On this edition of the Plastic Podcast, Robert Davis and J. Robert Parks talk about the 1959 film Imitation of Life, a film made a half century ago when America still struggled with racial division, when posing as someone of another race might afford certain advantages, when racially-motivated violence could erupt at a moment's notice, and when people in the privileged class were often blissfully unaware of the social tiers they daily reinforced.
It's a classic.
Duration: 46:24
Notes
- We were recently reminded that Rian Johnson, who is set to write and direct a new Star Wars movie, spoke with Rob on this podcast six years ago (a long time ago, in a galaxy yadda yadda) about con men and card tricks, and about how a suddenly larger budget might affect a director of small indie films.
- Birth of a Nation (Griffith, 1915)
- The Gleaners and I (Varda, 2000)
- "Trouble of the World," Mahalia Jackson