To start with, there are many issues evident in the movie “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner?”. One of them, clearly being the presence of racism. From the beginning we see this as being an issue when Joanna explains to her parents about her new man. The parents of course are thrilled to hear she had found someone who had stolen her heart such as this man. They have never met him before and hearing that he comes from a wealthy family, he’s a doctor, and he’s handsome, they are genuinely excited to meet him. As soon as he walks through the door their perspectives change. All because he’s a colored man. The fact that he’s a doctor and a wealthy man no longer have any significance. Another issue prevalent in the movie is ageism. Ageism is defined as discrimination based off one’s age. In this movie, I think the older generation were in a sense slightly biased. There were certain issues and differences that Mr. and Mrs. Drayton saw that John and Joanna did not necessarily see. For example, the kids were so scared as to what their parents were going to say about an interracial marriage, while they were completely willing to go for it without seeing it as a barrier. But I think that because of the age group of the parents and seeing how they were brought up and raised, they’ve been taught to think way differently that the younger generation. Another issue of ageism seen in the movie was when Mr. and Mrs. Drayton were getting ice cream and Mr. Drayton accidentally backed up into a younger man's vehicle. The man immediately jumped out of his car yelling at Mr. Drayton calling him “an old man that doesn’t know how to drive” and things of that nature. Clearly it could have happened to anyone, but the young man came to the conclusion that because Mr. Drayton was older, he didn’t know how to drive. MacD001
Racism was a big factor of this movie. Joanna’s parents had told her all of her life not to judge someone by the color of their skin because the color of one’s skin does not make you any more or less intelligent than someone of a different color. Because of this she was just sure that they would have no problem at all with her marrying a man of a different race. But when Matt and Christina’s daughter wanted to marry a man of color they could not practice what they preached because they had a problem with it and that made them out to be prejudice against someone with a different skin color than them.
It is obvious that racism is the key sociological factor in the film. But I would argue that racism begins even before John meets Joey's parents. While Joey and John walk through the airport, they are glassed over for being an interracial couple. The taxi driver sees them as different and judges them on the drive around town. Hilary is immediately concerned with John from the moment he sees him. Much of the racism in the film comes from outsiders rather than the families. FireFan001
You brought up some interesting points that I had not thought of, like John looking for approval only from the fathers. It seems that this is still the case today, for the most part. Many women seek the approval of their mother's, as Joey did, but had her mother not approved and her father had, I assume John would have still gone through with the marriage. Sandydog001
Social conflict is in every aspect of society, whether you look at today, or in the 1960s. “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner” portrays many issues in the everyday life of the average 1960s United States citizen. One issue that is very prevalent is racism. One of the main protagonists Joanne, fell in love with a successful African American. When Joanne told her mother that she fell in love after twenty minutes, her mother Christina was excited and happy for her. Once Christina found out that Dr. John Prentis was a black man, she was shocked and had her reservations. When Joanne’s father Matt met John, he seemed interested in John’s line of work, and was intrigued to know more. Once Matt realized that John was in a relationship with his daughter, he no longer appreciated John so much. Part of the reason both Joanne’s and John’s parents were so distraught about the interracial wedding, is because of the different ways the generations were taught to view society. The older generations were brought up to believe that the whites were superior to all other minorities, but because civil rights were being enacted, their views were told to change so that everyone was equal. While it was harder for them to accept, their children’s generation, including John and Joanne, were taught since birth to treat everyone with the same respect, which allowed them to fall in love, with no second guesses. Another conflict is the issue of gender differences. The women in this film were much faster to accept the wedding than the men were. Christina quickly approved of the marriage, and was very emotional when her husband did not share her opinion, and went so far as to tell Matt that if he disapproved of their daughter’s wedding, breaking her heart, she would take Joanne’s side. Sandydog001
I agree with you. Gender differences are huge in this movie given the time. I think these issues are seen in this film just as much as racism or ageism. It was interesting to see how men in the movie treated their wives based on their opinions. They knew they thought and reasoned differently, but instead of taking into consideration what they had to say and feel, they sort of blew them off as if they were just ridiculous thinkers. I think today we understand more clearly that men and women think differently and we can come to an agreement that not just one is better or wiser than the other. MacD001
While watching “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner” I noticed multiple sociological issues going on. Because the movie was based in the 1960’s things were a lot different than how they are now. Black people were a minority who were often saddled or had a lower status than whites. They were not accepted in society the way they are today because there were a lot of prejudice people living in the society. When Joanna’s parents first met John, they liked him. Joanna’s father Matt was interested in his occupation and what he does. But when Joanna and John told Matt that they were going to get married, he did not seem to take such an interest in John anymore, and neither does Joanna’s mother, Christina. Because John is in a socially constructed category that is composed of people who share biological traits that are different from the Drayton’s family, they start to judge John because of it and feel that it is not right for them to marry. After Christina talks to John and Joanna, she warms up to the idea of them marrying, but her husband continues to disapprove. Carol Gilligan proves the reasoning with the gender factor. It states that males develop a justice perspective and formal rules define right and wrong, while females develop a care and responsibility perspective and personal relationships define their reasoning. John continues to disapprove because he knows that it is illegal to marry outside of your race in some states and he feels that they will be looked down upon. But Christina approves because she has talked to her daughter about it and knows how happy she is with John. There was a lot of gender stratification that affected women in the 1960’s. Because of the gender stratification, men thought they were more powerful and privileged, therefor Matt thought that Christina was terrible for her decisions of supporting Joanna. Matt believed that Christina needed to stand behind him on his feelings and that she should not have expressed her own opinion. After much long reasoning and thinking Matt looked passed all the issues and decided to let his daughter do what would make her the happiest.
