Imitation of Life

Director Douglas Sirk is seen as the "master of melodrama", a deserved name considering films such as All That Heaven Allows, A Time to Love and a Time to Die and Imitation of Life. At the time, many critics dismissed his films as sentimental "women's films", but today people have come to realize that Sirk actually raised relevant social issues. In Imitation of Life, one of the main themes is racial inequality.

Single mother Lora Meredith (Lana Turner) meets Annie Johnson (Juanita Moore), a fellow single mom. Lora offers Annie and her daughter Sarah Jane to move in with her and her daughter, which will give her time to work on her acting career. Annie is a black woman, but Sarah Jane is light-skinned and does her best to pass herself as white. Her longing becomes a source of heartache and pain.