Cora Unashamed, Movie Review, by Carissa

I would definitely recommend the movie Cora Unashamed to anyone. It’s about a strong African American woman named Cora, who throughout most of her life went through many hardships, but never once was ashamed.

This movie is mostly about love. Cora met a white man named Joe, who she fell hard and fast for, but before she knew it he had to leave. He promised her he would come back for her someday. She was completely crushed, but still kept somewhat of an open mind to seeing him again. She would often have dreams about times where they had hung out and how good she felt whenever she was with him. The reason she did hold on to the thought of him for as long as she was because she became pregnant from him. Never once was Cora ashamed of this.

She named her daughter Josephine after the father, Joe. Josephine became everything to Cora. When her daughter turned about seven, she got very sick with the whooping cough. She died shortly after. Cora never thought she could love anyone or anything again, she felt alone and lifeless. She overcame this devastating loss by finding comfort in the Studevant’s daughter Jessie who at one point was very close to Josephine. Cora treated Jessie as if she were her own daughter. She was then once again filled with joy.

But, Mrs. Studevant was a mean rude lady who pushed herself upon people, especially Jessie who could never seem to make her mom proud of her. Mrs. Studevant admitted she was ashamed of how Jessie acted. When Jessie started falling for a boy who she didn’t approve of she did everything in her power to mess it up. When Jessie found out she was pregnant she told her mother and she forced Jessie to get an abortion. Jessie then got very sick and later died from it. Cora felt like once again her heart was being torn from her chest. She told everyone the truth about the real reasons why Jessie died. Cora was never ashamed!

Thoughts on Cora Unashamed, by Leigh Ann

The movie Cora Unashamed was a very touching and heartwarming video. I would definitely recommend this movie because it shows how parents of that time tried to completely control their children's’ lives.  They would do whatever it took to have a perfect child, just like Mrs. Studavant did with her daughter Jessie.

To Mrs. Studavant it didn’t matter what Jessie wanted: it was all about what Mrs. Studavant wanted for her daughter. Cora Unashamed also gave a different perspective of how life was for younger people during that time, in the early 1900s. Many people with high places in society would often shape their family into the family they thought was an ideal one because they were scared they might be embarrassed by something that would damage their reputation.

Although slavery was over, this movie showed how some African Americans were tied to working as servants in people’s houses because that was almost the only way they could make enough money to support their family.

One thing that really stood out to me was that the movie showed how love has no color or race. Cora fell in love with a white man and they had a baby.  Although Willy was Greek, he and Jessie fell in love. It was Mrs. Studavant that came in between Willy and Jessie, not his ethnic background.

Review of Cora Unashamed, by Emily

The movie Cora Unashamed was about an African-American woman working for a wealthy white family, the Studevants. Cora has had a hard life. Her father passed away, her mother is sick, her baby’s daddy is gone and then, her only child dies. Cora still continues to work for the white family. They have a little girl named Jessie who could practically be Cora’s child.

The Studevant parents aren’t ever around or just don’t care. They didn’t want Jessie. Her freckles were “a problem.” When young Jessie meets the love of her life, he gets her pregnant and leaves town for a while. When he gets back Mrs. Studevant had closed down his family’s dairy shop and forces his family to leave town. She did this because she didn’t want her daughter dating a milk boy.

When her mother found out that Jessie was pregnant, she took her to Kansas City and forced her to get an illegal abortion. Jessie got very sick and died because of the infection from the abortion. The movie is very depressing. I would recommend the movie to girls over guys because of the fact it’s a mushy movie. But I liked it. 

Review of Cora Unashamed, by Veil

I would recommend the movie Cora Unashamed as a movie to watch because it shows you a lesson. You wouldn’t believe what people would do “back in the day.”

This movie shows how people are worthy of each other and caring. We also see how people are just unsatisfied when things do not go their way. I believe that Jesse’s mother was jealous of the relationship that she and Cora had.  Every time that something would happen, Jesse would rather tell Cora than her own mother.

Her mother was the type of parent who wanted Jesse to grow up like should would have liked to grew up. Her mother was very controlling of Jesse. I believed that her mom didn’t like her because the way she looked. Her dad was the only one who cared besides Cora, and her sister.

The movie shows you the true meaning of love and how far people are willing to go to prove it.

On the Film, Cora Unashamed, by Jordan

I would recommend the movie Cora Unashamed to everyone. The movie takes place in the early 1900s. In Cora Unashamed, Cora has a baby named Josephine. Cora’s daughter Josephine dies from whooping cough. 

Cora works for Mrs. Art Studevant. While she works for Mrs. Studevant, she grows closer to Jessie, Mrs. Studevant’s daughter.  

As Jessie grows up she falls in love with Willie Matsoulis who is Greek. Mrs. Studevant didn’t like the fact that Jessie was falling in love with a Greek. Jessie informs Cora that she is pregnant and wants her to tell her mother for her. 

Cora tells Mrs. Studevant that Jessie is two months pregnant, that she loves Willie, and wants to keep the baby She also tells her that Jessie wants to marry Willie. Mrs. Studevant doesn’t approve of this, so she lies to Jessie and tells her that they are going shopping, but instead she is taking her to get an illegal abortion.

When they return Jessie gets very ill, and Mrs. Studevant tells everyone it’s from something she ate. But Cora knows that it was from having the abortion. So she tells Mr. Studevant to call Dr. Siebels. Dr. Siebels discovers that Jessie is not going to get any better. Mrs. Studevant tries to do everything herself and not let Cora help.

Finally, Mr. Studevant tells Cora to stay with Jessie. The next morning, Cora reads to Jessie the same poem her boyfriend once read to her before he left. As Cora is telling Jessie the poem, Jessie dies. At Jessie’s funeral Cora tells everyone why she really died.

I would recommend this movie because it teaches you to think for yourself and not to let anyone tell you what you are going to do with your life.