The Scar of Shame - Social Insight and Significance

Social Insight and Significance

In essence, this is a film detailing the struggle to advance from the depths of black urban life representing bluntly by the ghetto environment, to fabled high class society seen when Alvin visits his mother’s house in the suburbs. With the new emergence of a black bourgeois class, the film provides “a manual for those on the make,” embodied in Alvin Hilliard, but also “a caution to the weak willed who might be diverted from success by urban temptations,” such as Louise who is tempted by the opportunity of a “big break” as a cabaret singer and also her father, Spike, who is unable to resist alcohol.

The message is not so straightforward however and we see those who strive for more ending up hurting those they care about when Alvin gives Louise “the scar,” and deserting those less fortunate of the same race just by a desire for success. The Scar of Shame gives us insight into a “detailed anatomy of the conflicting strata of black urban life,” so that we see those that would be called “strivers” in conflict with those who feel unable to leave their place in society or are resentful towards strivers who abandon them.

There is also the problem of moving up simply by being assimilated into white culture, seen when Alvin seems to only compose “white music” on the piano, and losing track of one’s black heritage. There is no clearly distinct skin color differentiation that sets some characters above others even though commonly a darker skin tone is associated with lower class whereas those more close to white skin are higher class in film. The message here is that it is not the skin that determines the character’s fate but rather the ambition in their hearts. Though this may be as true as we hope it is, if one wants to split hairs, it could be found that Alice is slightly more white and portrayed in more alluring camera shots than Louise and Spike, one of the more base characters in the film and the butler at Alvin’s mother’s estate are darker than the rest.

Though this film is a commentary on the anatomy of black social stratification, it cannot shut out the racism of its era. Wealthy white investors hiring black crews only added to the stark divide between races in the film industry. The reality was, the more “white blood” one inherited, the more successful they were thought to be. Later more emphasis would be put on income, education and achievements of course but this idea of darkness as a marker of insignificance still somewhat permeated the film.

A common theme throughout the film is the conflict between the top and bottom classes and their role in the degradation of black women. It seems that the lower classes were thought to act as sort of a whirlpool, dragging others down with their sinful temptations and clubs of ill repute and loose morals. Simultaneously there was a top class that tried so hard to separate itself from the rest that it ended up not allowing for those trapped below to move up by “holding up impossible hurdles.” The peak of this conflict is seen during the plan conceived by Eddie to kidnap Louise while Alvin is distracted at his mother’s. Louise is caught in the middle in the house while Eddie and Spike, here representing the lower class, sneak up on her and Alvin, coming back from the suburbs and his mother who is “concerned with caste” represents higher class. She feels somewhat shunned from Alvin’s side after reading his mother’s letter, which expressed her desire for him to marry another, more sophisticated girl while she is simultaneously drawn in by the allure of a business deal with Eddie. The scar, which she receives during the ensuing gunfight, marks and makes final her decision to become corrupted by the lower class. Just as Louise feels oppressed by high class and unable to be on the same level as Alvin, Alvin feels as if he is being dragged down by the shame of his past and unable to open up to Alice, his high-class love.

What allows some to move up while most are trapped then? The drive to succeed seems not to be enough on its own. One wonders after seeing the first title card, which puts so much importance on childhood as a determining factor of success in life, how is such a fate determined so early? What does the “knowing hand” know that is so critical to success in life? If we apply this to main characters we see that Alvin had success in life and his mother impressed on him from an early age the importance of staying in one’s “set,” that is to say avoid the suction of the lower class. Though it is true Alvin married Louise, there was never a time when love was apparent. The desire seemed to come more from Alvin’s gentleness and protective attitude, almost pitying Louise. Later, Alvin pulls a gun on her with Eddie and tells them to hold still “the two of you.” Clearly there was little love lost in the breakup. If Alvin had heeded his mother’s advice, his life might have turned out differently for it was almost ruined by the touch of the ghetto. The dealings of Eddie and Spike get him stuck in jail and force him to live the life of an escaped convict for the rest of his life. This ideal of self-preservation is the justification for suppressing the lower class and making wide divides between the black urban strata to minimize the risk of the ill effects of associating with low class culture.

The image of childhood dreams appears again when Louise decides to leave Alvin. Alvin drops Louise’s childhood doll down to the floor as he leaves for his mother’s and she leaves it there as a neglected victim of a poor environment. Gaines argues that the doll or “child” rather, is not a victim of caste but rather of “class prejudice,” and that it is the grudges of high-class black society and the resentment of low-class society that are the root of this system that is cause of the demise of so many lives.

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