I agree with you, the 1960s were very different times then they are now, black people where looked down on and had a lower class standard then white people has. Bringing home a black man or woman was not the normally in the 1960s, that is what I liked about this movie because it was breaking all the society norms for that time. GRUNT001
Sass - Yes. I thought Matt personified gender stratification. He had the final say in it all. Everyone basically deferred to him. Even the doctors father headed that household. I dug the "I think of myself as a man". Clearly different outlooks and changing of culture....LovinTheLanguage 001
“Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner?” was a great movie to watch, there are not many movies from the 1960s that I watch but I would suggest this movie to anyone. During the viewing of this film I found many situations that related to sociology. One of the more obvious situations in this movie was about race. During the 1960s civil right movements where big and the world was changing fast, so I think that this movie high lighted one of the situations that was also changing during the time of the movie. It was looked down upon for black people to date of marry white people. There was something around 15 or more states that this was illegal to do. So when the daughter brought home a black man to introduce to the family everyone that she introduced him to would have a really big look of shock on their faces as if they might fall down. I thought it was odd that the person that had the most problems with this black man was the black maid that worked in the house. She made a comment to him while in his room that she didn’t want him to think he is no better then her or other black people. Another big factor in this movie was ageism. There was a part of the movie where they went to get ice cream and when they pulled in and the younger lady was asking what they wanted, the older man could not remember what he had ordered in the past and the younger lady was looking at him like she was annoyed with him for being forgetful. Then after they ate ice cream as they were backing the car up he hit a younger mans car. The young man got out and started yelling and saying rude comments towards the older man that he should be driving a car. Overall I think this was a great movie to watch. GRUNT001
Grunt - I totally agree. We tend to forget that there is an argument that people of color can be racist within their own group (intra). I wonder if he would have been accepted in the end if he was not so 'educated' and had all those degrees. JustaThought 001
I agree, it was an awesome movie. It had so many sociological lessons within the script like you said, racism. I never even thought of ageism as apart of that movie until I read your paragraph. Another smaller role is patriarchy, where the wives of the disapproving men almost bow down to them because they are the 'head' of the relationship and has final say in decision making. You're outlook on the movie is very similar to mine. chicagoblackhawks001
The movie, Guess Who’s Coming To Dinner, was a very interesting one to watch. When I think of films from the 1960s, I typically don’t expect much. I think of entertaining productions with not much thought put into them, let alone being thought provoking. This film completely changed my thoughts on movies from that time period. A common obvious social issue in the film is race and more specifically, interracial marriage. During that time period, it was a rare sight to see interracial couples, let alone contemplating marriage. It was even illegal in just about a third of the states in the US. I found it very interesting that the maid, Tilly, had that much hatred towards John. He of course had done nothing wrong and she felt the need to degrade and threaten him substantially. In regards to her and John’s parents, we typically don’t think of African Americans having such strong thoughts against interracial marriages, which is very strange because it is the exact same situation on their side as it is on white people’s side as they both would typically say it’s wrong to “mix”, as portrayed in the film as well. Another main point that I found very thought provoking was how Joey’s father was a very liberal figure in the community and was someone to be looked up to in that sense. Yet, when it came down to his own daughter bringing home a black man to MARRY, his world was shaken. I think this movie makes all viewers take a look at their own lives and what morally they believe versus what they’re actually doing when it comes down to it. The strong messages that this film sends must have rocked the nation back then. It was a time period when civil rights was in full swing, as even mentioned in the film by Tilly that “Civil rights is one thing but this is another”. It’s funny though because civil rights and interracial marriage goes hand in hand. “Separate but equal” is something that was so heavily focused on because blacks were treated as NOT equal when separated, yet by not allowing interracial marriage and seeing it as wrong, isn’t that remaining separate yet again? Aloha001
I agree that when I think of older films I tend to underestimate them, but really the 1960's was a great time for films that had a social message. Along with Guess Who's coming to dinner, there was The Graduate, which addresses ageism and unconventional relationships, and also Breakfast At Tiffany's, which is about both female and male "escorts". I also like how you said that we usually don't think of African Americans as having as much prejudice, when really, at least in this case, they hold equal prejudice. It caused me to take more of a sociological perspective on other social issues, especially involving race or gender or both. HAL001
The movie “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner?” was an excellent movie describing different sociological relationships and events. It all starts when Joey is in Hawaii and meets a handsome Doctor lecturing at the University. She then surprises her family at home for them to meet him, and they were not expecting an African American man to be the ‘man of her dreams.’ In that time, interracial couples were so taboo, but now-a-days it is acceptable, and if put in this exact situation today, most parents would be ecstatic to have their daughter with a well qualified medical doctor. Racism is the first obvious aspect of the movie with an interracial couple in the 1960s. Not many people back then were so willing to accept interracial couples, in fact in 17 different states in America, it was illegal to get married if you were not of the same race. Since not many were willing to accept their relationship in the movie, it represents a cultural lag. A cultural lag is where elements (in this case the acceptance of an interracial couple) change more quickly than others and it might disrupt a cultural system. This movie also represents a caste system, which is defined as how birth determines social position in four ways. In one of the ways it is ‘social life is restricted to own kind.’ Caste systems are clearly illegal but still practiced in some places. Of course a caste system is represented by both fathers of the couple, (up until the end) that they should not be together because they are of different races. Unfortunately, the couple is feeling shameful because their own family is disapproving of their actions when in reality, they are doing absolutely nothing wrong. This movie shows lots of valuable lessons to not be judgmental and to be happy for those who are happy. chicagoblackhawks001
