What Happened In The Tunnel (1903)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YCa59e-qOAU

I think this clip relates to chapter seven, ‘Haunted by Miscegenation’, from Fregoso’s book Mexicana Encounter. To give you a little background on the clip – this short film is called What Happened in the Tunnel and was made in 1903 by Edwin S. Porter. It has been said this is one of the first films ever to show an interracial kiss. And while it is only a minute in length, I think it can lead us further into some insight into the history of race relations in popular culture and the general social beliefs at that time.
The man’s reaction at the end of the film reinforces the fear of the white race being ‘tainted’ by miscegenation. As the train goes under the tunnel we see the white man kiss the black women. His immediate reaction is of surprise and it even looks to me like he is physically ill as he runs to grab a newspaper and pretends like nothing happened. While this film touches on this social taboo, it does so through humor and shock appeal. They use humor to address a fearful taboo – as if saying ‘gotcha’ to the viewer but reassuring the viewer that it was a joke and not real. Just like Fregoso comments about the 1909 film Red Girl, this film crosses the social taboo of a white man kissing a black woman but in the end reinforces this white supremacist ideology by clearly showing their ‘romance’ is complete farce and confirming that the white man was never interested in the black woman.
Another thing to point out is the relationship between the two women. While they are working together to play a joke on the man, there does still seem to be some class dynamics happening. The white woman is wearing an elegant, high-fashioned dress while the black woman looks to be wearing a maid’s outfit. This difference in social class can be seen as reinforcing social stereotypes but some have said that it actually breaks class barriers because the two women are working together to play this prank.
So I was just wondering what you guys think about the film? Do you think this film strongly reinforces miscegenation? Do you think by having women play a joke on a man that it deals with class issues in a progressive way?