was the effect of the cultural shift that was brought about by the civil rights movement. Early films depicted the life of black people during the period of racial segregation, while contemporary films depict the life of black people in the post-civil rights movement era. Hence, it evident that the civil rights movement transformed the representation of African-Americans on the screen. The success of the civil rights movement can be attributed to the social, political and economic pressure that it exerted on the American society to effect change. The two selected films will provide apposite comparisons of these two eras, and they are thus appropriate for exploration. Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner (1967) was made during the zenith of the civil rights movement era. During that time, there were laws prohibiting miscegenation. The contemporary remake of the film Guess Who (2005) was made when interracial marriages were permitted and protected by the US constitution.

It is well known that films are an influential media that educe emotions, and can thus be used to model the actions, perspectives and thoughts of a person. Therefore, it is common for filmmakers to structure their films in a way that it conveys their prejudicial point of views. It can also be argued that the production of early films that were deemed to be racist was due to the fact that most of the early viewers of such films were whites who had prejudices against non-whites (especially people of African extraction), and as such, the filmmakers had to factor in this reality during the production of the films. This fact is perfectly exemplified by the fact that the first modern film, Birth of a Nation (1915), which was produced by D.W. Griffith, depicted African Americans as lazy sub-humans who are prone to hyper-sexuality and criminal tendencies. This film received acclaim from a majority of white commentators, and it also received widespread disapproval among most African-Americans. However, this argument is countered by the fact that progressive films that humanized African-Americans still received widespread acclaim from a majority of white commentators, thus showing that the views of the audience is significantly influenced by the ideas conveyed by the film. Thus, the white-American audiences are not racist per se.

It is common knowledge that African Americans have suffered from racial discrimination, and these prejudices were conveyed in films which portrayed them as ireful, unintelligent, villain, cocaine-addicts, slayers and as immoral hypersexual people. These stereotypes create a wrong conception about African Americans in the minds of non-blacks who have never met an African American. African Americans are the most represented minority in the United States of America (USA), and they have thus had an influence on the American culture. Thus, it was a matter of time before the American film industry humanized the African-American. The first film that humanized African American was titled Negro Cycle and it was produced in 1950 by a crew of predominantly white Americans. The progressive nature of this film can be attributed to the nascent culture of liberalism that had occurred during the post-world war II era. This film represented nascent phase of fair representation of African-Americans.

The stereotyping of African Americans has not been eliminated from the film industry, but it has been dissimulated and transmuted to apply to other minorities. For instance, the vice of criminality is now stereotyped on both African Americans and Hispanics. This is attributed to the fact that most of the influential position in the American film industry is still under the control of either white Americans or Jewish Americans, and hence some of the prejudices against African American still persist during film production. The dissimulation that occurred in the film industry is attributed to the increasing awareness in Hollywood of the black consciousness of its ever-increasing consumer base made up of African American viewers. However, some authorities argue that the stereotyping of African-Americans is based on real attributes common among many African-Americans. This argument is erred since a negative trait ascribed to a black criminal cannot be extrapolated to apply to all African-Americans.

Stanley Kramer directed the 1967 film; Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner and Kevin Rodney Sullivan directed its remake, Guess Who in 2005. Upon further investigation of the political inclinations of both film directors, it was evident that both of them had liberal inclinations, and they thus ensured that the few recognizable African-American characters played an active role in the films. This explains why in both films, they ensured that there were a relatively equal number of black and whites in the films. This is typified by the fact that Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner (1967) had a total of 13 characters: 6 African Americans and 7 White Americans, while Guess Who (2005) had a total of 16 characters: 9 African Americans and 7 White Americans. This numerical equality was intended to defuse the racial tension evident in the socio-political arena of the American society. However, critics of these films state that the inclusion of African-Americans was meant to symbolize rebellion against the conservative values of the American society. However, this argument is erred since, in Guess Who (2005), the parents of Theresa have conservative inclinations, thus these critics were just dissimulating their racism.  Since both directors have left-wing inclinations, it therefore follows that their films must share similarities in their plots. Also, due to shared left-wing inclinations of the directors and the fact that Guess Who is a remake of Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner, it follows that both films have more similarities than differences. The similarities that have been deciphered between these two films are described hereafter.

