Popular Culture Review Vol. 14, No. 1, February 2003 | Page 80

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Popular Culture Review

of the self and Other. Although this is subtly forewarned, even at the beginning of
the film, there is a hint of preparation for it when Pinky informs her grandmother
(Dicey) that she detests Miss Em, is unwilling to forgive her for the abuse she
suffered at her hands as a youngster, still resentful of Miss Em for ordering her out
of her yard. It is arguable that Pinky has internalized the otherness Miss Em has
projected onto her black Other. The transformation of Miss Em into Pinky takes
place as the elderly woman’s death draws close. Pinky, as a tragic figure, allows
Miss Em to become similarly constructed since the “tragic mulatto” itself signifies
a kind of death. The death of the self [Miss Em] and the death of the Other [Pinky]
are one and the same, thus signifying the transformation of the self and Other.
The transformation of Miss Em into Pinky manifests itself when the two char
acters encounter each other and exhibit the same personality characteristics: resis
tance, dominance, desire for control, bitterness, deception, and a biting conversa
tional style. Is it Pinky’s strong personality that is mirrored by Miss Em or Miss
Em’s strong personality that is mirrored by Pinky? In fact, listening to Miss Em is
like listening to Pinky. Homi K. Bhabha argues that one way to read the racial ste
reotype is in terms of fetishism. A fetishism “is always a ‘play’ or vacillation be
tween the archaic affirmation of wholeness/similarity ... and the anxiety associated
with lack and difference....” Miss Em’s transformation into Pinky, as Miss Em both
accentuates her difference from, yet acknowledges her sameness to Pinky, reiterates
this play on similarity and difference evident in their defiant voice tone and style.
Guilt Ingredient
Throughout this interplay, guilt plays a definite part. Though opposed to car
ing for Miss Em because of her dislike for her. Pinky, alters her position after her
grandmother’s scolding. First, Dicey confronts Pinky, contending that in Pinky’s
absence. Miss Em nursed Dicey back to health. Then, Dicey claims that Pinky’s
training as a nurse resulted in eroding her emotions, causing her to distance herself
from any emotional affection for Miss Em. Finally, Dicey constructs Pinky as an
Other (in much the same way that Pinky has been rendered Other by the dominant
hegemony) by refen ing to her own granddaughter as “trash.” Of course allowing
an African American to denigrate another African American verbally disavows
whites of having to do so. However, Pinky’s guilt personifies Miss Em’s guilt, as
Miss Em has employed Dicey for years, and she feels an obligation to her, while
acknowledging their mutual affectionate relationship. Perhaps because of this, or
because of the guilt Miss Em feels for having exploited Dicey for all these years.
Miss Em arranges a property transfer at her death, to Pinky. It seems that this act
relieves Miss Em of the