The story of a Jewish southern matron and her African American chauffeur, Driving Miss Daisy is an autobiographically informed play by Alfred Uhry. It is a Pulitzer prize-winning play that went on to become an award-winning film in 1989.
Daisy Werthan (Jessica Tandy) is a crusty, independent old lady who can no longer drive her own car. Her son Boolie (Dan Akroyd) hires a black driver, Hoke Colburn (Morgan Freeman), to help her around the house.
Despite their age difference, Daisy and Hoke form a very friendly relationship. Their friendship stretches over the course of a quarter century, beginning in 1948 when she first hires him and continuing through the civil rights movement.
Their relationship is defined by their mutual respect and the ability to listen to each other. They disagree about many things, but at the same time they have a lot of similarities.
They both have a lot of trouble reading, but at the same time they have an equal amount of knowledge about history and culture. They also have similar attitudes toward race and prejudice.
Both are very devoted to their families, which explains why they have such a strong bond and love for each other. They both believe that they are doing the right thing by supporting the civil rights movement and trying to make people aware of how discrimination affects those in the south.
Their friendship is a very unique one and it demonstrates the inseparability of Jewishness and history within a southern context. This movie made a great impact on audiences and showed them that there was still a large presence of southern Jewishness in the United States.
