Interracial relationships in Hollywood movies

Eva KABELÍKOVÁ

Bachelor's thesis

Abstract:

This undergraduate thesis will focus on interracial relationships in movies which sets are based in the United States. The four movies that have been chosen are Loving (2016), Free State of Jones (2016), Mississippi Masala (1991) and Guess Who's Coming to Dinner (1967). All three movies also show different relationships and different period of the time. While Loving and Free State of Jones focus on black-white relationship, the same as Guess who's coming for dinner, Mississippi Masala shows romance between African American and Indian American. These movies display also different time period from Civil War to 1970s where we can see representation of the controversial subject of interracial marriage, which historically had been illegal in most states of the United States in that time. Based on the long history of interracial marriage as taboo in American society, this paper will focus on the evolution of interracial relationship from the 60s till the current time. Guess Who's Coming to Dinner precisely addresses the contrasts between the older generation's conservative opposition and the younger generation's more liberal acknowledgment of miscegenation amid the late 1960s in the USA. However watching the movie nowadays, the audience can see how carefully the movie was made, to not outrage the American viewers, or at least to keep the indignation at the minimum. In the other movies, we can see the progress that was made not just in the technical aspect in cinematography but also in freedom of expression when the taboo of interracial marriages is not as extensive as it used to be.

Abstract:

Tato bakalářská práce se zaměří na mezirasové vztahy v Hollywoodských filmech. Čtyři filmy, které byly vybrány, jsou Loving (2016), Free State of Jones (2016), Mississippi Masala (1991) a Guess Who's Coming to Dinner (1967). Všechny tři filmy také ukazují různé mezirasové vztahy a různá časová období. Zatímco Free State of Jones se soustředí na vztah mezi černoškou a bělochem, stejně jako Guess Who's Coming to Dinner, Mississippi Masala ukazuje romanci mezi Afro-Američanem a indickou Američankou. Tyto filmy zobrazují také odlišné časové období od občanské války až do sedmdesátých let 19. století, kdy vidíme reprezentaci kontroverzního tématu mezirasového manželství, které byl historicky nezákonný ve většině států Spojených států té doby. Na základě dlouhé historie mezirasového manželství jako tabu v americké společnosti se tento příspěvek soustředí na jejich vývoj.

Keywords

Mezirasové, vztahy, Hollywood, filmy, rasismus, otroctví

Language used: English

Date on which the thesis was submitted / produced: 27. 4. 2018

Accessible from:: 31. 12. 2999

Thesis defence

• Supervisor: William Bradley Vice, Ph.D.

University of West Bohemia

Faculty of Education

Bachelor programme / field:
Specialization in Pedagogy / English Language in Education