IMDb Ratings Reveal Attitudes Towards The Election, Race

In the wake of the historic election of Barack Obama, Americans are preparing for and adjusting to the idea of black president in a distinctly American way.

IMDb's MOVIEmeter ratings, based on the consumer behavior of millions of IMDb users, reveal that directly following the election, viewers flocked to films and television programs depicting interracial interactions of all kinds. In a peculiar art/life nexus, a portion of the electorate is evidently grappling with race relations by watching movies and television programs on the topic, with some of these viewers going on to rate, comment, and discuss online.

Apparently, Comcast's decision to offer Guess Who's Coming to Dinner in the Free Movies On Demand section from Oct. 10th -Nov. 13th was neither hilarious coincidence, nor bizarre oversight.

According to IMDb, the popularity of the original Guess Who's Coming to Dinner (1967), increased by 205% 'since last week' for the week of Sunday, Nov. 16th. That version is considered a classic on its cinematic merits and was included in the American Film Institute's 100 Greatest Movies of the Past 100 years.

Guess Who's Coming to Dinner is ostensibly about interracial marriage -- a liberal couple finds their principles challenged when their daughter brings home a black fiancé. But the subtext of the movie is the gap between advocating values such as 'diversity' and acting on that the conviction in practice -- the same principal behind the 'Bradley Effect' voters heard so much about this campaign season.

That theme may have had particular resonance for Americans unsure whether the US electorate would actually vote for a black candidate, despite his apparent advantage in the polls leading up to the elections. And following the election, to those marveling that we did so in the end, and digesting the implications of Obama's victory.

Guess Who's Coming to Dinner, of course, is widely considered the iconic movie about dormant racial anxiety in America. Some, during the campaign season, took to using the film's title in adjective form ('it all just seems very guess-who's-coming-to dinner'), often as shorthand for the embarrassing undercurrent of racial tension that seemed to color the political debate at times. Three days before the election, New York Times Op-ed columnist Frank Rich wrote a piece drawing explicit parallels between Senator Obama and Sydney Poitier's character in the film.

Tellingly, however, interest in other more obscure versions of Guess Who's Coming to Dinner increased over the same time period as well. The popularity ratings of a 1975 ABC TV movie, a 1998 TV Series released in New Zealand, and a short-lived 2003 UK series of the same name increased by 103%, 58%, and 49% respectively.

IMDb users also sought out less obviously relevant movies and TV programs -- a wide array of racially themed fare gained popularity around the election.

The popularity of Carbon Copy (1981) -- "An Upper-Class WASP businessman's life goes into a comedic tailspin when he learns he has an African American son from a previous relationship" rose 21% since last week (for the week of Sunday, Nov. 16th) according to MOVIEmeter.

Jungle Fever -- "Friends and family of a married black architect react in different ways to his affair with an Italian secretary" -- also saw an increase in IMDb popularity over the same period, gaining 15 percentage points.

Even Diff'rent Strokes -- "The misadventures of a rich Manhattan family who adopt the children of their late African American maid" -- received a modest boost, gaining four percentage points.

As of Sunday, November 23rd the weekly popularity rating of all versions of Guess Who's Coming to Dinner are in decline. Carbon Copy, Jungle Fever, and Diff'rent Strokes have shed percentage points too, suggesting a distinct peak in interest levels surrounding the election.

Unlike polls, IMDb ratings are based not on self-reported data or extrapolation from small statistical samplings, but on the actual behavior of millions of users, most accessing the site from the comfort of their homes.

The rising interest in movies and programming dealing with interracial relations, particularly after the election, presents an unusually candid peek into how Americans negotiate and renegotiate identity through the prism of popular (and even not so popular) entertainment.

What effect, if any, rising interest in film and television productions about race will have on actual race relations remains to be seen. Still, a closer look at the ratings around the election provide an intriguing window into the fluid, nuanced, and sometimes hilarious ways Americans are seeking to understand race in America, the approaching presidency of Barack Obama, and perhaps, themselves.

Comments

[terryinwva]

tellingly? i just checked imdb and the "guess who's coming to dinner?" from new zealand is still awaiting 5 votes. you could use statistics from imdb for proving just about any p.o.v. i reckon. so actually i don't think the imdb ratings reveal much at all.

[thesnob]

It would be a lot more interesting to know how movies and tv shows featuring African-Americans in positions of leadership did during this period ... especially DEEP IMPACT (Morgan Freeman as president), season 1 of 24 (Dennis Haysbert as president), and STAR TREK: DS9 (Avery Brooks as commander).

[ESerafina42]

"Unlike polls, IMDb ratings are based not on self-reported data or extrapolation from small statistical samplings, but on the actual behavior of millions of users, most accessing the site from the comfort of their homes."
______

Huh? What is the difference between "self-reported data" and "millions of users, most accessing the site from the comfort of their homes"? This sample is still self-selected.

[TwentyCharactersLong]

It's involuntary, based on how many people look up the movie/show on IMDb, not a specific survey.

[Clavis]

My brother and I rented "Blazing Saddles", since it's about a smart black guy who turns the tables on a whole town filled with racist morons and becomes the hero who defeats evil -- and is the most aware, clever, resourceful character in the film!

[ESerafina42]

I LOVE Blazing Saddles - perfect analogy.

[speakyourmind]

"Where are de white women at?" HILARIOUS. One of my all-time favorites.

[PhillyMax]

I'm part of that trend. Rented Carbon Copy. During the first half I kept saying to myself, "what the hell???" - but the movie gets on your inside over time and in the end I really enjoyed it.

Fun to see Denzell in his first pic!

Thanks for the other recommendations - I'll go on the tour :- )

[Ironking]

*You know there's nothing wrong loving your own culture.Being with someone from your own culture not only is a good thing to learn and connect with your ancestors but it's also a great way for your culture to thrive to the future.I*

[noseysniper]

I've stayed out of interracial relationships my entire life until about 2 years ago. I met a woman who pretty much kaboomed my "black women only" rule just by asking me out. I'm still with her now. It was really kind of scary at first to be honest, it felt like I was leaving my family to join some kind of cult or something. I have no idea why, but that's what it felt like and it felt like crap. Then it really kind of hit me that I wasn't leaving my family or my culture/race behind. It's more so a union of my heritage and hers. I picked up a lot of her good habits and she picked up on mine. I imagine if we have kids they'd be some cultural super hybrid or something. ^_^

[invisible]

Could it be? Perhaps our young country is finally beginning to grow up.

[biabouman41]

Realize that there is only one race, the human race. I mean that not only from a sociological point of view, but especially biologically. Geneticists have shown that we ALL originated in Africa and what you see that look like a difference is only phenotype, not genotype. In other words, it is not even skin deep. For example, not all mountain goats are capable of breeding across groups of goats, but ALL humans can and do.
About the "Bradley effect", I was making calls for the Obama campaign and I encountered a number of people who indicated to me that they supported Obama but did not feel free to say so out loud, even within families. I think there was a reverse Bradley effect.