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Douglas Sirks 1959 movie Imitation of Life, a glamorized remake of a 1934 film of the same name, revolves around the relationship between a white woman and a black woman who have two things in common: both are widows and both have one child named Susie and Sarah Jane respectively ( Imitation of Life ).
I am more sympathetic towards Annie because she bravely endures hardships in life without complaint while giving her love totally to her child. First of all, the loss of her husband meant she had to struggle to make ends meet for her daughter and herself .
Secondly, she is black, which during the 1950s background of the movie, was a great disadvantage in the United States due to racial discrimination by whites. Most of all, after struggling to look after her daughter, she is on the receiving end of continuous rejection by Sarah Jane that culminates when Annie finds and confronts her errant daughter for the last time where Sarah Jane shows no love, remorse or lack of animosity towards her mother, callously declaring: If we should ever pass on the street, please dont recognize me ( Imitation of Life )}.
Finally, the scene that provokes the most sympathy towards Annie is her forlorn death-bed message to Sarah Jane passed on through Lora: Tell her I know I was selfish, and if I loved her too much, Im sorry. She was all I had ( Imitation of Life ).
On the other hand, Sarah Jane is not worthy of any sympathy whatsoever. She is a hypocrite who shuns her African-American heritage and continually tries to pose as a white. Worst of all, she directs her anger at being black towards her saintly mother, causing Annie intense pain and anguish which is not alleviated until her death. Sarah Janes hysterical display of sorrow at Annies funeral, during which she cries: Miss Lora, I killed my mother ( Imitation of Life ) comes too late to merit any sympathy towards her.
The significance of Sarah Janes preference for white as opposed to black dolls reveals the situation in the 1950s United States where racial discrimination by whites against African-Americans was rampant. The whites enjoyed high social status and advantageous positions in society while the blacks were repressed and doomed to a low status in life. The preference for white as opposed to black is well epitomized by Sarah Janes hatred of her African-American heritage. She is so light-complexioned that she can pass off as a Caucasian .
Sarah Jane sees the racial discrimination meted out towards blacks and that makes her envious of whites and their superior standard of life and social status. The anger and hatred at being black causes Sarah Jane to be in a regular state of mental turmoil over her identity. Sirk reveals the characteristics of racism in several scenes in the movie. First of all, the choice of Caucasian actress Susan Kohner to play the role of a black Sarah Jane passing for a white indicates that being white speaks for itself.
Secondly, a series of scenes that show Sarah Jane trying to pose as a white indicate the advantageous social status and better facilities available to whites as compared to blacks. Annie admits that Sarah Janes been passing at school, pretending shes white, while the girl herself vehemently declares But Im white! Im as white as Susie ( Imitation of Life ). Posing as a white, Sarah Jane then starts dating a white boy , gets a job to perform in a nightclub of dubious repute, and finally walks away from home to take up a job as a chorus girl on the West Coast.
Thirdly, showing how whites considered themselves superior to blacks and refused to treat them equally, Frankie mercilessly beats Sarah Jane when he finds out she is black { All the kids are talking behind my back! Is it true? Are you black? ( Imitation of Life ), and the nightclub manager fires Sarah Jane when he finds out her mother is black. The racism against African-Americans was ultimately ended by the American Civil Rights Movement that culminated in the passing of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965 (Ags.Uci.edu).
References used
- Brief Timeline of the American Civil Rights Movement (19541965). Associated Graduate Students. (N.d). Web.
- Sirk, Douglas. Imitation of Life. Universal Pictures. 1959.
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