A Raisin in the Sun (1961)

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A Raisin in the Sun was released on May 18, 1961, in the UK. The American drama film was produced by Columbia Pictures. The movie storyline was written by Lorraine Hansberry, and directed by Daniel Patrie. The movie was based on Lorraine Hansberry's play on Broadway in 1959.[1]

Plot

Walter Lee Younger is a young man coping with his state in life. Sharing a small flat with his wife, son, sister, and mother, he seems like an incarcerated man. However, the head of the Younger family, Big Walter, dies. His death leaves a $10,000 life insurance payment for his family. The insurance payment can be a key to change their life. But, each member of the Younger family has their dream. His mama always wants a house, his wife needs money for his pregnancy, his sister wants to attend a medical school, while Walter wants to open a liquor store. Mama then uses the money for a house down payment which leads to Walter's stress as he believes that he would not fulfill his dream anymore. His mama then transfers all her money and tells him to create a liquor store. But, his store goes a bust as his friend brought all his money for his own. Later on, the house that had been paid its down payments is offered so that the African American can stay away from a white neighborhood. In the end, after thoughtful thinking, Walter decides to refuse the offer and stay in the white neighborhood with his family[2]

Controversy

In the movie, Mama is making a sharp check to her kids: The only houses that are available to African Americans are costly and yet inaccessibly placed far away from the downtown. While the best she could get was the house at Clybourne Park, which is in the white neighborhood. This implies that the system has been made it harder for African Americans to have a convenient and accessible house, which is quite a discrimination for African American people to purchase a house[3]. The film also portrays how a black and female like Beneatha can't become a doctor due to a racist society.

Black Empowerment

The film also demonstrates how all black Americans, have found ways to thrive despite all their struggles. The movie shows how joy actually acts as opposition to travails that are faced by African Americans. One such is when the family gathers to offer agriculture tools to Lena. Within this joyful moment, Travis hands her a wide-brimmed hat decorated with fake fruit, the scene of which makes the adults into bursts of laughter. This meaningful scene shows how to appreciate little joy even though they have relatively nothing to stay endure their struggle[4].

References