There's something a little icky in the experience of watching Douglas Sirk's Imitation of Life. Part of it, I think, is how difficult it is to escape the sneaking suspicion of exploitation that comes with a major Hollywood studio centering a Black actor purely to celebrate the sacrifice and suffering of the character they play. Juanita Moore gives a masterful performance as the forever supportive, giving Annie, but despite it being gussied up by screen time, a spectacular funeral, and a richly deserved Oscar nomination, it's nevertheless a very familiar role, one that calls to mind the well-worn, ferociously racist 'Mammy' figure of plantation fiction, described by Jessie W. Parkhurst in 1938 as (deep breath): "self-respecting, independent, loyal, forward, gentle, captious, affectionate, true, strong, just, warm-hearted, compassionate, fearless, popular, brave, good, pious, quick-witted, capable, thrifty, proud, regal, courageous, superior, skillful, tender, queenly, dignified, neat, quick [and] competent ..." Just because it's a positive depiction in 1959 doesn't mean it's less of a stereotype, or less dismissive of the character's possibility of possessing a nuanced humanity.Alongside this character, who bears an undeniable resemblance to an old, racist stereotype, Sirk also presents another familiar, very conservative trope: women have to choose either work or family and, when they refuse to choose and succeed in the former, they necessarily fail in the latter. In a vacuum, Lora's (Lana Turner, the cost of whose magnificent wardrobe — The pink pants with the long white, sleeveless top? The coral linen with the turquoise jewelry? I, a person who knows nothing about clothes, was swooning. — was more than quadruple Moore's salary.) fierce independence and ambition is galvanizing and inspiring, proof that a woman can both chase what she wants and get it. In context, however, she's a self-confessed failure, not only a bad mother but also, as she admits to herself and Annie after the -nth successful stage performance, "... You make it, then you find out it doesn't seem worth it. Something is missing." It goes without saying, of course, that that "something" she's lacking is the traditional, suburban home that she's sacrificed for her career, full of pipe smoke and masculine laughter, where she cooks and cleans and raises her daughter, waiting with her husband's slippers for his triumphant return from the rat race each evening.Finally, there's a real discussion to be had about Sarah Jane (another fantastic performance, this time by Susan Kohner, an actress considered white by Hollywood, playing a Black character), and the way her passing is so consistently linked to her sexuality, specifically a desire for white men. On one hand, I suppose, it's a certain kind of empowering to see a young woman refusing to restrict her desires in order to conform to conventional morality. On the other, however, the clear implication of promiscuity is unavoidably linked to Sarah Jane's race, whereas Susie (Sandra Dee), Sarah Jane's white counterpart — her household sister — is the very image of innocence and naïveté, someone whose greatest expression of desire is to fall chastely in love with her mother's spectacularly bland forever suitor, played by John Gavin. This linking of race and sexual knowledge and desire is, I think, another aspect of the unintended ways in which the film is uncomfortable to watch.All of that said, I would like to follow my copious criticism with buckets of praise for Sirk's inspired use of the perpetually underappreciated and underutilized Robert Alda. His performance as skeevy agent Allen Loomis is so perfectly turned that he totally overshadows Turner and everything else that's going on in their two short scenes together. ⏩ These two articles really helped me think through the movie and my reactions to it: "What's the Matter with Sara Jane?": Daughters and Mothers in Douglas Sirk's "Imitation of Life", by Marina Heung, and Passing Films and the Illusion of Racial Equality, by Karen M. Bowdre. Both are on JSTOR; if you don't have that, I can help with access for anyone interested.⏩ Douglas Sirk, ranked.
