Guess Who's Coming to Dinner, a Message of Tolerance and Acceptance The progressive film Guess Who's Coming to Dinner was a liberal message that emerged from the remnants of the historic Civil Rights Movement . The film was a compelling manifesto that exposed how both white and black cultures viewed interracial relationships in the 1960s. The context of the film was provocative and poised to push the parameters on one of our country's biggest social problems and taboo topics, racial prejudice and interracial relationships. Until June 12, 1967, miscegenation was illegal in most Southern states until the case Loving v. Virginia declared the anti-miscegenation laws unconstitutional. However, according to ABC News.com, “many states have left unenforceable laws on the books; in fact, South Carolina did not remove its prohibitive clause until 1998” (Homeland, 1). The theme of this film goes far beyond the relationship between black and white; talks about tolerance and acceptance of different cultures, races and ethnicities. While writing the screenplay for Guess Who's Coming to Dinner, writer William Rose knew that the theme and characters would test racial boundaries in this country. He cleverly established Matt and Christina Drayton as two wealthy, cultured San Franciscans who saw themselves as liberal people and not bigots. When their naive 23 years old. old daughter Joanna brings home her 37th birthday. old black boyfriend, Dr. John Prentiss, the Draytons are amazed and horrified, not only that John is black, but that they are forced to reexamine their personal beliefs regarding racism. The character of Joanna was portrayed as a gorgeous, vibrant bottle of pixie with a big heart, groomed by her parents to look modern and impartial... a medium of paper.... McGillicuddy, Genevieve. "Items for Guess Who's Coming to Dinner." TCM Turner Classic Movies. Np, nd Web. 11 April 2011. .Poitier, Sidney. The Measure of a Man: A Spiritual Autobiography. San Francisco, CA: Harper San Francisco, 2000. Print.Rich, Frank. "Editorial Columnist - Guess Who's Coming to Dinner - NYTimes.com." The New York Times - Breaking news, world news and multimedia. Np, nd Web. April 13, 2011. .Stein, Ruthe. "Thinking Back to 'Guess Who's Coming to Dinner' - SFGate." Featured articles from SFGate. Np, 28 February 2008. Web. 11 April. 2011. .