Guess Who?
The top-grossing movie of the weekend was Guess Who, a highly updated version of the 1967 classic, Guess Who's Coming to Dinner? The old movie revolved around the reactions of two white parents (played memorably by Spencer Tracy and Katherine Hepburn) whose daughter brought home a black fiancé to meet them. The current version reverses the situation and portrays a black woman who brings home her white fiancé to meet her black parents (played by Judith Scott and Bernie Mac).
The 38-year span between the two movies draws attention to the fact that American attitudes about interracial marriage have changed significantly over the years. Gallup polling in 1968 showed only 20% of Americans approved of "marriage between blacks and whites." By 2004, 76% approved. When Gallup first asked the question in 1958, 4% approved. It was not until Gallup's 1997 survey that a majority of Americans approved of interracial marriage.
According to the June 2004 Gallup Poll, 87% of blacks approve of interracial marriage, compared with 72% of whites. There is a significant age difference, with older Americans significantly less likely than younger Americans to approve.