The Representation Of Interracial Relationships

"Half-breed”, “Mulatto”, “Octoroon.” All of these terms at one point served to describe individuals of mixed race, particularly African and Caucasian. The controversy of interracialism has transcended generations, as well as cultures. It is a subject that, historically, has held the potential to incite savage racial discrimination, loathing, and violence. Indeed, even in today’s significantly more enlightened and politically correct views on race, interracial relationships and individuals still possess the potential to make many uncomfortable.

Cultural diversity includes opinions, appearances, values, and beliefs, as well as the categories of race, ethnicity, social class, gender, sexual orientation, and disability (Koppelman, 2011). One method of understanding cultural diversity is through films. Films are often used as vehicles to reveal, discuss, and explore relationships, conflicts, lessons, and/or history. In an attempt to analyze the cultural diversity portrayed in a film, I have chosen to watch and analyze “Gentleman’s Agreement”.

What seems like normal intermingling of two races today was not always that way a couple of centuries ago. The United States had anti-miscegenation laws set in place since colonial times. During the Reconstruction period of 1865 Black Codes were established in southern states to help fight their laws but attempts were unsuccessful across southern states. By the turn of 1967

Since the early developments of cinema, racial tension and the dehumanization of African Americans were portrayed circumstantially on the big screen, and through media. As portrayed in “A Birth of a Nation”, African American’s roles consisted of discriminatory imagery, and low social stature. An early film, “Uncle Tom’s Cabin”, was the first film to cast a black actor as the main character—even then, the character portrayals were that of a male, white actor. In the early stages of film, African American women had very little, if any, roles in the film industry. “The use of white actors to portray black individuals was common practice carried from the stage to early films” (Collins 77). According to

For centuries, whites have built a racial hierarchical system where they have put themselves above people of color. Whether this be seen during early American history when African slaves were forced into labor practices, during the Civil Rights movement when Jim Crow laws enforced racial segregation, or in the 20th Century film industry, this system of oppression has proved one thing: white success would be nothing without a racial dependence on the black society. Looking closer into the films of the 20th century, we see the white characters of various plots use black “Others” to better define who they are and to better solidify the hierarchy that has been developing through United States history. Imitation of Life (1934) directed by John M Stahl and Pinky (1949) directed by Elia Kazan both contain plotlines, characters, and racial theories that aid in portraying racial Otherness among blacks in both films to boost the success of whites. In Imitation of Life, Delilah, the Other, is used by Bea to promote her own success as a widowed white entrepreneur as well as mistreated by her fair-skinned daughter Peola whom desires to achieve racial success by passing as white. Similarly, but with important differences, Ms. Em’s depends on Pinky who is designated as an Other in the film Pinky to live out her vision of success – passing as black.

is no law saying that every film involving cross-racial relationships has to make some kind of defining statement about racism or race-relations in general, but there should be a rule against painting such broad character strokes using painfully obvious and patronizing stereotypes.” (Mendelson’s Memos)

The late 20th century brought a new form of Black representation to Cinema. During the 1980’s, Black characters in Hollywood films were put into new cinematic contexts. Unlike the Blaxploitation films of the decade, Hollywood used other “narrative and visual strategies of ‘containment’” for Black actors and characters (Guerrero 237). Hollywood films were now “giving a Black star top billing in a film in which he or she is completely isolated from other Blacks or any reference to the Black world” (Guerrero 237). In this paper, I will demonstrate through analysis of “buddy” type films, specifically Norman Jewison 's “In the Heat of the Night”, how Hollywood’s contextualization of a black character devoid this character of his “Blackness”, and ultimately places him in “a White context and narrative for the pleasure of a dominant, consumer audience” (Guerrero 237).

