Post by antifrodis on Nov 14, 2016 0:01:21 GMT -5
I've been researching the Gang - and their various imitators - through news magazines of yesteryear for some time now. While I always find something of interest in the pile of bland "Good comedy... everyone laughed" reviews, this one comment really made me cringe - from a review for "Election Day."
I'd compliment them on getting his gender right, if I wasn't so distracted by that awful comment at the end. Ugh!
Even in the 1920's interracial relations, cohabitation and marriage were still very much taboo in society. There were even laws against such goings on. Mull over some of this info.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-miscegenation_laws_in_the_United_States
To me, the reviewer's comment about the perspective of the viewer on an implied improper relationship between an older Farina and the girl was in line with the era in which the comment was made. It certainly doesn't make it right and it is rather shocking to read in today's society, but it was probably not uncommon for someone to make a statement like that back then.
Which leads me to my point. Was the reviewer making racist statements or was he just unwittingly following along with the norms of society in the 1920's? Maybe a little of both. Who knows?
There is a scene in the Buster Keaton film "Seven Chances" that I recall being bothered by the first time I viewed it. It is where Buster's character is trying to find a wife in order to collect an inheritance. He sees a woman walking down the street from behind, and rushes up to ask her to marry him. He then realizes when he sees her face that she is black. He grimaces and walks away. Is his pained look because he does not like African-Americans, or is it because of the laws/beliefs/etc. of the time that prevent him from considering her as a wife? It certainly comes off as a tasteless joke when viewed today, but I was always curious what the intentions were behind the gag.