Even in the last five minutes of this movie, there are several sociological principles that are addressed. One of the first is some ageism, which is exhibited by John's mother toward Joanna's father. Even though she is in his same age range, she still holds a negative attitude about him (though one of the least significant in the film). She calls him a “dried up old man” and says that he can't remember loving his wife. Another concept in this clip is the idea of race and prejudice. These prejudices aren't only held by Joanna's parents, or only John's parent, but society as a whole. Joanna's father knows that the couple will have a hard time being accepted by the majority of society. However, he pretty much tells them about how prejudice against different races is something that was socially constructed, and doesn't at all matter to the couple's relationship to each other. The two could possibly let something like race cause conflict, but judging by Joanna's attitude throughout the whole movie, that won't be a problem. Joanna's father also states that most people will be against them, but he is not going to be one of them. This is similar to the idea of role intersections. Joanna and John are going to be a minority couple, a young couple, who will have mixed-race children. This means, especially in the 1960's, that they have a lot going against them. Adding “disapproving father” to that list will only make their time harder. Joanna's father (and mother) worked hard to raise Joanna well, and he would be going against his own principles and the happiness of the daughter he raised to be happy if he didn't approve her marriage. Also, with Joanna's father's statement about the world being against the couple, he is addressing social lag. Joanna was more than ready to accept their unconventional circumstances. In fact, he didn't see the circumstances as unconventional at all. However, even her own parents and John's parents, were wary of the marriage. And the world that they lived in in 1960 was far from ready to accept interracial marriage. Such a marriage was even illegal in several U.S. states. HAL001
The film “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner?” was a very well put together and attention grabbing one, and was exceptionally well thought of for its’ time. At first you would just think of it as boring and just another “old fashioned movies” for your parents or someone of their generation. The movie actually shows a very uncommon practice so to say, the practice of interracial couples. No matter the couple or the compassion you had for eachother it was never looked at as right in that day and age. It was illegal in 17 states at the time and seemed to only make sense too two people in the movie, until one finally breaks through the barrier of understanding and acceptance and realizes her daughter's love for John as well as the everlasting love John has for her daughter. Thanks to the family aspect of their social environment at the time the fathers could not see through the color of the skin and broke the happiness in disagreeance with the whole entire marriage. John of course left the choice of marriage to his woman's father as a sign of respect, but also he had to add a little extra spice thinking it would help the decision making in his favor. The father used that to his advantage and did not want the marriage still. He spoke of the children and what they would have to deal with growing up in an environment almost completely against interracial couples, let alone interracial marriages, but now a child made from all of this? The father was overwhelmed, but eventually came too when he realized his love for his wife was identical to the love and compassion John showed toward his daughter and vice versa. The fact of it all is that either your social, family, and personal environment can have an overwhelming effect on any decisions big or small. yatchy001
I agree the video was definitely an eye opener to see what would the scenario end up to be. There isn't a lot movies well played out like this one it also had a little comedy in it. Another thing I noticed in the movie is in the end everyone was accepting of their marriage except for Tilley and I never understood why she didn't. Pineapples001
While I was watching "Guess Who's coming to dinner?" I noticed three main issues that Dr. Prentice brought to dinner. These three main sociological issues were race, religion and it showed a sense of cultural lag between Dr. Prentice's generation and his father's generation. Race is obviously the biggest issue in this movie because Dr. Prentice is black and Joey is white and they want to get married. This brings me to cultural lag. Their parents lived in a society where it is acceptable to be friends with white because they taught Joey to not see other people's race at all because they are just people. Yet, when Joey came home and surprised her parents to a marriage with a African-American man they seem shocked and distraught. This reaction was caused by cultural lag. I am dating a man who is a racist but that doesn't mean he doesn't have African-American friends, he was raised to understand that dating African-Americans is dirty or unclean. Yet, my parents have no problem with me dating or even marrying a African-American. So, in today's society there is still cultural lag in some places across the United States but a lot of today's culture has caught up with interracial marriage, I believe. Now, Dr. Prentice's family brings the issue of religion to dinner as well. They were sitting in the parlor and Mr. Prentice asked Joey's mother if they were catholic. Joey's mother said no, I believe, but Mr. Prentice seemed pretty concerned about it. I know from experience that being a catholic is a big part of some people's life style. Catholics, usually, when getting married either switch to their spouses religion or their spouse switches to theirs. I know from being a catholic when I was younger that you could not have it both ways. Being a catholic you either need to switch to your spouses religion or your spouse switches to his/her religion to become a catholic, but you cannot be both catholic and some other religion. Which is why Mr. Prentice asked if they were catholic. Rie001
As I watched this ending scene of “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner” I saw three different types of social concepts which were Family, Culture, and Gender. In that time of the twentieth century, African Americans were finally considered equal to any other race in the United States. All races were starting to come together but no one ever mentioned that blacks and whites could fall in love with each other. It was a culture shock to see a black man and a white woman holding hands walking down the street together. No one would ever bring them around their families because they knew that it would be too much to handle when they confessed it and most families wouldn’t allow it to be. In this film, Joanna had the courage to introduce the Doctor Prentice to her parents and announce that they were getting married under their parent’s approval. The mothers watched her daughter and her son’s eye flutter away as they voiced how in love they were and how amazing of person they were and both mothers automatically approved because they noticed that they both felt the exact same way about each other. However, the dads took some convincing to approve their marriage only because they felt that it was too soon to make a decision on whether they should begin their whole lives together. After everyone talked individually, Mr. Drayton came to a conclusion to approve their marriage and gave them a word of advice saying that it shouldn’t matter who approves your marriage, the only thing that matters is that you love him and he loves you. You’re going to have a lot people looking at you weird, disapproving your being together even feel offended but you can’t let those foolish acquisitions ruin such a beautiful relationship. Pineapples001
