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Both Flipper and Angie are blinded by their love. This is evident in their romantic twist. An example of this is the choice they both made in their life to be with each other despite their happy marriages. Risking the marriage for another woman or man shows that being in love is more important than others. They both sacrificed to hurt their families and for their families to ostracized them.
Flipper was thrown by Drew out of the house while Angie was beaten and very much criticized by his father. Another example supporting that they are blindly in love is that they went on with their relationship despite their cultural differences. It is known during the 1990s that black Americans and white Americans are rarely involved with each other because of some racial discrimination. Blacks are not so much accepted in white families. Apart from this, Flipper and Angie are open with their relationship that it is readily observed within their families and communities.
They are not concerned if they are caught with their affair because they are in love. Thought on “liminal space” Jungle Fever really explores the “liminal” space connecting the black and white Americans rather than separating them because it removes the dividing line between the two communities in the United States. Whites will be able to make room for diversity and multiplicity of otherness (Saltman, p 6). White Americans will eventually realize that blacks are human too with feelings and with capabilities to land a decent job like Flipper being a successful architect.
In the history of the United States, American blacks are always separated not only by their complexion but because they belong to a lower race. This is evident in the film when the father of Angie told her she is a “nigger-lover” (Travers, p 3). Meaning there is an implication that blacks are not worth being loved. The integration of black actor (Snipes) and white actress (Annabella Sciorra) in a Jungle fever might change the viewing habits and demographics of the audience for them to accept the relationship of the two different races but not to be judged because the relationship of Flipper and Angie did not work out well in the end.
Jungle fever movie is not the only film that plays liminal space. Zachary ( p. 1)in his article “Divas on Screen: Black Women in American Film” discussed how black Americans were able to play a role in harmonizing white and black Americans. After reading the article, I do not agree that that the film is about the result of people from different races succumbing to the curiosity that ends problematically. I believe that it is more of a challenge on the family relationship. In the case of Angie, it stated in the article that despite doing the cooking for her family even after work, she is still foul-mouthed.
This situation might have been among the reasons for her to have an affair with Flipper in the hope to escape the cruelty of her home environment. On the other hand, Flipper might want to try something new he does not experience in his marriage. It is not much of a family problem because he is in harmony with them but his fidelity in his wife’s relationship is being tested.
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