From Social Problem to Maternal Melodrama: The Lost Lynching Scene in John M. Stahl's Imitation of Life

Abstract

ABSTRACT:This paper argues that a lynching scene that was cut from Imitation of Life (1934) likely comprised the original dramatic ending of the film. This knowledge should cause us to rethink the ideological motivations behind the resolution that the film eventually invented, in which the tragic mulatto daughter Peola (Fredi Washington) appears at her black mother Delilah's (Louise Beavers) funeral and tearfully repents for breaking her heart. The lynching scene's removal brings into relief not only how the film navigates its racial commentary but also how its maternal melodramatic apparatus counteracts attempts to address racism as a social problem. This avoidance in part stems from the film's refusal to address how sexuality—specifically, paranoia of miscegenation—motivates racist violence. Instead, the film posits racism as a personal and familial problem between two women.