One of the biggest issues in the movie Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner is racism. This issue is clearly evident from the very beginning of the movie. Joey is telling her mother about how she is newly seeing someone and her mother seems excited for her. However, before Joey can bring up the fact that John is not a white man, he walks out of the study. Christina’s face immediately turns blank. So this is suggests that had John been a white man there wouldn’t have been much of an issue at all with the marriage. But because he is a black man, all of the good things Joey was saying about him are completely irrelevant to her mother. To her, his race trumps all of his accomplishments and becomes a major factor in whether or not her parents will approve the marriage. Part of this problem is because Joey’s parents, Christina and Matt Drayton, were raised in America before segregation was illegal. They were raised to treat black people and white people differently. By the time this movie was created, segregation had been illegal for only about ten years. For people of Christina and Matt’s age, it is hard to change your views on something like that so willingly. They grew up thinking that black people and white people are different. Having a law that changes that when you are about halfway through your life would make it difficult to change your opinion on them. Christina and Matt eventually come around to the idea of their daughter marrying an African American man. Christina came around to it more easily than Matt did. I think that happened because as a woman, Christina was better able to factor emotions into the situation. She realized that it was silly for her to be upset about it because they loved each other very much and race shouldn’t matter. Matt Drayton took a little bit longer but after talking to John’s mother, he realized what it was all about too. He realized it didn’t matter what race he was because his daughter loved him and he loved his daughter. Saur001
While watching the movie “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner?”, I noticed multiple sociological issues and principles. These would include that of family, gender stratifications, social class, age, and race. The most obvious of this, was the concept of racism. Right as soon as the movie starts you see the other people in the airport giving John and Joanna looks and even the taxi driver shows surprise when he looks back and sees the couple kissing in the back seat – and the racism against them being together only grows from there. The gallery supervisor, Hillary, and the house maid, Tillie, both show obvious sings of disgust; or as Hillary put it “curiosity” towards the couple. Even their own parents had negative reactions at first. I’m sure you can allow them to have some feelings of shock over just meeting the other person and finding out they’re about to marry their child – yet most of the shocked behaviors they portray had to do with the other child’s skin color. Clearly the values of each family were being tested by the relationship – do they really believe all skin colors are equal when it’s in their own home? A second concept within the movie was the differentiation of social classes within the two families. Mr. and Mrs. Drayton both owned businesses; so they were considered to be upper class. Mr. and Mrs. Prentice were both blue collar workers that worked hard to earn the money that made John into the doctor he is. A third concept portrayed within the movie is that of family. Joanna is so adamant about being in love with John and them getting married that she doesn’t necessarily care what her parents have to think of the marriage, yet she also believes that her parents find no wrong with it (because they raised her to think like so). John on the other hand told Mr. Drayton that if he was against the marriage he wouldn’t go through with it – which is where the problems began because neither father liked the idea, while both mothers were okay with it. There are so many more principles that one could talk about being shown in this movie, but for now I’ll stop there. Caffeinated001
Guess Who’s Coming To Dinner is a wonderful movie that really makes a viewer stop and think especially in the time period it was created. Every scene of the movie is of importance for example right off the bat when Joanna and John get into the cab the driver looks back into the rearview mirror and gives a look when he sees Joanna and John kissing. Even though no one has spoken in the movie yet the scene where Joanna and John are leaving the airport set the tone how it is not 100% normal for a black man and white woman to be together. Once arriving to Joanna’s parent’s house Tillie is the first person they meet. The audience can instantly tell Tillie is against John from her tone of voice, and way she acts around him. On the terrace Tillie practically throws the coffee cup at John. Even though Tillie and John are the same race and both apart of a minority Tillie is not rooting for John. This shows how there is so much more to people than the color of their skin and shows the public that just because you may share the same skin color as someone else doesn’t mean you and that person are the same on every level. Just like the example we used in class where just because Hillary Clinton is female does not mean every female in the United States is going to support her. Minorities can break down so much further than race such as by gender, age, and where an individual originates from geographically. Also the fact that Joanna’s parents needed time to get used to the idea and needed to approve the marriage shows how big of a deal interracial marriage in this time period. Sleepyhead001
To start with, there are many issues evident in the movie “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner?”. One of them, clearly being the presence of racism. From the beginning we see this as being an issue when Joanna explains to her parents about her new man. The parents of course are thrilled to hear she had found someone who had stolen her heart such as this man. They have never met him before and hearing that he comes from a wealthy family, he’s a doctor, and he’s handsome, they are genuinely excited to meet him. As soon as he walks through the door their perspectives change. All because he’s a colored man. The fact that he’s a doctor and a wealthy man no longer have any significance. Another issue prevalent in the movie is ageism. Ageism is defined as discrimination based off one’s age. In this movie, I think the older generation were in a sense slightly biased. There were certain issues and differences that Mr. and Mrs. Drayton saw that John and Joanna did not necessarily see. For example, the kids were so scared as to what their parents were going to say about an interracial marriage, while they were completely willing to go for it without seeing it as a barrier. But I think that because of the age group of the parents and seeing how they were brought up and raised, they’ve been taught to think way differently that the younger generation. Another issue of ageism seen in the movie was when Mr. and Mrs. Drayton were getting ice cream and Mr. Drayton accidentally backed up into a younger man's vehicle. The man immediately jumped out of his car yelling at Mr. Drayton calling him “an old man that doesn’t know how to drive” and things of that nature. Clearly it could have happened to anyone, but the young man came to the conclusion that because Mr. Drayton was older, he didn’t know how to drive. MacD001
ReplyDeleteRacism was a big factor of this movie. Joanna’s parents had told her all of her life not to judge someone by the color of their skin because the color of one’s skin does not make you any more or less intelligent than someone of a different color. Because of this she was just sure that they would have no problem at all with her marrying a man of a different race. But when Matt and Christina’s daughter wanted to marry a man of color they could not practice what they preached because they had a problem with it and that made them out to be prejudice against someone with a different skin color than them.
