Guess Who's Coming to Dinner was filmed during the height of racial tensions in the United States. In 1967, the summer it was released, there were more than 40 race riots in the States, including the famous Detroit riots. America was in turmoil, and the film was a statement on race relations in the United States.

Although Mr. Prentice tells John that "You'll be breaking the law in 17 states. You'll be criminals," this wasn't true by the time the film debuted. The United States Supreme Court had recently ruled on Loving vs. Virginia. On June 12, 1967, the Court declared anti-miscegenation laws unconstitutional; however, many of the laws remained on the books for years. Even fifty years later, interracial marriages are considered bad taste by many Americans, especially those in the South.

The film was still showing in theaters when Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated. There is one line in the...