Romance, Racism, and the American West: Unpacking the Racial Politics of South Pacific (1958)
The 1958 film South Pacific, adapted from Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Broadway musical, occupies a curious place in American cultural history. On the one hand, it stands as a product of its time — rooted in the mid-century optimism of post-war America. On the other, it seeks to grapple with the uncomfortable realities of race and prejudice that persisted even as the country looked forward to a brighter future. Beneath the colorful musical numbers and picturesque island scenery lies a serious attempt to address racial bigotry, though the film ultimately reveals the limitations of its creators’ liberal vision.
South Pacific is centered on two love stories, each entangled in the racial anxieties of the era. The first, between the optimistic and somewhat naïve nurse Nellie Forbush and the sophisticated French expatriate Emile de Becque, is derailed when Nellie learns that Emile’s children are of mixed race — their mother being Tonkinese. The second romance, between Lt. Joe Cable and a young Tonkinese woman named Liat, underscores the deep-seated prejudices that even the most well-intentioned characters cannot fully escape.
The most explicit confrontation with racism in South Pacific comes in the song “You’ve Got to Be Carefully Taught.” Lt. Cable sings that racial…
