Lorraine Hansberry a Raisin in the Sun - Movie Review Example

Video review: A Raisin in the Sun The characters’ power and ity are evident throughout the film, reflecting Daniel Petrie’s unique ability to make viewers perceive the characters’ emotions and aspirations. Most of the film is a power struggle between the mother and son of the Younger family. Power initially vests with Lena (“Mama”) Younger in her position as matriarch of the family envisioning the purchase of a house to ensure a good future for her family, but it changes hands in the course of the play, going to her son Walter who has for most of the play been struggling to wrest it from her and prove he is the head of the family, leading them in pursuit of his version of the American Dream which is to become rich and provide education and a sound future for his son. After his disastrous investment with Willy Harris, Walter acknowledges that he did not constructively use his power for the benefit of his family as a whole. This gives him the courage to refuse Lindner’s racially motivated offer; by doing this Walter tacitly acknowledges that his mother was correct all along and at the end of the play, power returns to his mother. It is a good thing that power is returned to Lena because in the context of the play it seems that only she is capable of managing the family in a sound and morally correct way. Had it not happened, Walter would still have it and, given his proven track record of being unreliable in money management and unconcerned about Beneatha’s education, the Younger family would have been in total disarray. The characters and settings of the story reflect Lorraine Hansberry’s biological background. An African-American, she was born in Chicago (the background of “A Raisin in the Sun”), her family was actively involved in publicly opposing racial discrimination against African-Americans (like the Younger family does in the film), and her family had the distinction of being the first that dared to move into a house in an all-white neighborhood (similar to the Youngers who reject Mr. Lindner’s racially prejudiced overtures and move into the all-white Clybourne Park area). Racial discrimination was a prominent social feature of the 1950s period during which the Younger family lived in Chicago’s South Side ghetto. Not only did blacks occupy a marginalized sector of society, but even within that margin black women had to combat racial and gender prejudice. A majority of blacks did not accept the idea of assimilating into the dominant white culture on the grounds that by doing so they would fit into white perceptions about their behavior and actions and thereby would be demeaning themselves. Blacks were searching for separate self-identities based on a celebration of their culture and heritage. They wanted to be treated as equally (like whites) contributing members of society, in pursuit of the American Dream (in those days it was to be a happy family that owned a house and a car). Claudia McNeil is commendable as Lena (‘Mama”) Younger. In addition to her role as the family matriarch, her power also comes from her dream which is based on the striving of African Americans to be considered equal to whites in society. She does not allow racism to come in the way of her dream of creating a new life and future for her family that involves moving into a dominantly white neighborhood. Sidney Poitier’s phenomenal role as Walter Younger captures the central meaning of an African American’s intense desire for the American Dream. The power of his dream is to be financially well-off, educate his son Travis (Stephen Perry) and provide for his future. Disillusioned with his job as a chauffeur, he struggles against the authority of his mother, striving to establish himself as the authoritative head of the household. His endless preoccupation with finding quick riches and dominating his household makes him engage in arguments with his mother, wife and sister; he turns wayward by constantly drinking, and invests part of the insurance money rashly with his friend Willy Harris (Roy Glenn). In the end he realizes that due to his misuse of it, power would be better off in the hands of his mother. Diana Sands as Beneatha (“Bennie”) Younger has her power based on her education (she attends college and is better educated than anyone else in the family), and her pride of being independent – a trait not appreciated by her suitor Joseph Asagai. Beneatha’s authority is restricted by her dependence on the insurance amount to pay for her education: an effective stereotype of a black woman in those days who was racially discriminated by white society as well as by her own culture as not being worthy of higher education and its related status in life. Ruby Dee as Ruth Younger portrays a pragmatic pessimist continually battling poverty and household problems. Her power and authority is over her husband and son. Like Lena, Ruth’s power also comes from her dream to get away from their present slovenly locality, move into a respectable house, and attain equality status in society. She is fiercely protective of her power over her own body – realizing she is pregnant, she contemplates abortion as a step towards not adding another burden to the financially unstable family – even though Lena is strongly against it; by this, Ruth sends a message to her mother-in-law that she may be authoritative head of the family, but when it came to her personal self, Ruth was the only authority to decide whether to have the abortion or not. Joseph Asagai (Ivan Dixon) is a forceful Nigerian character whose power emanates from his fierce pride in his African heritage. George Murchison (Louis Gossett Jr.) believes his power comes from assimilating into white society as the only way to attain riches and admiration of others. John Fiedler as Karl Lindner portrays the typical “white Aryan”, arrogantly secure in the power of his race and its belief that blacks are not fit to live in the same neighborhood as them. Different opposites are portrayed in the story, such as white/black opposition representing Karl Lindner and other white racist Americans against the Younger family representing African Americans seeking a just and fair foothold in society; young/old opposition represented by Walter searching for quick ‘get rich’ schemes against his old mother wisely providing perspective from an older generation; and man/woman opposition in the Walter-Ruth typical African-American husband-wife confrontation, Walter-Beneatha also typical African-American brother-sister relationship where the sister’s feelings and ambitions are of little or no significance, Asagai-Beneatha and George-Beneatha interactions, the first more attractive to her due to their similar outlook and the second increasingly repelling to Beneatha due to George’s arrogance born out of his submission to assimilation into the dominant white culture. Sympathetic portrayal is accorded to Ruth for her passive acceptance of life’s trials and tribulations; to Lena for her strong beliefs and sensitivity towards her family’s needs, never wavering from her dream of owning a house; to Joseph Asagai for his firm belief in his ancestry and his rejection of assimilation into white culture; and most of all to Beneatha for her independent feminist views amidst a continual search for her identity. Walter and George Murchison are portrayed unsympathetically: George for his tame acceptance of assimilation into white culture, and Walter for shirking job responsibility, taking to drink and hanging out with undesirable friends, and irresponsibly squandering much-needed family funds on a disastrous deal with Willy Harris. In my opinion, the film’s portrayal of race conforms to white feminist analyses of patriarch based power structures. Daniel Petrie cleverly restricts the film setting almost completely to one room (just as Hansberry does in the play) and the matriarchal nature of the Younger family is very evident: something white feminists (who are against the patriarchal power structure - where the father of the house controls the actions of all the family members, particularly women) would relish. Lena is the undoubted head of the family. Although she does not approve of Beneatha’s non-conservative outlook, she still supports her ambitions by setting aside part of the insurance money to pay for her education. Lena’s only fault in the eyes of white feminists would be her disapproval of Ruth’s contemplation of abortion as a way to save the family from additional financial burden. Another character who would delight white feminists is Beneatha. Beneatha is a feminist who looks upon her role as self-oriented and not related to her family; she wants to be a doctor, seeing education as the bridge towards self-fulfillment and understanding amidst a joyful exultation of her heritage. Feminism had not yet become a force to reckon with in the 1950s; Beneatha’s emergence as a prototype for the more lively feminism of the 1960s and 1970s would be pleasing to white feminists. In conclusion, power and authority are good things to have and exercise, but they must be used fairly and with good intention. Most of all they must be used bearing in mind the present trends of society and whether actions emanating from exercise of such power and authority would be contribute to a good future of others. Unlike white feminists, I do believe that the patriarchal family reflects the modern norm, but the patriarch should treat and support male and female family members equally, especially when it comes to their ambitions in life. References used: Cocola, Jim & Douthat, Ross.. “SparkNote on A Raisin in the Sun”. Sparknotes.com. 2 Oct 2006. Petrie, Daniel. “A Raisin in the Sun” (video). 1961. Read More