Out of all of the movie that we watched, I really enjoyed this one the most (but that could also be because I have a bias toward musicals, especially those made by Rodgers and Hammerstein). The storyline follows two couples : Lt. Cable and Liat and Emile and Nellie. Lt. Cable is a marine flying in to Bali Hai, where he meets the matriarch of the island, Bloody Mary, who plays matchmaker with him and her daughter, Liat. Emile on the other hand, is a middle-aged French plantation owner, with two half-Polynesian children, who becomes romantically involved with Nellie, a U.S. Navy nurse. However, due to the social pressures and frowned upon opinion of interracial relationships (of the marital nature), the couples end up facing many obstacles. In the end, only one couple manages to overcome this.
This movie, I thought, made a really bold statement that other movies in the past weren't brave enough to do at the time. Though the interracial relationship between Liat and Lt. Cable didn't become successful, the movie made a valid point in the song "You Have To Be Carefully Taught." Of course people took offense to it, but it was probably because they didn't want to see the truth; society is what teaches things like racism. You're never "born" with it.
I also thought that this movie did a good job with "softening" Lt. Cable and Liat's relationship. After reading the excerpt from Tales of the South Pacific (which is what the play was based on), the relationship seemed like it was supposed to be a lot more "physical" love than how it was portrayed in the movie. If anything I think that the movie made it seem more like a love at first sight type of romance in contrast. However, it proved to be faulty due to the fact that Lt. Cable was so taken aback by Bloody Mary's remark that they would have beautiful babies together, that he decides to tell Liat right then and there that they can't be together. And this was right after he had given her his precious pocket watch too!
But I'll give Lt. Calbe the benefit of the doubt. Maybe Lt. Cable did love Liat in some way (but evidently not enough). I also see the relationship as kind of that with a man and his mistress (although it was not said in the movie, Lt. Cable did have a sweetheart back home that he was going to marry). He loves her to an extent, but not enough to leave his fiance/wife. Instead he gives her precious gifts to compensate or to show how much he cares.
i completely agree with you. i think that Rodgers and Hammerstein wanted this to be a controversial musical, and thats why they included 'you have to be carefully taught' eventhough they were strongly erged to remove the song. with out the song it in though its still a big controversy and thats what makes it so good.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with you when you said that society is what teaches things like racism, and that is something youʻre never born with it. At this time and age of Hollywood films and society, they arenʻt going to produce a film that has a successful mixed racial relationship. I also have to agree that the movie portrays the relationship as a man and his mistress. Even though he pursued a relationship with her, he knew from the beginning that they could and would never be together in the end.
Delete-Tira Kamaka
ENG 205; Hawai'i on Screen
Professor Sagle
Fall 2012
This movie makes me wonder about the social and cultural climate of america at the time. we only really see what was written and recorded, and that which we do have was constricted and colored by the societal norms at the time. That being said, I really like that this movie attempted to reach out on an itellectual level to try to reveal racism for what it really was: an ugly practice that only harms those that employ it. In this movie, racism destroyed love. I think it's cool that they'd show that, especially because of the time frame. Also, I love musicals, and really enjoyed this one :)
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