Deletesass001
It is obvious that racism is the key sociological factor in the film. But I would argue that racism begins even before John meets Joey's parents. While Joey and John walk through the airport, they are glassed over for being an interracial couple. The taxi driver sees them as different and judges them on the drive around town. Hilary is immediately concerned with John from the moment he sees him. Much of the racism in the film comes from outsiders rather than the families. FireFan001
Delete“Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner,” displays a multitude of sociological principles and issues. The most evident sociological concept is that of race. Race becomes the focal point of the film’s controversy. However, family, social class, age, and gender are all socialization agents that add to the unrest between the Drayton family, Prentice family, and the family’s close friends. Racism is rampant in this film and begins as soon as the title card drops. While Joey and John walk through the airport they begin to receive looks from the general public. The taxi driver only can give scowls as he sees them in the rearview mirror. Between Hilary and Tille there is no positive reaction to the color of John’s skin. When John meets both Christina and Matt Drayton, he could have not been more scrutinized. They become speechless when they see a black man with their daughter. At the beginning of the film there was a notion that only Joey’s parents would be put off by her black fiancé, but John is reluctant to tell his parents that he is seeing a white girl. Race is the underlying agent of socialization but other factors show reverence in the film.
ReplyDeleteSocial class becomes a factor in the Drayton’s approval of Dr. Prentice. Mr. Drayton is the editor of the newspaper and Mrs. Drayton owns an art gallery, they are living an upper class life. Despite John’s lofty achievements as a doctor, he comes from the lower class. His parents are blue collar. His father worked as a mailman for his entire life in order to support John’s endeavors. Family is also a factor that helps formulate the decision about the couple’s marriage. Joey was so adamant about her love of John and really did not have any respect for what her parents had to say. Additionally, it was the fathers who were created the ultimate decision. John sought the approval of his own father and Joey’s father, leaving no room for the value of the women. These agents of socialization are many of the few that characterize the events in this film. FireFan001
You brought up some interesting points that I had not thought of, like John looking for approval only from the fathers. It seems that this is still the case today, for the most part. Many women seek the approval of their mother's, as Joey did, but had her mother not approved and her father had, I assume John would have still gone through with the marriage. Sandydog001
DeleteSocial conflict is in every aspect of society, whether you look at today, or in the 1960s. “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner” portrays many issues in the everyday life of the average 1960s United States citizen. One issue that is very prevalent is racism. One of the main protagonists Joanne, fell in love with a successful African American. When Joanne told her mother that she fell in love after twenty minutes, her mother Christina was excited and happy for her. Once Christina found out that Dr. John Prentis was a black man, she was shocked and had her reservations. When Joanne’s father Matt met John, he seemed interested in John’s line of work, and was intrigued to know more. Once Matt realized that John was in a relationship with his daughter, he no longer appreciated John so much. Part of the reason both Joanne’s and John’s parents were so distraught about the interracial wedding, is because of the different ways the generations were taught to view society. The older generations were brought up to believe that the whites were superior to all other minorities, but because civil rights were being enacted, their views were told to change so that everyone was equal. While it was harder for them to accept, their children’s generation, including John and Joanne, were taught since birth to treat everyone with the same respect, which allowed them to fall in love, with no second guesses. Another conflict is the issue of gender differences. The women in this film were much faster to accept the wedding than the men were. Christina quickly approved of the marriage, and was very emotional when her husband did not share her opinion, and went so far as to tell Matt that if he disapproved of their daughter’s wedding, breaking her heart, she would take Joanne’s side. Sandydog001
ReplyDeleteI agree with you. Gender differences are huge in this movie given the time. I think these issues are seen in this film just as much as racism or ageism. It was interesting to see how men in the movie treated their wives based on their opinions. They knew they thought and reasoned differently, but instead of taking into consideration what they had to say and feel, they sort of blew them off as if they were just ridiculous thinkers. I think today we understand more clearly that men and women think differently and we can come to an agreement that not just one is better or wiser than the other. MacD001
DeleteWhile watching “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner” I noticed multiple sociological issues going on. Because the movie was based in the 1960’s things were a lot different than how they are now. Black people were a minority who were often saddled or had a lower status than whites. They were not accepted in society the way they are today because there were a lot of prejudice people living in the society. When Joanna’s parents first met John, they liked him. Joanna’s father Matt was interested in his occupation and what he does. But when Joanna and John told Matt that they were going to get married, he did not seem to take such an interest in John anymore, and neither does Joanna’s mother, Christina. Because John is in a socially constructed category that is composed of people who share biological traits that are different from the Drayton’s family, they start to judge John because of it and feel that it is not right for them to marry. After Christina talks to John and Joanna, she warms up to the idea of them marrying, but her husband continues to disapprove. Carol Gilligan proves the reasoning with the gender factor. It states that males develop a justice perspective and formal rules define right and wrong, while females develop a care and responsibility perspective and personal relationships define their reasoning. John continues to disapprove because he knows that it is illegal to marry outside of your race in some states and he feels that they will be looked down upon. But Christina approves because she has talked to her daughter about it and knows how happy she is with John. There was a lot of gender stratification that affected women in the 1960’s. Because of the gender stratification, men thought they were more powerful and privileged, therefor Matt thought that Christina was terrible for her decisions of supporting Joanna. Matt believed that Christina needed to stand behind him on his feelings and that she should not have expressed her own opinion. After much long reasoning and thinking Matt looked passed all the issues and decided to let his daughter do what would make her the happiest.