The articles Black and interracial love written by Mark Reid talks about how the lack of representation of black women and interracial love between black women and nonblack men in films. The article asserts that filmmakers have not created interracial sexual intimacy between black women and nonblack men. The chapter “a few films treating this immune and compare the various ways this topic dramatized in contemporary films written and for directed by such filmmakers as Spike Lee” (Reid). There are few movies that depict a young black female with an equally attractive white male. The Three-Day Pass (1967) and Herbert Danska’s Sweet Love Bitter (1966) depicts black men being romantically involved with white women, but films such as Imitation of Life (1959) and Night of the Quarter Moon (1959) films have white women playing black actress roles

The freedom to marry whomever one chooses has historically been a huge issue in the United States, and it continues to be an issue today. Obstacles for romantic relationships can stem from prejudices regarding wealth, age, gender, and more. This paper in particular aims to examine the concept of racial discrimination in miscegenation in both the past and the present through its presence in film. Film can be an incredibly effective window into the popular opinions of the era in which they are produced. Films portray the ideas, the prejudices, and the treatment of people of color during the production time. To further explore the concept of the attitudes toward miscegenation presented in class, this paper will examine the progress of its

In 1985, Tobias Wolff, an American writer nudged the topic that concerns racism by writing a short fiction about an interracial marriage. The story is set as an argument between a husband and wife who has their own respective opinions about marrying a person of color. Their argument leads up to a realization of how different their opinions are which then display that this married couple do not know each other as well as they thought they were before the argument happened.   The short fiction “Say Yes” written by Tobias Wolff have the potential to be a motion picture because it delivers an enthralling story, it has a comprehensible setting, and it also has a pronounced characterization in the story.

The film lookes at the prejudices between the families but did not touch on how interacial couples also have deal with societies biases against them. Being a interacial couple may come along with its shares of difficulties, diffrences between the indiviuals, famial prejudice, and societies prejudice.

Analyzing the race relationships between characters in Not Either and Experimental Doll and Cry, the Beloved Country really brings the social culture of 1940s/50s South Africa to light. In Not Either an Experimental Doll, the push for a personal relationship between an African girl and white woman results in a clear division of social statuses. Cry, the Beloved Country, however, depicts a personal relationship between a black man and a white man that results in mutual respect and understanding. When effected by cultural separations and social hierarchies, black/white relationships in 1940s/1950s South Africa became very inappropriate. But, when class structures and race are wiped away, humans are more similar to each other than different.

Analyzing the race relationships between characters in Not Either and Experimental Doll and Cry, the Beloved Country certainly brings the social culture of 1940s/50s South Africa to light. In Not Either an Experimental Doll, the push for a personal relationship between an African girl and white woman results in a clear division of social statuses. Cry, the Beloved Country, however, depicts a personal relationship between a black man and a white man that results in mutual respect and understanding. When affected by cultural separations and social hierarchies, black/white relationships in 1940s/1950s South Africa became very inappropriate. But then, once class structures and race are wiped away, humans are more similar than different.

Being an international student, I have seen racism in many fields, no matter how much of a good person you are. Racism comes within, it’s not something an individual is born with it. Environment and surroundings of a person force him/her to be involved in racism. “The Birth of a Nation” is one of the most repulsive films of the history. “The Birth of a Nation” is a silent drama film produced by D.W. Griffith. It is one of the most dominant creatures in the film history. The movie is known to be cover the context of racism and troubles that come with it. The film features racism between African Americans and Anglo Americans. The film is featured on two families: the Camerons and the Stonemans. It is an ultimate work of reality. The general subject of the film is the first misdeed of the closeness of the white and dark races. The very idea of racial virtue is at the center of the film. However, the substance of the film's tasteful power—and of its persevering centrality—is its inborn heterogeneity. The dilemma that starts the revolt of Southern whites is the blacks' claim to one deserved of intermarriage. Many disagreements and riots were caused when the movie was released and also banned in few cities to get the system in order. The movie expressed political views and society views. Many people change their opinion after seeing the movie because hatred can grow as much as an individual wants it to but love and peace can only be settled once. The expectation around the film

Fred Schepisi’s Six Degrees of Separation (1993) and Robert Benton’s The Human Stain (2003) are two films from the post-racial era that each accurately depict the lives of two tragic, passing characters. Paul, portrayed by Will Smith in Schepisi’s film, passes not on the basis of race but of social class and sexuality. Within Benton’s motion-picture, Coleman Silk, Anthony Hopkins, passes as a professor and dean of a university through the use of a racial masquerade. The stories that follow these “similarly different” characters and how they choose to engage in their respective surroundings are widely effected by the individuals that Paul and Coleman both interact with. A thorough personal analysis of the whiteness encompassing the lives of Paul and Coleman alongside other professional critiques of Six Degrees of Separation and The Human Stain reveals a parallel trend of Otherness.