Pinky And Lost Boundaries Analysis

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Upon first glance the films Pinky (1949) and Lost Boundaries (1949) appear to be progressive. They portray controversial ideas such as miscegenation and equality between whites and blacks. But are these films really trying to make a statement of equality? While on the surface Pinky and Lost Boundaries, make a contentious political statement; in actuality they make a mockery of the idea of egalitarianism. The film Pinky addresses the questionable idea of a mixed race couple and of a black woman owning property. Both of these ideas were important issues at the time, and the film appears to be a serious attempt at quelling some of the public’s discomfort with the notion, however the way that the film is made contradicts this idea completely. First of all, a white actress named Jeanne Crain plays the role of Pinky. This wouldn’t be an issue except for the fact that the PCA required that the actress be white because of the on screen romance between Pinky and her white lover (Insert Citation from course pack). The statement being made about mixed race …show more content…
Carter. In the films, they both have advanced degrees and both prove themselves to be capable in their respective fields. Dr. Carter, in particular, demonstrates that he is more than proficient when he saves Dr. Brackett through an emergency procedure by himself. While today we may take higher education for granted, in 1940 (around when this film was made), only 10.6 percent of African Americans even completed high school (Shinagawa and Jang pg. 27). That statistic proves just how extraordinary it was that Dr. Carter made it all the way through medical school in that time period. Irrespective of this fact, all of Dr. Carter’s trusted advisors told him that he should pass as white in order to obtain a decent job. This implies that the same college education, whether you’re black or white, only holds merit if you’re

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