FREE ESSAY ON GUESS WHO'S COMING TO DINNER

GUESS WHO'S COMING TO DINNER

The film, Guess Who's Coming to Dinner, written by Stanely Kramer reflects 
society's prejudices of the 1960's time period. This comedy explores the subject of 
interracial marriage, and the impact it has upon the parents of the bride and groom. 
This film definitely confirms the concepts of the 1960's, yet provides a new 
perspective on mixed marriages for years to come. The movie interprets the time 
period well, especially enlightening the ignorance and tension between African 
Americans and Caucasians. 
This movie tells of a dinner party given by a bride's parents to meet her fiance' 
and his parents. The comfortable middle class, white parents of the bride are 
shocked when they find out that the groom is black. The groom's parents, are also in 
alarmed to find out that the parents of the bride are white. Surprisingly, the mothers 
seem to be more accepting of the proposed marriage than the fathers, who are very 
skeptical, and hold onto old traditions.
The 1960's were a period of increased government intervention and reforms, as 
seen by the shocking message of the story. After the film, the number of interracial 
marriages in the U.S. increased dramatically since the 1960's both in numbers 
and in the percentage of total marriages. To 51,718 interracial marriages in 1990 
compared to 40,491 in 1960. The results clearly show the changing mindset of the nation 
from prejudice, to open-mindedness. Although the 1960's was a time of great 
change, the hearts of many Americans were still unaccustomed to new ideals. The 
idea of interracial marriage was very new for the time. The progression of the nation 
becomes evident with the creation of: NAACP in 1909, struggling for civil rights for 
blacks; the construction of Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) in 
1960, for eliminating segregation by nonviolent means; the Civil Rights Acts of 1960 
and 1964, to end discrimination; and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. The 60's was a 
time of constant reform to better the country from ignorant ideals. Besides legislation 
to end discrimination and ensure equal rights, blacks received support for equal 
rights from the courts. Evidently, the country still faced much bitterness toward the 
minority groups as seen by the prejudice, limited rights, and limited segregation; which
is 
also clear in Guess Who's Coming to Dinner, which highlights the ongoing intolerance.
This film is a combination of history and Hollywood. The fact that discrimination 
was evident during the 1960's is clearly shown by the parents willful opposition 
toward the marriage; and it can be somewhat exaggerated that the couple fell in love 
quickly, and that the fathers of the couple approved rather quickly of the proposed 
marriage. The tension of the time was very major, and such marriage would be 
shunned upon. Also it is obvious the filmmaker is not manipulating its audience; only 
fantasizing to a minor level on the sequence of events. Although i do believe Stanely 
Kramer's goal was to open the minds of the people, and aid them in realizing the 
possibility of interracial marriages.
Guess Who's Coming to Dinner is a classic film of the 1960's highlighting the 
flaws of society, and the possibilities of change in the ideals and morals of people. 
The many reforms brought upon opportunities for African Americans, and guided the 
progression of the nation onto being much more liberal.