On Thu, Oct 7, 2021 at 11:06 AM PGage <[email protected]> wrote: > I think Tom makes the main point that there is a relevant discussion to be > had here, but it easily regresses into progressive caricature when it > abandons nuance and flexibility. > > I think the most problematic part of Silverman’s argument is the use of > the term “Jewface” (not sure if that was part of the original Time article > Tom refers to). The problem with Blackface is not primarily that famous > white actors got roles denied Black actors. Blackface was explicitly part > of a larger social process of stigmatizing, de-legitimizing and > rationalizing a pervasive, violent antiBlack regime. The analogy is not to > Rachel Brosnahan playing an attractive, intelligent and very likable Mrs > Maisel, but maybe to something that could have existed in 1930s Germany > with Aryans wearing stereotypical noses and clothing and enacting > characters that would justify the attitudes and assumptions that led to the > Holocaust. > > I don’t necessarily blame Silverman for this, the whole modern critique of > blackface has tended to turn it into the “representation” issue that > Silverman is writing about, which tends to minimize and trivialize what the > problem with blackface was. >
Jewface wasn't in the Time article. That article was about being sensitive to having Jewish women being excluded from stories about Jewish women. I have a CD called Jewface, which is a collection of recordings of songs made during the first decades of the previous century. The songs are from vaudeville and are ethnic caricatures of Jewish characters. The songs are written and performed by Jewish men. It's very far from minstrelsy and the degradation of blackface. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "TVorNotTV" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/tvornottv/CAJE-FiEAkzWu2d4uHLDvNzqnL5jZH5VoLJ30EWVRqRStBS9UWg%40mail.gmail.com.
