When I watched this film the first time, I was taken back at how racist it seemed. That was this era's "political correctness" popping up in me. This film cannot be judged by today's standards. Remember, to 1930's main stream audiences-films like The Bird Cage, Midnight Cowboy and My Private Idaho would have had both black and white audiences burning down the theater. So what we find offensive in a 1930's film, may not have seemed as such then. So let's take a look at this Imitation of Life-which deals with struggling women-one black and one white-despite the obvious depiction of the black woman as not being as bright and being subservient-it shows these two women as friends. Who despite it all enjoy one another's company. Imagine a black woman and a white woman being the best of friends was almost unimaginable in the 30's. The other story within the story is about the black woman's daughter trying to pass herself off as white-well many a black person who could-did just that in the 1930's. It was not because they thought themselves inferior-it was a way to overcome a society of the time which allowed you to have more in all aspects of life if you were white.
Enough rambling, the film is just average entertainment-yes it seems very insensitive at times. I found it painful at times to sit through-but forced myself just to see how it ended. For a curiosity piece it is worth seeing at least once. Michael
Enough rambling, the film is just average entertainment-yes it seems very insensitive at times. I found it painful at times to sit through-but forced myself just to see how it ended. For a curiosity piece it is worth seeing at least once. Michael