A common feature that is evident in both films is that the race with the majority of the characters is the race of the accepting family. This ensures that in both films, the African American characters are essential to the plot of the films. Critics point out that this numerical disparity is meant to give the accepting family a dominating role in the movie storylines. However, this argument is erred because the elimination of this numerical disparity will disrupt the storyline, since the accepting family will be coerced to accept their potential son-in-law.

In both films, both the African American and white protagonists were almost equally successful in their respective societies. Equalization of the socioeconomic status of the respective protagonists in the films helped to eliminate the socioeconomic divide that exists between the races in real life. For instance, Dr. John Prentice was a well-renowned and successful doctor who had been nominated as a recipient for a Nobel Prize, while Joanne Drayton was an equally wealthy woman. Another common feature of the films is that the high socio-economic status of both Dr. John Prentice and Simon Green enabled the families of their fiancées to accept them. Critics argue that these films point towards the fact that high socioeconomic status grants a person the privilege of social acceptance irrespective of race. However, this argument is erred since these films represent aspects of real life and not utopian visions. Moreover, in both films, the mothers of the accepting families have well paying occupations, while the mothers of the accepted families hold low-end jobs as is epitomized by the fact that both Mrs. Drayton and Mrs. Jones hold socially-respectable jobs, while Ms. Green and Mrs. Prentice have lowly-paying jobs.

            Both Joanna (an art student) and Theresa (a photographer) were in the field of art. Moreover, both women (Joanna and Theresa) knew that their parents would have reservations about their fiancés, and they were would have to convince their parents to accept their fiancés. In Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner, both Mrs. Drayton and Mrs. Prentice are dominant women who have no objection to the interracial relationship of their children, and they thus convince their husbands to accept their potential in-laws. This motif is also replicated in Guess Who, whereby the dominant Mrs. Jones influences her husband to accept Simon Green as their son-in-law. However, critics of these films state that this concept of dominant women was meant to symbolize rebellion against the conservative values of the American society. This argument is erred because these films were meant to be progressive and not conservative, and hence they have to convey progressive ideas.

Both films explore the social anxiety that surrounds interracial marriages. In both films, the issues of perceptions of races in societies are explored. This is illustrated by the fact that in Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner, a white family is astonished by the fact that there daughter is dating a person of a different race; while in Guess Who, a black family is astonished by the fact that their daughter is dating a white person. However, the interaction of the black and white families in both films do depicts a degree of equality of both races. None of the characters in both films used outwardly racist terms when addressing a member of a different race. Also, in both films, the fiancée families ultimately accept the interracial relationship. However, critics of these films state that this concept of interracial marriage was meant to symbolize rebellion against the conservative values of the American society. This argument is erred because these films were meant to be progressive and not conservative, and hence they have to convey progressive ideas.

In both films, there is stereotyping of blacks. Guess Who depicts Theresa’s father as an ireful, irascible and overprotective father. This mirrors an attenuation of the traditional stereotype of a black male as a quick-tempered, angry, violent and bellicose failure. Percy refers to Simon Green as a skinny white kid. His wife, Marilyn informs her black sisters about Simon Green. African American women have been stereotyped as addressing each other as black sisters. Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner depicts Tillie as an African American maid who is contented with her ignorance and servitude as is portrayed by her deeds which tends to glorify her low status. She is also infuriated by the fact that Dr. Prentice is successful, and wants to marry a white woman; and therefore according to her, Dr. Prentice has contravened the law that African-Americans must stick to their roles as servants of the white people. Critics argue that these films stereotype African-Americans. However, this argument is erred since these films are meant to represent aspects of real life and not utopian environments.

There are several differences between the two films. These differences are described hereafter.

