The 1961 movie “A Raisin in the Sun” is was adapted from Lorraine Hansberry’s play “A Raisin in the Sun.” It portrays themes that highlight the life of the Younger family after the demise of Mr. Younger. The movie starts after the death of Mr. Younger, and the family pursues Mr. Younger’s life insurance payout of $10,000. Mr. Younger’s widow, Lena, her son, Walter, her daughter in law Ruth (Walter’s wife), her daughter Beneatha (Walter’s sister) and her grandson, Travis, all have some plan on how to use the $10,000 insurance payout. Walter has some entitlement to the money and wants to use it to open a liquor store, his mother, however, has some objections to the idea alcohol for religious purposes, Walter wishes to be rich and is not content as a limousine driver. Lena and the others also have some issues that would require a portion of the same money they were to get from the life insurance policy (Wojkick 21).
The fact that Beneatha’s wealthy and educated boyfriend, George Murchison, denies in heritage which is African shows the complexity that surrounds the whole issue of tackling racial discrimination (Jakubiak 17). Murchison represents a brainwashed and assimilated African, who looks down upon his own people. From this character, the inferiority feeling that some African-Americans have about themselves also worsen the issue of racial discrimination. On the contrary, self-acceptance and pride from members of different races as portrayed by Joseph Asagai, builds self-worth and could enhance the fight against racial discrimination (Jakubiak 21).
In as much as America struggle to achieve gender balance in the society, men and women in the society have some perceptions about their roles. Through the movie, one can learn that the practicality of gender balance isn’t as a result of human decision but might sometimes be inherent in one being born a man or a woman (Wilkins 9). Walter has some feeling, as a man, that he should provide. Therefore, he feels the “nuisance” of his poor socioeconomic situation than anyone else. His arguments on why he needs a better career, why his mother should give him money, why his wife should support him, are all based on the fact that he is the man in the family. It is not simply a bed of roses to live in America as some people in other parts of the world would perceive it, on the other hand, the movie also teaches us to be together as families through the various challenges we face (Wilkins 13).
References
Wojcik, Pamela Robertson. The Apartment Plot: Urban Living in American Film and Popular Culture, 1945 to 1975. Duke University Press, 2010.
Jakubiak, Katarzyna. "The Black Body in Translation: Polish Productions of Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin in the Sun in the 1960s." Theatre Journal 63.4 (2011): 541-569.
Wilkins, Fanon Che. "Beyond Bandung: The Critical Nationalism of Lorraine Hansberry, 1950-1965." Radical History Review 2006.95 (2006): 191-210.
