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Jameson Kirkland
K. C. Jensen
THEA-FLM-1070-F14
3 December 2014
Guess Whos Coming To Dinner
Guess Whos Coming To Dinner is a great movie that specifically addresses diversity in
film. It won two Oscars for best lead actress (Katherine Hepburn) and best original screenplay in
1967 (OscarMovs). It is about Joey Drayton, a Caucasian woman that brings home her fianc
John Prentice, an African-American man, to meet her parents. The story shows how Joey and
Johns families react and evolve to eventually realize that their childrens happiness is more
important than clinging to their beliefs of racial segregation. It stars Katherine Hepburn, Sidney
Poitier, Spencer Tracy and Katharine Houghton. This film tackled racism in a time where
interracial relationships were very uncommon and were openly frowned upon. in the 1960s
people were much less accepting of interracial relationships and this film was considered
groundbreaking and controversial for showing an interracial couple in film. Shockingly,
according to the U.S. Bureau of the Census, the 1960s decennial census determined that only
.06% of marriages were between Caucasian and African-American couples (U.S. Census
Bureau) With this hugely disproportionate statistic in mind, its no surprise that Guess Whos
Coming To Dinner has become an iconic piece of film history.

The plot is that a wealthy and progressive family in the liberal area of San Fransisco. The
parents were challenged by their own philosophy of ethnic parity they instilled in their daughter
when Joey, Matt and Christina Draytons daughter returns home unexpectedly from a trip with a

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man that she met. Joey is an infectiously optimistic and positive character. She has the innocence
and fearlessness of a child. The parents didn't know that the man their daughter spoke so highly
of was African American. Once they realize that he isnt the same race that their daughter is,
they are clearly shocked and uncomfortable with the idea. The awe and disbelief in the parents
show how in that time it was almost unfathomable that an interracial relationship could possibly
exist. The mother was rendered almost speechless. Once Christina becomes accustomed to the
idea of an interracial marriage and her shock subsides, she begins to be more open to the idea
and eventually is enthusiastic as most mothers would be towards their daughters engagement.
John Prentice, the African American fianc, was portrayed as a very calm, collected, level
headed, intelligent, successful, academic, poised, and elegant character. His character fit the
description of a highly educated person that was strong and mature. Without Joeys knowledge
John speaks to Mr. Drayton to say that he will not marry Joey without Mr. Draytons blessing.
This places a bit more of pressure on Mr. Draytons attitude towards his daughters relationship.
John Prestons parents were invited to dinner with Joeys family later that evening. Johns
parents were also unaware that their son had found a Caucasian partner. Their resistance was
equally as strong as Joeys parents. The fathers met in Mr. Draytons office were both discussed
how they feared for the future of not only their children, but of their childrens children. That
they would face insurmountable and lifelong struggle. It became clear that the root of their
opposition was not so much in hatred, as it was in fear. A special and pivotal moment in the film
was between Mrs. Prentice and Mr. Drayton on his disapproval. Mrs. Prentice gives her iconic
speech titled What happens to men? which reads:

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What happens to men when they grow old? Why do they forget everything? I believe
those two young people need each other. Like they need the air to breathe in. Anybody
can see that by just looking at them. But you and my husband are, you might as well be
blind men. You can only see that they have a problem. But do you really know what's
happened to them? How they feel about each other? I believe that men grow old. And
when the sexual things no longer matter to them, they forget it all. Forget what true
passion is. If you ever felt what my son feels for your daughter, you've forgotten
everything

about it. My husband too. You knew once but that was a long time ago. Now the

two of

you don't know. And the strange thing for your wife and me is that you don't even
remember. If you did, how could you do what you are doing? (Guess

Whos Coming To

Dinner)

Once Mr. Drayton fully processes what Mrs. Prentice says he begins to see things in another
light. The film ends with all the families gathered and he announced that he thinks everyone
should support their childrens union and they all sit down for dinner. The last scene fades away
as they sit and eat their meal with no reservations towards each other. This entire journey from
beginning to end is a film that takes the audience through a journey of the true meaning of love.
There are many different aspects in this film that cover a variety of perspectives that not only
apply to African American and Caucasians. The message in this film can apply to any minority
or ethnic group. This same film could be recast with two homosexual men and not make one
change to the script and would have the same message. The message in this film transcends its
message into not just issues of racism but humanity as a whole.

