Contradictions on Racial Injustice in Imitation of Life
The film Imitation of Life (John M. Stahl, 1934) might seem, at first, to be a movie about the journey of two female entrepreneurs who, through their hard work and drive, managed to achieve both monetary and social success. This statement, however, is highly gilded and is largely unrepresentative of the true nature of the film’s deeper message concerning the racial climate of the time in which it was released. This film illustrates far more than the simple notion of upward mobility in American society. It delves into race relations, gender identity, and even maternal instincts. In my analysis, I will be focusing on what the film reveals about the representation of race during the 1930s. The character of Peola, the daughter of Delilah, is by far the most complex character in the film. Her difficulty with her racial identity was engrained in her from childhood and persevered until her mother’s death which served as the shocking tragedy that made her redefine her priorities in life. Peola’s desire to rid herself of any kind of African American heritage shows audiences the kind of psychological degradation that was faced by blacks in America which made them wish to shed their own identity solely to evade the shame of being treated differently. The film uses the internal conflict of Peola to reflect the broader racial tension that was persistent in American society during the 1930s. However, the films criticism of racism is undermined by its stereotypical and disparate depiction of Peola’s mother, Delilah, through creative cinematic techniques.
The character of Peola has several instances that show her unhappiness at being classified as an African American. The first scene in which this is apparent is when Jessie, Beatrice’s daughter, calls Peola “black”[1]. It is evident that Jessie’s actions were not meant to harm Peola since both of them were good friends and just children at the time. Nevertheless, Peola felt ashamed and saddened at the thought that she was different from Jessie simply due to the fact that her mother was African American. While the film establishes early on in the story that Peola’s father was a “light-skinned black [man]”, he is never shown on screen causing some questions by the Production Code Administration (PCA) concerning his true ethnicity.[2] Peola’s only relation that is shown to viewers his her black mother, Delilah, who works as a housekeeper for Beatrice. Peola’s racial identity is established from the moment that she and her mother appear at Beatrice’s doorstep together. This racial rift between Peola’s true heritage and her outward appearance is most prominent in the scene in which Delilah picks her up from school. At the sight of her mother, Peola immediately hides her face behind the book that she is reading so as not to be associated with her mother. This action is not meant as an insult to her mother but is supposed to serve the purpose of hiding her African American heritage from the rest of the class. After her true identity is revealed, Peola feels as if she has lost a part of herself and blames this on her mother. Her internal identity crisis is not simply a confusing matter for the character but, as mentioned by Susan Courtney in her study concerning the presence of miscegenation in the film, was also exceedingly debated among Hollywood producers, who had to adhere to the Hays Code of making movies and the members of the PCA, who were eager to eliminate any hints of an interracial character in the film.[3] This trauma of Peola’s conflicting identity is something that carries on for the majority of the film’s tenure. It gradually becomes more prevalent in the story as her character morphs into an adult and is faced with going out in society without a clear notion of her true racial identity. Her desire for being white eventually consumes her when she leaves her mother behind and goes off to find her own life. This event is the pinnacle of the film’s depiction of racism and white supremacy in the United States in the 1930s. Peola is willing to leave her entire life behind solely for the ability to appear to be white so that society will accept her as a worthy human being.
Another way in which this film perpetuates the conversation of race is the stereotypical depiction of Delilah. Delilah is first shown as the African American servant for Beatrice and eventually becomes the co-founder of a pancake and maple syrup business along with her white mistress. The matter of importance is not how well Delilah is treated by Beatrice in their partnership, but how the film casually portrays Beatrice taking advantage of Delilah’s simple and innocent nature. This is first shown when Beatrice is deciding on what the logo for her new company should be and points to Delilah’s face as her inspirations saying “a great big picture of Delilah, looking like that.”[4] This idea is later made into a large neon sign with the text “Aunt Delilah Pancake Flour” which has a coincidentally close resemblance to the stereotypical imagery of Aunt Jemima, the caricature of a female slave. This symbolic representation of Delilah portrays her more as a spectacle to look at instead of an individual who deserves as much credit for the success of the business as Beatrice.[5] Delilah’s representation on screen is not just due to suggestive dialogue, but also to clever cinematography as illustrated by John Belton through his writings. The first time viewers see Delilah transformation into a logo is when Beatrice is trying to decide on a logo for her company. She immediately points to Delilah and asks her to look into the distance and smile. This scene looks as if Beatrice is creating her own mise-en-scène, or the staging of the shot.[6] Another thing to keep in mind is the focus of the lighting on Delilah’s face. The lighting already makes the audience believe that Delilah is in the environment resembling that of a photography studio making her facial features more advertisable. Another scene of cinematic importance is the one which depicts Delilah’s face being printed on countless boxes of pancake mix. This sequence is achieved through several fade transitions between different shots.[7] As viewers see label after label flash by on the screen, Delilah starts to be thought of less as a person and more as an icon. These images in addition to the neon sign of Delilah flipping pancakes immortalize her into a display and flattens her character into a two-dimensional brand, thereby promoting her “blackness” as a means for commercial value and ultimate monetary gain.
The characterization of Delilah is in stark contrast to that of her daughter, Peola. While the film is embracing and taking advantage of Delilah’s African American heritage, it is also contrasting this sentiment with Peola’s desire to get rid of her racial identity. On one hand, Peola’s reluctance to show her true nature to the rest of the world criticizes the unacceptance of African Americans in society during the 1930s. On the other hand, Delilah’s depiction as the black “mammy” perpetuates several stereotypes concerning African Americans and portrays consumerism based on race undermining their earlier criticism of racial divisions. The film Imitation of Life weaves together the subplot of Peola’s internal racial conflict representing the broader issue of racism in America during the 1930s and the conflicting stereotypical representation of Delilah which contradicts their original disapproval of racial discrimination.
Bibliography
Belton, John. “Classical Hollywood Cinema: Style” Chapter 3 American Cinema / American Culture, 5thEdition 41-59, McGraw Hill Education, 2018.
Courtney, Susan. “Picturizing Race: Hollywood’s Censorship of Miscegenation and Production of Racial Visibility through Imitation of Life” Genders OnLine Journal, https://web.archive.org/web/20130530175734/http://www.genders.org/g27/g27_pr.html
Imitation of Life. Directed by John M. Stahl, Universal Pictures, 1934.
[1] Imitation of Life(1934)
[2] Courtney, Susan. “Picturizing Race: Hollywood’s Censorship of Miscegenation and Production of Racial Visibility through Imitation of Life” Genders OnLine Journal, https://web.archive.org/web/20130530175734/http://www.genders.org/g27/g27_pr.html
[3] Courtney, Susan. “Picturizing Race: Hollywood’s Censorship of Miscegenation and Production of Racial Visibility through Imitation of Life”
[4] Imitation of Life(1934)
[5] Courtney, Susan. “Picturizing Race: Hollywood’s Censorship of Miscegenation and Production of Racial Visibility through Imitation of Life”
[6] Belton, John. “Classical Hollywood Cinema: Style” Chapter 3 American Cinema / American Culture, 5th Edition 41-59, McGraw Hill Education, 2018.
[7] Belton, John. “Classical Hollywood Cinema: Style” Chapter 3 American Cinema / American Culture, 5th Edition 41-59, McGraw Hill Education, 2018.