Was this plot pausible given the location and the times?
It has such a warm and victorious spitirt to it, but could the portrayal of racism have been more visceral? Or maybe that would have ruined it?
Just asking.
I loved the movie.
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MovieChat Forums > Lilies of the Field (1963) Discussion > Was this plot pausible given the locatio...
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Racism is always implied when its intent is harmful, or meant to threaten, not overt. As today I realized something that had been bugging me for years.
One phrase, slang, that always rubbed me the wrong way. I saw it being said in action and I understood why. I was sitting with a friend, who is black, and this white guy came up to us, and his body language was cutting through us, as if he was trying to cut our talk short. And this guy said to friend, sharp, with a smile: “Keepin' it real? Good!”
And walked away, quick, like a dive bomber, after attack.
I smiled. Paused. My friend said you’re thinking about something, Ut-oh!
Yeah, it hit me, that dumb phrase, I know why I don’t like it,
And I know why I never did. “Keep it real” that’s the disingenuous white liberal version of "Stay in your slum."
He laughed so hard. He almost fell over, but said, I’ve felt that for years, but never quite understood why!
Now, the other implied threat was that I was would be with my friend.
So what. He’s a friend. And he’s never punched me in the mouth for articulating other unmentionables in this world.
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Right, it’s best to smile at ignorance.
But don’t let them see you smile too much.
Japan, yes, I’ve heard things. Thailand, from what I’ve experienced, they are much more open about their dislikes in terns of race than the USA.
Asian countries seem to have a strong sense of, for lack of a better term for it, "ethnic purity". We would call it racism but they think of it as the only way to preserve their culture. I have seen this on college campuses, where the college has tried to establish Asian clubs only to discover that different Asian cultures distrust each other. I have also seen evidence that different Latino cultures are distrustful of one another. It's more than just black vs. white. Hatred abounds, sad to say, and the solution is elusive to me. Maybe some one has the answer, please.
shareWhile living on Okinawa, I took a Japanese language & culture class. The teacher was Okinawan and he explained not only about how the Okinawans and Japanese both considered themselves different from one another (Okinawa has a bit of a Polynesian influence), but the different countries consider themselves to be 'racially pure' Chinese or Koreans or Japanese - different from one another, despite the fact that they spent centuries crossing borders killing men and raping or kidnapping women.
shareOur current president has been affirmed as a man of integrity, intelligence and compassion, unlike the president before him. George Bush, who left office with the lowest approval rating since Nixon.
shareWe still have a year to go for a new record to be set. In all likelihood, it won't. Can't get much worse than Bush, but damned if Obama's not trying.
Bush's approval on leaving office, according to gallup was 34% (CBS/NYT joint biased poll claims 22%, but I trust gallup). Obama is hovering at 43%, but he has dipped as low as 38% in the past 6 months. Perhaps a few more points will be shaved off during his upcoming 17-day vacation since pollsters hate politicians on vacation.
If Obama's tenure were to end today, where would his 43% place him? Not really much to crow about (one step above GW Bush). Also, Bush's final approval rating was higher than Nixon's using gallup data below:
Final Approval Ratings (gallup)
66% Clinton
63% Reagan
59% Eisenhower
58% Kennedy
56% Bush
53% Ford
49% Johnson
34% GW Bush
34% Carter
32% Truman
24% Nixon
Is this supposed to be a joke? Been drinking the cool-aid slf1313?
"The problem with Socialism is eventually you run out of other people's money"..Margaret Thatcher
The only racism in this film seemed to be reserved for the Ashton character, the construction company owner. "Hey Boy!" is an obvious slur even for that time. And when Homer says 'hey boy' right back to him, Ashton appears to reach for a sidearm!
Later in the film, when Ashton visits the nuns, "he's been gone for 3 weeks? well, you know how those people are."
Or something to that effect.
Reaches for a sidearm? He touches his pantleg and suddenly he's Jesse James? lol
"He's shiftless and irresponsible. You know the type," is the exact quote. Not nearly as bad as, "you know how those people are." It's hard to tell if he meant it in a racist way or if he was just being a d*ck in general.
I've seen the film MANY times, and each time I've heard Ashton say that, I never believed it was due to race. It never even dawned on me.
I always believed he meant Homer was a transient, which of course, he was.
Ashton never struck me as a deliberate, vicious racist. He's simply responding as someone raised in his time and place, with attitudes that are more of a reflex. He says those things almost automatically. After all, when Smith bounces his "Hey, boy!" right back at him, he's startled, certainly not expecting it, even offended … but a died-in-the-wool racist would have told Smith to leave, in no uncertain terms. Ashton gives Smith a chance, and eventually comes to respect him, even offering him a permanent job as a foreman towards the end. He may have had some racist attitudes imprinted on him from youth, which he says more out of habit at this point, but he's honest enough & decent enough to realize that he's been wrong about Smith.
shareThis is a well thought out post and 100% correct. This movie was all about how a community of completely different people can overcome their character flaws and really accomplish a common goal. It is a very positive movie which is why it is so beloved
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