united we may stand...but divided, we're funnier
while we should, by all accounts, find ourselves inching towards a social utopia in which we all live in racial and cultural harmony, we need to look no further than the broadway stage to find out why ethnic, religious, and racial stereotypes are still so prevalent in modern society--they're funny.
700 sundays, jewtopia; my mother's italian, my father's jewish, & i'm in therapy; 25 questions for a jewish mother, bridge & tunnel, a jew grows in brooklyn, and plantanos & collard greens are all recent or current theatrical productions bowing on the new york stage. so, why the proliferation of such tired material (the basis of any mediocre sitcom joke) when, by all accounts, we're supposed to be preaching a message of cultural acceptance, not division? of all entertainment mediums, shouldn't the theatre be most proactive in producing something a little more progressive?
it can be argued, of course, that when it comes to entertainment, political correctness takes a back seat. a jewish person is entitled to make light of jewish stereotypes, in the same manner an african-american can make light of african-american stereotypes. of course, "they" are the only ones who are allowed to do so. and, does that really make it okay? on one hand, we have mel gibson, michael richards, and isaiah washington in rehab for their much maligned ethnic, racial and homophobic slurs, and on the other hand, we're selling tickets for comedic versions of the same thing and buying ludacris records that celebrate the "n-word." things that make you go hmm.
and onwards goes the debate between freedom of speech, political correctness, artistic license, and social responsibility. what a motley crew of strange bedfellows, and sadly, they will continue to co-exist with no foreseeable solution. ban the "bad words" and take away our right to free speech. censor the material, and away with artistic license. stifle the artists, and we're left with one bore of a society. maybe this is where education (and common sense) come into play. if we, as a society, can learn to distinguish between what is entertainment and what is plain wrong, than maybe we will be one step closer to that social utopia. and just like the psa that this essay is--it begins with me, and it begins with you.
700 sundays, jewtopia; my mother's italian, my father's jewish, & i'm in therapy; 25 questions for a jewish mother, bridge & tunnel, a jew grows in brooklyn, and plantanos & collard greens are all recent or current theatrical productions bowing on the new york stage. so, why the proliferation of such tired material (the basis of any mediocre sitcom joke) when, by all accounts, we're supposed to be preaching a message of cultural acceptance, not division? of all entertainment mediums, shouldn't the theatre be most proactive in producing something a little more progressive?
it can be argued, of course, that when it comes to entertainment, political correctness takes a back seat. a jewish person is entitled to make light of jewish stereotypes, in the same manner an african-american can make light of african-american stereotypes. of course, "they" are the only ones who are allowed to do so. and, does that really make it okay? on one hand, we have mel gibson, michael richards, and isaiah washington in rehab for their much maligned ethnic, racial and homophobic slurs, and on the other hand, we're selling tickets for comedic versions of the same thing and buying ludacris records that celebrate the "n-word." things that make you go hmm.
and onwards goes the debate between freedom of speech, political correctness, artistic license, and social responsibility. what a motley crew of strange bedfellows, and sadly, they will continue to co-exist with no foreseeable solution. ban the "bad words" and take away our right to free speech. censor the material, and away with artistic license. stifle the artists, and we're left with one bore of a society. maybe this is where education (and common sense) come into play. if we, as a society, can learn to distinguish between what is entertainment and what is plain wrong, than maybe we will be one step closer to that social utopia. and just like the psa that this essay is--it begins with me, and it begins with you.
posted by mark at 4:08 PM
1 Comments:
i see this issue in several layers:
primarily, the notion of culture and how individuals choose to express their culture (religious, ethnic, geographic commonalities) versus the mainstream "culture" of america. it's quite a difficult prospect to identify with a group in such a milieu. which might be a reason that there is a seeming proliferation in theatre productions that seem to run along these common lines. additionally, the fact that nyc has and continues to be the true "melting pot" in every sense (even if socio-economically it continues to drive a wedge between those who can afford to live in nyc) there are plenty of diverse people flowing through this great city to provide an audience to such niche cultural identities.
next, it seems that yes, should there be a joke that is self deprecating or making light of a particular shared experience or hardship, then it stands to reason that this particular group would have "rights" to the shared experience or word. of course, for "outsiders" speaking of this instance isn't banned, but i would think a sensible line would be to talk about this matter in an objective way. not to make light of something that one cannot directly relate to, nor disparage a shared experience of a people that have in a way been a minority. yet, when those cultural minorities conversely are "selling" their common experiences for the masses and not solely their cultural brethren, it invites and perpetuates ignorant and possibly incomplete renderings of this experience.
finally, a more hard line can be drawn when, even though there is the right to free speech, one's words are disparaging, hurtful, malicious, violent or hateful. There is no place for public hate. And I would surmise that if one were just plainly ignorant of a situation, one would not be violent in his/ her questionings or words, but merely objective.
and certainly, "Peace begins with you."
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