Imitation of Life is a drama film directed by Douglas Sirk in 1959 and recognized as one of the pinnacles of classic Hollywood melodrama. The plot is set in New York. The main character is a young widow Lora Meredith, whose dream is to become a Broadway actress. So she saves money and comes to New York with her six-year-old daughter Susie in order to try her fortune in acting. One day at the beach the paths of Lora and Susie cross with the paths of Annie, a colored woman, and her light-skinned daughter Sarah-Jane. Lora resolves Annie to live at her apartment, to keep the house clean and to look after Susie. Lora's tenacity soon pays off, and she becomes the muse of a successful playwright and a star of the Broadway stage.
In fact, the plot of the film Imitation of life (1959) is an altered version of the original book and the version filmed in 1934. In the original story, the main heroine becomes famous and rich with the help of her colored maid’s family waffle recipe. The maid declines the proposal to get 20% profit and remains a main heroine’s servant. Douglas Sirk and screenwriters thought that such a story will not be acceptable by the audience in the years of African-American civil right movements, 1955–1968. That is why the plot was changed.
Imitation of life is perhaps one of the first films, which raised the issue of racial segregation. The issue of inequality of black and white people is shown very delicately. Annie is a black woman who has a light-skinned daughter Sarah-Jane. The latter is incredibly shy and cannot live a normal life among white people; she is a rebel. Even being a child she could not accept the fact that her mother is colored. The incident that takes place at school is the most shameful for Sarah-Jane, as she was embarrassed in front of the whole classroom. The scene with two dolls – one with a white and another with a black skin, at the very beginning of the film, can be considered as a symbolic. Sarah-Jane cries as she wants the white doll, but gets a black-skinned one and drops it on the floor. Almost at the end of the film she is the one, who falls on the ground, after her boyfriend beats her. And after that she falls morally, as she starts working at a cabaret and renounces her mother. The story could have been realistic as the racial problem stood out sharply during those years.
Douglas Sirk only highlights the problem of a racial segregation but does not give a solution. Annie just accepts the fact that her daughter wants to live separately and does not want to recognize her as a mother. Of course, the director gives some hints and brakes stereotypes. There is a scene of a great importance – Susie and Sarah-Jane want to compare the color of their blood. I think, the Douglas Sirk wanted to underline that no matter what color of skin you have, all people are equal and all of the same blood. Also, in the Christmas scene, when Sarah-Jane asks her mother whether Jesus was colored or white Lora answers: “It does not matter”. (Imitation of life, 1959)
The protagonist in the movie, Lora Meredith, is portrayed as a loving mother. But unfortunately, her obsession with the idea to become a star prevents her from paying enough attention to her daughter and establishing her private life and relations with Steve. When Lora achieves success, she still has no time for Susie and Steve. One thing that I liked in Lora is that she was not prejudiced against colored people and always supported Annie. In the episode where Sarah-Jane serves for the Lora’s guests some shrimps and makes a scene, Lora acts very smartly. She says: “Have I ever treated you like a different? Or Susie? Or anybody else here? [] So do not do this to us and to yourself. It won’t solve anything.” (Imitation of life, 1959) And when Annie dies Lora is all tears.
In the film, the ideology of racism is expressed, and unfortunately it has a negative social impact. It is known that a belief that racial characteristics have a decisive influence on the ability, intelligence, morality, behavioral characteristics and traits of individual human beings, is considered to be racist. Racism necessarily includes the idea of the original division of people into superior and inferior races, the first of which is the creator of civilization, and is intended to prevail over the latter. This ideology reflects in the film. On some level Lora treats Annie as her servant, even though Annie was faithful with her and stayed with her in wealth and poverty; Annie was her only one devoted friend. Sarah-Jane was fired from a job as they had discovered that her mother was black.
I liked the film as it still can be considered as of the current interest. The fact that we live in the 21st century does not change the problems in the society. The issue of a racial discrimination still exists. People should become more tolerant and indulgent with the people that look or think different.
Works cited
Imitation of life. Dir. Douglas Sirk. Perf. Lana Turner, Juanita Moore, John Gavin, Sandra Dee, Susan Kohner. Universal International Pictures, 1959. Film.
