History YMMV / GuessWhosComingToDinner

* FairForItsDay: The movie made sure that John is [[FlawlessToken perfect in every way, from being a brilliant doctor to a loving fiancé]], to hammer in that there's nothing wrong with interracial marriage. The film was released all of ''six months'' after the landmark Supreme Court decision ''Loving v. Virginia'', which legalized interracial marriage on a federal level; when the film began production, its central relationship was outlawed in over a dozen states. The filmmakers went out of their way to make sure that the ''only'' viable objection to John and Joanna's relationship was John's race just to make sure their message got through. Today the FlawlessToken trope is (justifiably) considered lazy writing at best and bigoted at worst, but in the 1960s this film really was revolutionary.

* FairForItsDay: The movie made sure that John is [[FlawlessToken perfect in every way, from being a brilliant doctor to a loving fiancé]], to hammer in that there's nothing wrong with interracial marriage. The film was released all of ''six months'' after the landmark Supreme Court decision Loving v. Virginia, which legalized interracial marriage on a federal level; when the film began production, its central relationship was outlawed in over a dozen states. The filmmakers went out of their way to make sure that the ''only'' viable objection to John and Joanna's relationship was John's race just to make sure their message got through. Today the FlawlessToken trope is (justifiably) considered lazy writing at best and bigoted at worst, but in the 1960s this film really was revolutionary.

* HarsherInHindsight: During Tracy's monologue at the end, he mentions that the love he feels for his wife "will be there if I live to be 110!" He died weeks after the movie was finished.

* FairForItsDay: The movie made sure that John is [[FlawlessToken perfect in every way, from being a brilliant doctor to a loving fiancé]], to hammer in that there's nothing wrong with interracial marriage. The film was released all of ''six months'' after the landmark Supreme Court decision Loving v. Virginia, which legalized interracial marriage on a federal level; when the film began production, its central relationship was outlawed in over a dozen states. The filmmakers went out of their way to make sure that the ''only'' viable objection to John and Joanna's relationship was John's race just to make sure their message got through. Today the FlawlessToken trope is (justifiably) considered outdated at best and bigoted at worst, but in the 1960s this film really was revolutionary.

* FairForItsDay: The movie makes sure that John is [[FlawlessToken perfect in every way, from being a brilliant doctor to a loving fiancé]], to hammer in that there's nothing wrong with interracial marriage. The film was released all of ''six months'' after the landmark Supreme Court decision Loving v. Virginia, which legalized interracial marriage on a federal level; when the film began production, its central relationship was outlawed in over a dozen states. The filmmakers went out of their way to make sure that the ''only'' viable objection to John and Joanna's relationship was John's race just to make sure their message got through. Today the FlawlessToken trope is (justifiably) considered outdated at best and bigoted at worst, but in the 1960s this film really was revolutionary.

* FairForItsDay: The movie makes sure that John is [[FlawlessToken perfect in every way, from being a brilliant doctor to a loving fiancé]] to hammer in that there's nothing wrong with interracial marriage, which was a positive portrayal considering the time period it was released in. Nowadays, with the trope being everywhere, especially by White writers writing characters outside their race, this would be seen as lazy writing and even racist because it implies that minorities has to be unrealistically perfect to have a relationship with White people.

** One theme of the film is that even those who believe themselves very progressive people, like Joanna's parents, may still have to confront their unexpected bigotry, an idea that still comes up in modern discussions of racism. ''Film/{{Get Out|2017}}'' would later focus on this, albeit far less subtly.

** Perhaps it's a measure of progress when you compare the audience reaction with a large portion of the population in 1967: "She's marrying a Negro; that's crazy!" to now: "She's marrying a man she only met 10 days earlier; that's crazy!"
** The wide age and life experience gap between John and Joanna can also play a larger part in modern audience reaction.

** Although the race issues were clumsily handled for its times, you can understand the father objecting to his daughter wanting to marry a man she only met 10 days ago.

* FairForItsDay: The movie makes sure that John is [[FlawlessToken perfect in every way, from being a brilliant doctor to a loving fiancé]] to hammer in that there's nothing wrong with interracial marriage, which was a positive portrayal considering the time period it was released in. Nowadays, with the trope being everywhere, especially by writers writing characters outside their race, this would be seen as lazy writing and even racist because it implies that minorities has to be unrealistically perfect to have a relationship with white people.

** Perhaps it's a measure of the progress made when you have this contrast in the audience reaction with a large portion of the population in 1967: "She's marrying a Negro; that's crazy!" to now: "She's marrying a man she only met 10 days earlier; that's crazy!"

** Although the race issues were clumsily handled for its times, you can understand the father's reticence about the preposterous idea of his daughter wanting to marry a man she only met 10 days ago.
** One theme of the film is that even those who believe themselves to be very liberal and progressive, like Joanna's parents, may still have to confront their more subtle and unexpected bigotry, an idea that still comes up in modern discussions of racism. ''Film/{{Get Out|2017}}'' would later go on to also focus on this idea, albeit in a far less subtle manner.

* FairForItsDay: The movie makes sure that John is perfect in every way, from being a brilliant doctor to a loving fiancé (aka, FlawlessToken) to hammer in that there's nothing wrong with interracial marriage, which was a positive portrayal considering the time period it was released in. Nowadays, this would be seen as lazy writing and even racist because it implies that minorities has to be unrealistically perfect to have a relationship with white people.

** One theme of the film is that even those who believe themselves to be very liberal and progressive, like Joanna's parents, may still have to confront their more subtle and unexpected bigotry, an idea that still comes up in modern discussions of racism. ''Film/GetOut'' would later go on to also focus on this idea, albeit in a far less subtle manner.

* FairForItsDay: The movie makes sure that John is perfect in every way, from being a brilliant doctor to a loving fiancé (aka, FlawlessToken) to hammer in that there's nothing wrong with interracial marriage, which was a somewhat positive portrayal of Afro-Americans considering the time period it was released. Nowadays, this would be seen as lazy writing and even racist because it implies that minorities has to be unrealistically perfect to have a relationship with white people.

* DesignatedLoveInterest: Given the incredible lengths the narrative goes to just to paint John as a model minority suitor -- the kind of patient, brilliant and extraordinary man that would challenge any bigoted white father grasping to find fault with him -- a common joke is that he's far too ''good'' [[WhatDoesHeSeeInHer for Joanna]]. This isn't even a modern take, as the ''{{Magazine/MAD}'' parody, written in 1968, has the parents of "Sidney Sensational" burst in and drag him away to keep him from ruining his medical career.

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** One theme of the film is that even those who believe themselves to be very liberal and progressive, like Joanna's parents, may still have to confront their more subtle and unexpected bigotry, an idea that still comes up in modern discussions of racism.

** One theme of the film is that even those who believe themselves to be very left-wing and progressive, like Joanna's parents, may still have to confront their more subtle and unexpected bigotry, an idea that still comes up in modern discussions of racism.