First of all, Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner (1967) and Guess Who (2005) do manifest different socio-cultural values due to the virtue that they were produced during two completely different periods.  Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner (1967) is a film whose central theme was interracial marriage during the era of civil rights movement. The issues of race relations and the controversial aspects of interracial relationships were depicted in the film, and hence the film can be considered as a conduit for racial conviction. This film portrays the hypocrisy of liberal whites as is exemplified by the fact that Mr. Drayton initially treated Dr. Prentice with disdain due to his pigmentation problems. Hence, this film depicts the existing control of the society by the white man during the period of the civil rights movement. Thus, the opinion of white people mattered in this film. Dr. Prentice understood that he could not marry Joanne without the approval of her parents, since such an act would contravene the accepted societal morals. Consequently, in this film, a black man was at the mercy of a white family. The central theme of Guess Who (2005) is the love that transcends the racial divide, and it is thus considered as inoffensive compared to its original. Moreover, Simon Green is treated relatively well by Percy though he (Percy) does not fully approve of the relationship between his daughter and Mr. Green. Guess Who (2005) is a complete volte-face of the original film, because it was a white person, Simon Green, who was at the mercy of the black family, a fact that Simon Green clearly understood. This depicts a reversal of racial roles. This reversal of roles is also manifested by the fact that the white family is obviously affluent in Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner, while a black family is evidently affluent in Guess Who. In Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner, Mr. Drayton viewed that his daughter’s marriage to an African American would lower her social standing in the society. However, in Guess Who, Percy understood that the social status of Theresa would be unaffected by her marriage to Simon Green. Hence, the racial prejudices that existed in Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner do not apply in Guess Who. Critics argue that the film Guess Who promotes white guilt and reverse racism. This controversial argument is relatively correct, but it also represents real aspects of the contemporary society. Reverse racism is also depicted by the fact that the stereotypes that blacks are raised by single unwed mothers has been applied to a white person, Simon Green in Guess Who. Moreover, in this film, Simon Green is evidently embarrassed by the fact that he was raised by his single mother, Ms. Green who did odd dead-end jobs in order to survive.

Joanne is oblivious of her father’s reservation of her relationship with Dr. Prentice. This is exemplified by her statement to her parents that they must accept a Negro as a son-in-law. This contrasts to Theresa, who factored in her father’s reservation for her fiancé, and she thus sought the assistance of her mother to convince Percy to change his stance. Critics argue that these films represent young white females as disobedient to their parents, while young African-American females are represented as obedient to their parents. This argument is fairly correct.

Another difference is that there is no stereotyping of the black male in Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner but there is stereotyping of the black female as a maid in a white household. Moreover, the cultural scene in Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner (1967) depicts a conservative social structure. Hence, the protagonists had to look for a liberal social venue where they can appear together, as is illustrated by the fact that Joanna and John do travel to San Francisco, a city that has received worldwide acclaim as a liberal city. The intention of Joanna and John to relocate to Switzerland is used to depict the social and racial inequality in the USA. Switzerland is a liberal nation that upholds progressive ideals that would have allowed John and Joanne to live a relatively contented married life, unlike the US where they would have been constantly taunted as race traitors. However, the cultural scene in Guess Who (2005) depicts a liberal society where interracial marriages are relatively accepted in the society, and they are also protected by the US constitution. Hence, Simon Green and Theresa did not need to consider relocation after their marriage. The difference in the cultural scenes between the two films can be attributed to the success of the civil rights movement. Critics state that these two films promote liberal ideas, and also give applause to liberal cities (and countries), while irrationally condemning the conservative society. This argument is relatively correct, with the exception of the fact that the criticisms directed against the conservative society are not irrational because they have a logical basis. Moreover, these films intend to convey progressive ideas.

In conclusion, these films confirms that the leitmotif of racism against African-Americans in the American movie industry has significantly decreased after the enactment of the Civil Rights Act. There is virtually almost no stereotyping of the African American male in Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner (1967). However, in Guess Who (2005), the stereotypes of African Americans have been transferred to a white person, Simon Green, who was depicted as having been raised by a single mother. Both Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner (1967) and Guess Who (2005) do not abide by the traditional racial stereotypes. In Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner (1967), an African American man was at the mercy of a white family; while in Guess Who (2005), a white person was at the mercy of an African American family. Hence, there is a clear reversal of racial roles of the protagonists’ families in the original film and its contemporary re-creation.