Document Type
Article
Abstract
Although contemporary representations of interracial romance may appear, on the surface, progressive, they share elements of what Patricia Hill Collins has called "past in present" racism; that is, although the films no longer portray interracial romance as taboo, their presentations obscure deeper messages that perpetuate traditional views of interracial romance, race, and gender. This article analyzes a classic interracial romance film, Guess Who's Coming to Dinner, and two contemporary films, Guess Who and Something New, in order to explore traditional ideologies inherent within these seemingly progressive representations. Both contemporary films present interracial romance as acceptable, but only within certain constraints, and neither offers the historical awareness that these relationships are, in fact, nothing new at all. These films, then, while appearing to assert an anti-racist stance, are implicated in the new racism; they appear to promote equality and argue against racism while simultaneously clinging to and perpetuating racist ideologies that often go unnoticed but that, ultimately, are not without effect.
Repository Citation
Leverette, Tru. "Guess Who's Welcome to Dinner: Contemporary Interracial Romance and the New Racism." Reconstruction: Studies in Contemporary Culture vol. 8, no. 4, 2008, pp. 1–23. https://digitalcommons.odu.edu/reconstruction/vol8/iss4/5