I would say that for those people who are shocked by the way we treat the immigrants on the border and who say, "That's not who we are," I must disagree. It is who we are. It is who we've always been. Shameful, yes, but it doesn't change the fact to deny it.
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The Densho Encyclopedia calls it "bleak" and says, "In her analysis of the film, Susan Zeiger points out that mainstream reviewers were troubled by the film's stark depiction of racism and that several critics imposed their own views on the film by reading it as a tragedy despite the apparently happy ending." TCM has information.
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thanks for sharing this one, not familiar with it but sounds good. and I agree when you look back through history-nothing has really changed on the negativity aspect towards sad for sure
ReplyDeleteI found this one looking for Cameron Mitchell films. I had never heard of it before. It does seem we're not nearly as welcoming as we like to think we are :(
DeleteInteresting comment you make & I couldn't agree more. All countries have things they would like to forget about or white wash. The fact is people, humans can be a nasty lot, we'd all like to do better individually, but history does tell a different story. I haven't seen this movie & bravo if it helped improve general ideas about mixed marriages, whether it be of nationality, religion or skin colour. I did read a book, a novel, that told a tale of what it was like for a German bride in England after WW II - as much as all the characters tried, the mistrust, resentment over whelmed them all. What's that Jim Jeffries says "we can all do better ..." We can only hope.
ReplyDelete"We can all do better" is the plain truth. I do hope we learn someday.
DeleteFirst, we sent the Jews back to Germany on boats in the mid 1930s, then we imprisoned the Japanese Americans in WWII. We turned our backs on Vietnamese who helped us during the "conflict," and we have NEVER treated African Americans with the respect they deserve, especially those who are highly skilled or educated. It may have started back in the 1800s when we tried to get rid of the Irish Catholics. And now we have a president who wants to send all these Muslims and Hispanics back to be shot for wanting a better life. We can sit in our ivory towers and "wish" it away, but it isn't going away, as long as we are the most powerful and (supposedly) freedom loving country in the world.
ReplyDeleteOFF my soap box now! Thanks for this.
I'm a good audience for your "soap box" and appreciate your words. Thx!
DeleteSeems people want to hide or ignore our shameful past. Mind, we're not the only country who should hang our head in shame. Sad that people don't look to the past to learn from it, and to correct egregious behavior. Instead of that's not who we are, we should say that's who we aspire, to.
ReplyDeleteNo, you're right, we're not the only country who treats immigrants this way. People are pretty much the same all over, I guess. When people say our country is better in every way than all the others... well, I wish it was true :(
DeleteMaybe some day it will be.
DeleteI hope so, I really do, but we have such a long history of dividing people into in-groups and out-groups, folks we include and folks we exclude. And like you say, this is a world-wide problem, certainly not just us. I think overcoming it is harder than we realize.
DeleteI haven't had a chance to watch this yet, but I wanted to comment because I agree. It is who we are. We are a nation that is afraid of different. Immigrants might be different, so we find ways to keep them out. It is really sad since we are for the most part a nation of immigrants. Have a great weekend. hugs-Erika
ReplyDeleteThrough our history even when immigrants have looked like us we exclude them. Those old "No Irish need apply" signs come to mind. When we can tell at a glance (as with the Japanese and Chinese back in the day or the Hispanic refugees now), it's just easier to target them. It's easier to avoid the overt prejudice when there's leadership from the top :(
DeleteYou are right! It IS the way we are. But there is hope -
ReplyDeleteI am sure about Ghandi's quote is so true!
Be the change you want see in the world!
I agree: to be better ourselves, to lead by example, and to address it openly when we see it happening. If Cameron Mitchell's character hadn't had such an objectionable one scene in this movie, he could be held up as a shining example of how to act.
DeleteSounds like a very poignant movie! It really is a shame that people never learn and history just repeats itself, I live in hope that one day things will be better 😀. Wishing you a lovely weekend! J 😊 x
ReplyDeleteI do hope we'll get better. :)
DeleteHumanity itself has a repeatedly shameful past. The United States is no exception. We have only been different because of wanting to strive to be better. We fall, pick ourselves up, and try again. I hope that doesn't change no matter how of course we can get and that we continue to aim for high ideals because it's much better than accepting low ones.
ReplyDeleteThis was a good movie. The older style is a bit stilted and smacking around a woman has thankfully become unacceptable but the story was an attempt to be as realistic as possible for the time. I am sure things were a lot worse than this in real life.
The fact that we claim to be better and say things like "That's not who we are" shows me we know better and can recognize a better way and strive for it.
DeleteI'm glad you liked it. Yes, that one scene where Cameron Mitchell "smacked" his wife for what she'd done was meant, I'm sure, to show the rejection of her awful behavior, but it's definitely a scene that dates the film more than anything else. It does still happen, but at least now we know we're supposed to be as shocked by that as by the racism.