Imitation of Life

Introduction

The innovative “Imitation of Life” first appeared in 1933. It was in writing by Fannie Hurst, a very well known author of well liked fiction, and it was an immediate best seller. The story appears hackneyed, and the writing is strange, dated and almost unreadable at times. It seems that Fannie Hurst wrote a cliche ridden pulp innovative, an imitation of publications, so to talk, but it turned out to be an imitation of American life, as well, and that was its value. The novel would have probably run its course and faded from memory, like remainder of Hurst's oeuvre, except for the new life breathed into it by the film version, one year later. This first Hollywood version of Imitation of Life was an complicated production directed by one of Hollywood's most prolific directors of that time, John Stahl and it starred one of filmdom's biggest stars, Claudette Colbert (Staggs, 2009).

Discussion and Analysis

To modern eyes, the 1934 film is a very eerie and strange Imitation of Life. In this type, two labouring single mothers, one black and one white, group up to face the world together. Never mind that “teaming up” entails that the black woman will assist as the white woman's maid, there actually weren't many other options for teaming up at that time. The real problem is with the rebellious daughters, particularly the black one, who is so light skinned that she defiantly passes for white and rejects her black mother. Meanwhile, the two mothers work their way out of poverty, so much in order that Claudette Colbert finishes up living in grand luxury selling the very dark woman's pancake mix, while the black woman still lives in the same vintage maid's quarters, without a share of the profits. And the inequality is accepted not only ...