Identity crisis?

Imitation of Life (1959)

Even though the movie was supposed to highlight the identity crisis of a white-skinned mullato girl, there are other side issues in the story. Living in the modern world of telecommunication, media and advertisement, young minds are forced to accept a certain standard of beauty and norm as set by the media moguls. Hence, the insecurities of self-image and a warped sense of ideal beauty. A person born with a dark complexion, a person with non-Caucasianoid features, and one in the above ideal body weight are all considered misfits. And all need correction and immediate correction, that is.

This movie stars Lana Turner (who was seen in 'The Postman Always Rings Twice') and Juanita Moore, who was nominated for Best Supporting Actress.

Cora (Lana Turner), a widow with a young daughter, befriends a black single mother, Annie Johnson (Juanita Moore) when her daughter goes missing at the beach. A freelance photographer, Steve, also came to be their acquaintance as he photographed Cora and Annie's daughters, Suzie and Sarah Jane.

As Suzie and Sarah Jane had become good friends and Annie had nowhere to go, Cora decided to take her in despite her joblessness and her struggle. Annie agrees to work for free, taking care of Suzie for a roof over her head in return.

Over the years, the four go through thick and thin. Steve becomes part of the family even though his advances to Cora are rejected, as she has big plans for herself in the field of acting. 

Fast forward, Sarah Jane grows up in a white environment, comfortable with her pale complexion and deeply embarrassed with her mother's features as it reminded her of her black ancestry.

Cora becomes a prolific actor. Steve climbs the corporate ladder.

Cora is too busy to attend to her daughter's needs, but Annie fills in the gap. Even though her mother is always with her, Sarah Jane cannot communicate with her. In fact, she hates the sight of her. She ventures out to the bad side of town to befriend some old white thrash bloke. Upon discovering her black ancestry, the bloke bashes her up. We have to remember that we are dealing with, before civil liberties and black power movements.

Sarah Jane runs away from home to work as a dancer in a seedy dance joint, disappointing her rather pious mother.

On a side issue, Suzie has a crush on Steve, straining her relationship with her mother.
Here we have two mothers both being ostracised by their offspring - Cora for not spending enough time as she was earning a good life for the family and Annie for caring too much and meddling in her affairs.
The heartbroken Annie dies, and Sarah Jane comes scurrying home in regret.

The bottom line, there is no one formula that fits all in parenting. Too much or too little concern in children's affairs may prove disastrous. But as a parent, we all have to impart all our life experiences to them so that there is not in limbo when encountering such a catch-22 situation. The young, however, feel that the parents' way of looking at problems is so passé!