ReplyDeletesass001
I agree with you, the 1960s were very different times then they are now, black people where looked down on and had a lower class standard then white people has. Bringing home a black man or woman was not the normally in the 1960s, that is what I liked about this movie because it was breaking all the society norms for that time.
DeleteGRUNT001
Sass - Yes. I thought Matt personified gender stratification. He had the final say in it all. Everyone basically deferred to him. Even the doctors father headed that household. I dug the "I think of myself as a man". Clearly different outlooks and changing of culture....LovinTheLanguage 001
Delete“Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner?” was a great movie to watch, there are not many movies from the 1960s that I watch but I would suggest this movie to anyone. During the viewing of this film I found many situations that related to sociology. One of the more obvious situations in this movie was about race. During the 1960s civil right movements where big and the world was changing fast, so I think that this movie high lighted one of the situations that was also changing during the time of the movie. It was looked down upon for black people to date of marry white people. There was something around 15 or more states that this was illegal to do. So when the daughter brought home a black man to introduce to the family everyone that she introduced him to would have a really big look of shock on their faces as if they might fall down. I thought it was odd that the person that had the most problems with this black man was the black maid that worked in the house. She made a comment to him while in his room that she didn’t want him to think he is no better then her or other black people. Another big factor in this movie was ageism. There was a part of the movie where they went to get ice cream and when they pulled in and the younger lady was asking what they wanted, the older man could not remember what he had ordered in the past and the younger lady was looking at him like she was annoyed with him for being forgetful. Then after they ate ice cream as they were backing the car up he hit a younger mans car. The young man got out and started yelling and saying rude comments towards the older man that he should be driving a car. Overall I think this was a great movie to watch.
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Grunt - I totally agree. We tend to forget that there is an argument that people of color can be racist within their own group (intra). I wonder if he would have been accepted in the end if he was not so 'educated' and had all those degrees. JustaThought 001
DeleteI agree, it was an awesome movie. It had so many sociological lessons within the script like you said, racism. I never even thought of ageism as apart of that movie until I read your paragraph. Another smaller role is patriarchy, where the wives of the disapproving men almost bow down to them because they are the 'head' of the relationship and has final say in decision making. You're outlook on the movie is very similar to mine. chicagoblackhawks001
DeleteThe movie, Guess Who’s Coming To Dinner, was a very interesting one to watch. When I think of films from the 1960s, I typically don’t expect much. I think of entertaining productions with not much thought put into them, let alone being thought provoking. This film completely changed my thoughts on movies from that time period. A common obvious social issue in the film is race and more specifically, interracial marriage. During that time period, it was a rare sight to see interracial couples, let alone contemplating marriage. It was even illegal in just about a third of the states in the US. I found it very interesting that the maid, Tilly, had that much hatred towards John. He of course had done nothing wrong and she felt the need to degrade and threaten him substantially. In regards to her and John’s parents, we typically don’t think of African Americans having such strong thoughts against interracial marriages, which is very strange because it is the exact same situation on their side as it is on white people’s side as they both would typically say it’s wrong to “mix”, as portrayed in the film as well. Another main point that I found very thought provoking was how Joey’s father was a very liberal figure in the community and was someone to be looked up to in that sense. Yet, when it came down to his own daughter bringing home a black man to MARRY, his world was shaken. I think this movie makes all viewers take a look at their own lives and what morally they believe versus what they’re actually doing when it comes down to it. The strong messages that this film sends must have rocked the nation back then. It was a time period when civil rights was in full swing, as even mentioned in the film by Tilly that “Civil rights is one thing but this is another”. It’s funny though because civil rights and interracial marriage goes hand in hand. “Separate but equal” is something that was so heavily focused on because blacks were treated as NOT equal when separated, yet by not allowing interracial marriage and seeing it as wrong, isn’t that remaining separate yet again? Aloha001
ReplyDeleteI agree that when I think of older films I tend to underestimate them, but really the 1960's was a great time for films that had a social message. Along with Guess Who's coming to dinner, there was The Graduate, which addresses ageism and unconventional relationships, and also Breakfast At Tiffany's, which is about both female and male "escorts". I also like how you said that we usually don't think of African Americans as having as much prejudice, when really, at least in this case, they hold equal prejudice. It caused me to take more of a sociological perspective on other social issues, especially involving race or gender or both. HAL001
DeleteThe movie “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner?” was an excellent movie describing different sociological relationships and events. It all starts when Joey is in Hawaii and meets a handsome Doctor lecturing at the University. She then surprises her family at home for them to meet him, and they were not expecting an African American man to be the ‘man of her dreams.’ In that time, interracial couples were so taboo, but now-a-days it is acceptable, and if put in this exact situation today, most parents would be ecstatic to have their daughter with a well qualified medical doctor. Racism is the first obvious aspect of the movie with an interracial couple in the 1960s. Not many people back then were so willing to accept interracial couples, in fact in 17 different states in America, it was illegal to get married if you were not of the same race. Since not many were willing to accept their relationship in the movie, it represents a cultural lag. A cultural lag is where elements (in this case the acceptance of an interracial couple) change more quickly than others and it might disrupt a cultural system. This movie also represents a caste system, which is defined as how birth determines social position in four ways. In one of the ways it is ‘social life is restricted to own kind.’ Caste systems are clearly illegal but still practiced in some places. Of course a caste system is represented by both fathers of the couple, (up until the end) that they should not be together because they are of different races. Unfortunately, the couple is feeling shameful because their own family is disapproving of their actions when in reality, they are doing absolutely nothing wrong. This movie shows lots of valuable lessons to not be judgmental and to be happy for those who are happy. chicagoblackhawks001
