jul 17, 1968 - For The Love of Ivy released
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Cited as the first black "rom-com", For the Love of Ivy was a groundbreaking moment in media in 1968. It was written and produced by Sidney Poitier who wanted to make a movie his daughters could watch. Ultimately, Poitier rendered an iconic character (innocent man who gets mixed up in some trouble, yet still manages to fall in love) in black. He played the love interest of the female lead, Ivy (Abbey Lincoln). Lincoln was a jazz singer, and her acting in the film led to a nomination for a Golden Globe.
The film was groundbreaking on two sides. Storywise, the film stretched the boundaries of how black intimacy is displayed onscreen. Additionally, while Poitier and Lincoln played characters with thorough character development, the white characters were wholly two-dimensional. On the production end, black musicians and writers largely created the soundtrack and other creative contributions to the film.
So, although retrospectively, this black "heterotopia" may not seem all that radical, it was as radical as Poitier could have gotten at the time. Considering that it was released just five months after the racist film, Planet of the Apes, it becomes clear that the mere existence of For the Love of Ivy disrupted the cinematic climate of its time.
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1968 A Year In Review Final Timeline
This timeline outlines significant events that shaped the lo...
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