Pinky by Maddie Sukalo

Film Synopsis:

Pinky, the 1949 film involving the “passing” of a young authentically Black light hued woman, showcases the perplexity and complexity surrounding the intersection of race and gender. When Pinky Johnson, an authentically Black light hued woman who recently graduated nursing school in the northern part of the United States, revisits the south to see her authentically Black and dark hued grandmother, Pinky is forced to come to terms with her race and culture, and how both are connected to, and impact, her overall identity. Pinky, who went by “Patricjia” when attending nursing school in the north, confessed to her grandmother that she has been “passing” as White as a means of climbing society’s social ladder.

Trailer:

Screenshot #1

In this photograph from the trailer, the protagonist, Pinky, is taking care of her elderly authentically White neighbor, Miss Em. Miss Em was the one who told Pinky that she must stop pretending to be someone she is not, and should start loving herself for who she is. 

Screenshot #2

In this photograph from the trailer, Pinky and her boyfriend, Dr. Thomas Adams, are embracing one another. Dr. Thomas was unaware that Pinky was "passing," but upon finding out, he asked her to keep pretending that she was White and move back to the North with him. 

Analysis:

The 1949 film, Pinky, aims to address the arduousness of being a young Black woman in America and the ways in which race, culture, and language are deeply rooted in a person’s identity. For instance, when Pinky is given the opportunity to “pass” she chooses to do so, however, she still wishes to remain in touch with her authentically Black roots when visiting her grandmother in the south. The film further explores the intersectionality of being both Black and a woman by focusing on the language Pinky utilizes throughout the film. Pinky partakes in the act of code-switching, in which Pinky’s vernacular changes depending on the person she is speaking to. These intersectionalities, and Pinky's personal experience with code-switching, is relevant in the status quo because Black people today are still forced to culturally assimilate to the Eurocentric majority in order to climb the social hierarchy.

Discussion Questions: 

1.) Does systemic racism further perpetuate the idea of "passing?" 

2.) The director of the film, Elias Kazan, was a White man. How does the fact that the director was a White man impact the film? Is the message the same? Is there authenticity there?