ReplyDeleteEven in the last five minutes of this movie, there are several sociological principles that are addressed. One of the first is some ageism, which is exhibited by John's mother toward Joanna's father. Even though she is in his same age range, she still holds a negative attitude about him (though one of the least significant in the film). She calls him a “dried up old man” and says that he can't remember loving his wife. Another concept in this clip is the idea of race and prejudice. These prejudices aren't only held by Joanna's parents, or only John's parent, but society as a whole. Joanna's father knows that the couple will have a hard time being accepted by the majority of society. However, he pretty much tells them about how prejudice against different races is something that was socially constructed, and doesn't at all matter to the couple's relationship to each other. The two could possibly let something like race cause conflict, but judging by Joanna's attitude throughout the whole movie, that won't be a problem. Joanna's father also states that most people will be against them, but he is not going to be one of them. This is similar to the idea of role intersections. Joanna and John are going to be a minority couple, a young couple, who will have mixed-race children. This means, especially in the 1960's, that they have a lot going against them. Adding “disapproving father” to that list will only make their time harder. Joanna's father (and mother) worked hard to raise Joanna well, and he would be going against his own principles and the happiness of the daughter he raised to be happy if he didn't approve her marriage. Also, with Joanna's father's statement about the world being against the couple, he is addressing social lag. Joanna was more than ready to accept their unconventional circumstances. In fact, he didn't see the circumstances as unconventional at all. However, even her own parents and John's parents, were wary of the marriage. And the world that they lived in in 1960 was far from ready to accept interracial marriage. Such a marriage was even illegal in several U.S. states. HAL001
ReplyDeleteThe film “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner?” was a very well put together and attention grabbing one, and was exceptionally well thought of for its’ time. At first you would just think of it as boring and just another “old fashioned movies” for your parents or someone of their generation. The movie actually shows a very uncommon practice so to say, the practice of interracial couples. No matter the couple or the compassion you had for eachother it was never looked at as right in that day and age. It was illegal in 17 states at the time and seemed to only make sense too two people in the movie, until one finally breaks through the barrier of understanding and acceptance and realizes her daughter's love for John as well as the everlasting love John has for her daughter. Thanks to the family aspect of their social environment at the time the fathers could not see through the color of the skin and broke the happiness in disagreeance with the whole entire marriage. John of course left the choice of marriage to his woman's father as a sign of respect, but also he had to add a little extra spice thinking it would help the decision making in his favor. The father used that to his advantage and did not want the marriage still. He spoke of the children and what they would have to deal with growing up in an environment almost completely against interracial couples, let alone interracial marriages, but now a child made from all of this? The father was overwhelmed, but eventually came too when he realized his love for his wife was identical to the love and compassion John showed toward his daughter and vice versa. The fact of it all is that either your social, family, and personal environment can have an overwhelming effect on any decisions big or small. yatchy001
ReplyDeleteI agree the video was definitely an eye opener to see what would the scenario end up to be. There isn't a lot movies well played out like this one it also had a little comedy in it. Another thing I noticed in the movie is in the end everyone was accepting of their marriage except for Tilley and I never understood why she didn't. Pineapples001
DeleteWhile I was watching "Guess Who's coming to dinner?" I noticed three main issues that Dr. Prentice brought to dinner. These three main sociological issues were race, religion and it showed a sense of cultural lag between Dr. Prentice's generation and his father's generation. Race is obviously the biggest issue in this movie because Dr. Prentice is black and Joey is white and they want to get married. This brings me to cultural lag. Their parents lived in a society where it is acceptable to be friends with white because they taught Joey to not see other people's race at all because they are just people. Yet, when Joey came home and surprised her parents to a marriage with a African-American man they seem shocked and distraught. This reaction was caused by cultural lag. I am dating a man who is a racist but that doesn't mean he doesn't have African-American friends, he was raised to understand that dating African-Americans is dirty or unclean. Yet, my parents have no problem with me dating or even marrying a African-American. So, in today's society there is still cultural lag in some places across the United States but a lot of today's culture has caught up with interracial marriage, I believe. Now, Dr. Prentice's family brings the issue of religion to dinner as well. They were sitting in the parlor and Mr. Prentice asked Joey's mother if they were catholic. Joey's mother said no, I believe, but Mr. Prentice seemed pretty concerned about it. I know from experience that being a catholic is a big part of some people's life style. Catholics, usually, when getting married either switch to their spouses religion or their spouse switches to theirs. I know from being a catholic when I was younger that you could not have it both ways. Being a catholic you either need to switch to your spouses religion or your spouse switches to his/her religion to become a catholic, but you cannot be both catholic and some other religion. Which is why Mr. Prentice asked if they were catholic. Rie001
