James Ratliff - The Human Stain

The Human Stain is a mystery-drama film from 2003 based on Philip Roth's novel of the same name. Set in New England during the late nineties, the film follows the narration of Nathan Zuckerman, a down-and-out writer telling the story of his friend, the recently disgraced professor Coleman Silk, after he and his lover, Athena College janitor Faunia Farley, are killed under suspicious circumstances in a car crash. The film tackles a variety of contemporary social and moral issues surrounding the late nineties including academic politics, race relations, trauma, and abuse through the lens of Zuckerman's reflections, Silk's budding romance, and flashbacks to Silk's youth.

Silk and Farley in their last moments before their car crashes.

Young Silk first sees Steena Paulsson at the library.

So what?

The Human Stain received mixed reviews with critics not lambasting the movie but calling it mediocre and passable. Most people seemed confused by the choice of casting especially in regards to Coleman Silk and to a lesser extent Faunia Farley despite the consensus that their actors gave decent performances. At the time, many people argued over its polarizing subplot about political correctness regarding it as either overly preachy or too subtle. Roger Ebert praised the movie for its vulnerable character studies, saying "Here are complex, troubled, flawed people, brave enough to breathe deeply and take one more risk with their lives." Regardless of its reception, the film stands as interesting artefact about new aims in filmmaking toward the blurred lines of identity to a more mainstream audience and the surrounding conversation of its casting and whitewashing in the American film industry.

Discussion Questions:

1. Does the choice of casting of Coleman Silk in this film affect the audience's perception of its themes?

2. Coleman Silk never reveals that he passed most of his life as a Jew until the very end of his life. What could finally finally prompt him to reveal his identity to Farley and not anyone else in his life?

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