A Raising in the Sun - Old and New Movie Comparison - Essay Example

A few individuals like Martin Luther King or Nelsen Mandela are lucky and passionate enough to live their dreams, however, there are many people who fail to achieve their visions and are left wondering why. Call it fate or life, it is what it is and that is the way since the beginning. But no matter what the outcome, one must stay content and should look to the future. There have been many stories in which dreams and their fulfillment have been used as the theme of the story. Readers of such stories and viewers of films that capture those stories instantly relate their own life with them.

But the most provocative and courageous of its time is ‘A raisin in the sun’ by Lorraine Hansberry. In 1961, this play was filmed by Columbia Pictures and after many years in 2008 a newer version of this film was released. The 2008 version was directed by Kenny Leon. To make this movie even more attractive, screen writer Paris Qualles made many amendments to the original play by Hansberry (Farah, 2011). There was concrete motivation for Hansberry behind writing this play. The motivation was to awaken white community and tell them about the dreams and aspirations of African-Americans.

The play is about the ‘Younger’ family and revolves around its family members. Lena is the mother in the family and Beneatha and Walter are daughter and son. Walter has a wife, Ruth and a son, Travis. Beneatha dreams about going to a medical school while Ruth wants a bigger house that she would own. Lena strangely dreams of equal nights and Walter dreams of owning a liquor store while his son Travis has a relatively smaller dream of having his own bedroom (Book-rags, 2011). All family members have their dreams and inspirations but to be able to achieve them requires extra hard work from them as compared to normal people.

The reason is that they live in a white society which is infested with racism. African-Americans were considered lower human beings in those times when this play was written. That is why a black man had to fight for even his birth rights. The Younger family fights for their rights and identity and struggles harder than ordinary people. Racism is the main theme of this play. The original film of 1961 is not very expressive and holds back a lot. The reason for such restrictions was the era of 60s was full of black and white conflicts and racism was extremely violent, Columbia Pictures couldn’t portray the message as it should have, out of fears.

However, in the 2008 version, many added scenes vividly raise the issue of racism. The 2008 version of this play gives complete picture. It shows good relationships between black and white people as well as shows the abuse of African-Americans. Another aspect that differentiates both movies is the fact that the actors that played in the 1961 movie were in fact experiencing racism at its worst. They portrayed a lot more intense emotions in the old movie, which gave a more realistic depiction of the play.

In that era, the whole black community of America was stirred and motivated by Martin Luther King. That is why when the newer version of 2008 is compared to the old movie, the difference between the elegance in acting becomes more apparent. Probably honesty even counts in acting too. The acting of the older movie was palpable, more real and visceral. Another difference between the two movies is that the 1961 movie features Walters as the protagonist of the movie while the 2008 version