ReplyDeleteAs I watched this ending scene of “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner” I saw three different types of social concepts which were Family, Culture, and Gender. In that time of the twentieth century, African Americans were finally considered equal to any other race in the United States. All races were starting to come together but no one ever mentioned that blacks and whites could fall in love with each other. It was a culture shock to see a black man and a white woman holding hands walking down the street together. No one would ever bring them around their families because they knew that it would be too much to handle when they confessed it and most families wouldn’t allow it to be. In this film, Joanna had the courage to introduce the Doctor Prentice to her parents and announce that they were getting married under their parent’s approval. The mothers watched her daughter and her son’s eye flutter away as they voiced how in love they were and how amazing of person they were and both mothers automatically approved because they noticed that they both felt the exact same way about each other. However, the dads took some convincing to approve their marriage only because they felt that it was too soon to make a decision on whether they should begin their whole lives together. After everyone talked individually, Mr. Drayton came to a conclusion to approve their marriage and gave them a word of advice saying that it shouldn’t matter who approves your marriage, the only thing that matters is that you love him and he loves you. You’re going to have a lot people looking at you weird, disapproving your being together even feel offended but you can’t let those foolish acquisitions ruin such a beautiful relationship. Pineapples001
ReplyDeleteOne of the biggest issues in the movie Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner is racism. This issue is clearly evident from the very beginning of the movie. Joey is telling her mother about how she is newly seeing someone and her mother seems excited for her. However, before Joey can bring up the fact that John is not a white man, he walks out of the study. Christina’s face immediately turns blank. So this is suggests that had John been a white man there wouldn’t have been much of an issue at all with the marriage. But because he is a black man, all of the good things Joey was saying about him are completely irrelevant to her mother. To her, his race trumps all of his accomplishments and becomes a major factor in whether or not her parents will approve the marriage. Part of this problem is because Joey’s parents, Christina and Matt Drayton, were raised in America before segregation was illegal. They were raised to treat black people and white people differently. By the time this movie was created, segregation had been illegal for only about ten years. For people of Christina and Matt’s age, it is hard to change your views on something like that so willingly. They grew up thinking that black people and white people are different. Having a law that changes that when you are about halfway through your life would make it difficult to change your opinion on them. Christina and Matt eventually come around to the idea of their daughter marrying an African American man. Christina came around to it more easily than Matt did. I think that happened because as a woman, Christina was better able to factor emotions into the situation. She realized that it was silly for her to be upset about it because they loved each other very much and race shouldn’t matter. Matt Drayton took a little bit longer but after talking to John’s mother, he realized what it was all about too. He realized it didn’t matter what race he was because his daughter loved him and he loved his daughter. Saur001
ReplyDeleteWhile watching the movie “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner?”, I noticed multiple sociological issues and principles. These would include that of family, gender stratifications, social class, age, and race. The most obvious of this, was the concept of racism. Right as soon as the movie starts you see the other people in the airport giving John and Joanna looks and even the taxi driver shows surprise when he looks back and sees the couple kissing in the back seat – and the racism against them being together only grows from there. The gallery supervisor, Hillary, and the house maid, Tillie, both show obvious sings of disgust; or as Hillary put it “curiosity” towards the couple. Even their own parents had negative reactions at first. I’m sure you can allow them to have some feelings of shock over just meeting the other person and finding out they’re about to marry their child – yet most of the shocked behaviors they portray had to do with the other child’s skin color. Clearly the values of each family were being tested by the relationship – do they really believe all skin colors are equal when it’s in their own home? A second concept within the movie was the differentiation of social classes within the two families. Mr. and Mrs. Drayton both owned businesses; so they were considered to be upper class. Mr. and Mrs. Prentice were both blue collar workers that worked hard to earn the money that made John into the doctor he is. A third concept portrayed within the movie is that of family. Joanna is so adamant about being in love with John and them getting married that she doesn’t necessarily care what her parents have to think of the marriage, yet she also believes that her parents find no wrong with it (because they raised her to think like so). John on the other hand told Mr. Drayton that if he was against the marriage he wouldn’t go through with it – which is where the problems began because neither father liked the idea, while both mothers were okay with it. There are so many more principles that one could talk about being shown in this movie, but for now I’ll stop there. Caffeinated001
ReplyDeleteGuess Who’s Coming To Dinner is a wonderful movie that really makes a viewer stop and think especially in the time period it was created. Every scene of the movie is of importance for example right off the bat when Joanna and John get into the cab the driver looks back into the rearview mirror and gives a look when he sees Joanna and John kissing. Even though no one has spoken in the movie yet the scene where Joanna and John are leaving the airport set the tone how it is not 100% normal for a black man and white woman to be together. Once arriving to Joanna’s parent’s house Tillie is the first person they meet. The audience can instantly tell Tillie is against John from her tone of voice, and way she acts around him. On the terrace Tillie practically throws the coffee cup at John. Even though Tillie and John are the same race and both apart of a minority Tillie is not rooting for John. This shows how there is so much more to people than the color of their skin and shows the public that just because you may share the same skin color as someone else doesn’t mean you and that person are the same on every level. Just like the example we used in class where just because Hillary Clinton is female does not mean every female in the United States is going to support her. Minorities can break down so much further than race such as by gender, age, and where an individual originates from geographically. Also the fact that Joanna’s parents needed time to get used to the idea and needed to approve the marriage shows how big of a deal interracial marriage in this time period. Sleepyhead001
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