We watched a comedy last night for a change from our work routine. It is an oldie made in 1967, which won an academy award for original screenplay (1967). It was about an Afro-American (Sidney Poitier) and a white girl (Katharine Houghton) who fell in love and wanted to get married, in a decade where inter-racial marriages were taboo and in some states in the US at that time, it was even considered illegal. In order to zoom straight into the racial element proper, the director, Stanley Kramer made a couple of deliberate decisions in the movie.1) The credentials black man, Dr Prentice was impeccable.
"graduated maxima cum laude from John Hopkins, assistant professor, Yale Medical School, three years professor, London School of Tropical Medicine... three years assistant director, World Health Organization, two textbooks and a list of monographs and medical society honors...as long as your arm."
The credibility of Dr Prentice was solid, refusing premarital sex, not making free phone calls at others' expenses, courteous, professional, considerate, and frank with his potential parents in law. It was said that the director intentionally paint so perfect a man so that the audience will know without a doubt that any refusal to let the marriage go ahead is purely racial discrimination.
2) The Drayton family's family stand
The director of the movie surfaces up the real struggles of what it means to 'practice what you preach.' Mr and Mrs Drayton, (played by Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn) were prominent lobbyists for equal rights for all, regardless of race and other forms of discrimination. However, they did not expect that what they proclaim bravely in public (Mr Drayton owns a leading daily), they will have to face it in their own family when their daughter Joey (Katharine Houghton) falls head over heels in love with Dr Prentice (Sidney Poitier). The daughter was brought up to respect everyone equally, and she did.
There were moments of integrity in the movie as well, as Mrs Drayton (Hepburn) immediately fired her personal assistant of many years at the first signs of racial discrimination. Such acts prove her personal and family values in action. It was a touching scene to see her doing it firmly and with no hesitation. No wonder Hepburn won an oscar for her role in that movie.
3) Joey's pure love
She exemplifies one whose love transcends skin colour. Like a little child, she knows what is right and what is wrong and is not ashamed to practice the values that is part of her upbringing.
4) The final speech by Mr Drayton was realistic and very touching.
The final speech was so good, that you have to read them for yourself. It was said that all the crew knew that Tracy was dying, and he performed heroically in the movie to make a personal stand against racial discrimination. Tracy died 17 days after the film.
I have a few things to say and you might just think they're important. This has been a strange day. I don't think that's putting it too strongly. I might even say it's been an extraordinary day. I've been out there thinking about the day...and the way it has gone...Interracial marriages are still something not many people are comfortable with. This movie helps to zoom into our personal beliefs and to question ourselves: "What good will there be to let racial discrimination prevent true love from blossoming?" We may say with our lips that all are equal. But in our actions, we often declare openly that 'some are more equal than others.'
and it seems to me that now..
I need to make a few
personal statements.
For a variety of reasons. The day began for me when l walked into
this house and Tillie said to me--
Excuse me.
Tillie !
this'll only take a second.
- Every thing's been ready for--
- I know.
ALL right. Sit down.
This is Miss Matilda Binks...
who's been a member of this family
for years...
and who today has been
making a great deal of trouble.
Sit down, Tillie.
Now. The minute I walked
into this house this afternoon...
Miss Binks said to me,
''well, all hell's done broke loose now.''
I asked her, naturally enough,
to what she referred...
and she said, ''you'll see.''
And I did.
Then after some preliminary guessing
games, at which l was never very good...
it was explained to me
by my daughter...
that she intended to get married.
And that her intended was a young man
whom I had never met...
who happened to be a Negro.
I think it's fair to say
that I responded to this news...
in the same manner that any
normal father would respond to it...
unless, of course, his daughter
happened to be a Negro too.
in a word, I was flabbergasted. And
while I was still being flabbergasted...
I was informed by my daughter--
a very determined young woman...
much like her mother--
that the marriage was on...
no matter what her mother and I
might feel about it.
Then the next startling development
occurred when you walked in...
and said that unless we--
her mother and l--
approved of the marriage,
there would be no marriage.
You didn't!
What a funny thing to do.
This may be the last chance
I'll ever have...
to tell you to do anything.
So I'm telling you
shut up.
Now.
It became clear that we had one
single day to make up our minds...
as to how we felt about this whole situation.
So what happened?
My wife, typically enough...
decided to simply ignore...
every practical aspect of the situation...
and was carried away
in some kind of romantic haze...
which made her, in my view...
totally inaccessible
to anything in the way of reason.
Now l have not as yet referred
to His Reverence...
who began by forcing his way
into the situation...
and then insulting my intelligence..,.
by mouthing platitudes...
and ending just a half hour ago
by coming to my room...
and challenging me
to a wrestling match.
- What time is your plane?
- : .
Right.
Now, Mr. Prentice...
Clearly a most reasonable man...
says he has no wish to offend me...
but wants to know
if I'm some kind of a nut.
And Mrs. Prentice says...
that like her husband,
I'm a burnt-out old shell of a man...
who cannot even
remember what it's Like...
to love a woman...
the way her son loves my daughter.
And strange as it seems...
that's the first statement
made to me all day...
with which l am prepared
to take issue.
Because l think you're wrong.
You're as wrong as you can be.
I admit that I hadn't considered it,
hadn't even thought about it...
but I know exactly
how he feels about her.
And there is nothing,
absolutely nothing...
that your son feels
for my daughter...
that I didn't feel for Christina.
Old? Yes.
Burnt out? Certainly.
But l can tell you
the memories are still there--
clear, intact, indestructible.
And they'll be there
if l live to be .
Where John made his mistake, I think...
was attaching so much importance
to what her mother and I might think.
Because in the final analysis,
it doesn't matter a damn what we think.
The only thing that matters
is what they feel...
and how much they feel...
for each other.
And if it's half...
of what we felt...
that's everything.
As for you two and
the problems you're going to have...
they seem almost unimaginable.
But you'll have no problem with me.
And I think...
that when Christina and I
and your mother...
have some time to work on him...
you'll have no problem
with your father.
But you do know--
I'm sure you know--
what you're up against.
there'll be a hundred million people
right here in this country...
who'll be shocked and offended...
and appalled at the two of you.
And the two of you will just
have to ride that out.
Maybe every day
for the rest of your lives.
You can try to ignore those people...
or you can feel sorry for them
and for their prejudices...
and their bigotry and
their blind hatreds and stupid fears.
But where necessary...
you'll just have
to cling tight to each other...
and say screw all those people!
Anybody could make a hell of a
good case against your getting married.
The arguments are so obvious
that nobody has to make them.
But you're two wonderful people...
who happened to fall in love...
and happen to have
a pigmentation problem.
And l think that now...
no matter what kind of a case
some bastard could make...
against your getting married...
there would be only one thing worse.
And that would be if...
knowing what you two are...
knowing what you two have...
and knowing what you two feel...
you didn't get married.
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