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This films message was direct and had a clear intent to discuss racial inequality in the
1960s. The film was progressive and controversial in its time. The story isnt told over a long
period of time, but the storyline takes place in just one day. The film itself didn't have a lot of
bells and whistles, the style was very forward and simplistic and was merely just a series of
conversations between the daughter and her parents, the boyfriend and his parents, the parents of
both the daughter and boyfriend, and the small bit that the pastor spoke with the family. It was
very linear in that sense. The film style didn't fit a particular niche or have a clear mis-en-scene
style. The soundtrack was subtle and because of all of the subtleties it gave the sense that it was
really about the dialogue in this film. The scenes were closely framed on the actors faces and
captured the emotion in each scene. The dialogue was what made this movie so special. It was
well thought out, deep, and forced people to ask themselves questions perhaps they were
avoiding to ask. It took the audience through a journey of fear, acceptance, love, and family. I
think thats why this film has continued to be as coveted as it is. In retrospect we can see how
much times have changed and that we have moved forward as a society. Films like this give us a
milestone to pinpoint how attitudes have changed over the years.

Another aspect of the film that I found interesting was that it didnt just give one
perspective on racism. It also gave an African American perspective on interracial couples at that
time. This gave the audience a change to not just have one opinion and to have both sides of the
story. The African American nanny in particular was an interesting character. She was opposed
to the marriage as much if not more than the parents. This film was honest because it showed
that there wasnt just racism within the Caucasian community but African-American too. The
nanny pulls John aside and interrogates and chastises him for daring to interact outside of his

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ethnic background and social status. She felt he was doing wrong as if he was mingling with the
enemy. The approval rating of interracial couples was very low at that time.

(Newport, Frank)
The graph above documents the attitudes towards interracial couples between Caucasian and
African American people and concludes that society has become much more open and accepting
as a whole over time than they were in the 1960s. According to the graph, White people still
have a lower approval rate than Non-Hispanic Blacks. But still, the approval rating has increased
by over 65% since Guess Whos Coming to Dinner debuted. Its also worth nothing that there
was a large divide of opinion in the late 1960s that blacks were and have been more open to it

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from the beginning. That could be for a variety of reasons. Whether it is the whites access to
wealth and power at that time, or that they genuinely were more accepting I dont know. But the
data shows that the film was progressive for its time and held true that the message was
prophetic about how we would eventually agree that love has no color.

This film gracefully and effectively tackled racism in its time and I think would be a
great film to have future classes watch and write about. It was a great romantic comedy that was
heartfelt and had a lot of positive messages inside it. The actors were impeccable and the director
did a great job at capturing the audience and creating a fantastic film. It rightly earned Oscar
awards and was well received by the film industry. Any film that is willing to open up and
spread equality is good in my good. We need more films with positive messages to unite and
create a safe space for all different walks of life instead of categorizing them into black film, gay
film, white film. Until then, the positive message in this film was well received and I highly
recommend this film.

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Works Cited
Guess Whos Coming To Dinner. Dir. Stanley Kramer. Perf. Spencer Tracey, Sidney Poitier,
Katharine

Hepburn, and Katharine Houghton. Turner Classic Movies, 1967. Film.

United States. U.S. Bureau of the Census. Interracial Married Couples: 1960 to Present. Census
Bureau, 1999. Web.
Newport, Frank. In U.S., 87% Approve of Black-White Marriage, vs. 4% in 1958. n.d. Princeton,
NJ.

gallup.com. Web. 25 July 2013.

nd. OscarMovs. Guess Whos Coming To Dinner. 1967. Web. n.d.