Guess Whose Coming Reflection

     The movie "Guess Whose Coming to Dinner" is very powerful and shows the social struggle that came with desegregation. The movie was about a black man named John who wanted to marry a white woman named Joey. They met in Hawaii and fell in love. Both of them were accepting of one another because they were raised when segregation was over. But their parents were raised while segregation and desegregation was happening. The movie takes place in the 1960s and race relations were changing rapidly. The movie shows viewers the social gap and cultural gap between black and white citizens in the United States.

    The most interesting part of the movie for me was the difference perspective John and Joey had compared to their parents. When they went to Joeys parents who were white, they were shocked by the idea of John and Joey getting married. One line that John repeats to Joeys dad over and over while he contemplates letting his daughter marry a black man is "unless you two approve and without any reservations at all, there won't be any marriage. I already have so many problems that I couldn't afford to get married if it meant that I would have to take on any other special problems in addition to those I already have." I think that this line symbolizes so much more then just the marriage of a black and a white person. The line is about acceptance. 

    White citizens had to adjust to black people gaining rights, and it took a very long time. After years of violence, fighting, discrimination, and so much more there was finally acceptance. Yes, there are still racists out there but we have come so far as a culture. The movie shows the acceptance of black people into white culture and I think that is the underlying message. The purposed marriage of John and Joey represents the beginning of desegregation. The reaction of the parents shows the hesitation and fight of acceptance between black and white people. The fighting of the parents shows the violence and resistance to the idea of black and white people being equal. And finally after a whole movie of fighting, contemplation, bargaining, fear, denial, grief, anger, and sadness the parents give John and Joey their blessing to get married. The emotions above symbolize what white society was going through with the desegregation of black and white society. The acceptance comes form the younger generations leading us to the world that we live in now where black and white people are equal, after a decade of being seen for only the color your skin.