Let's see 'The black and white minstrels' and Love Thy Neighbour' again.

[dave50]

Let people see these shows and others from the seventies and let them make their own mind up instead of all this censorship.

[emmie]

I didn't care for them then, and doubt would change my mind now

[Ratty2E]

No, the black and white minstrels was rubbish! I would like to see love thy neighbour again. I love Rudolph Walker he's hardly changed just a little greyer round the edges. I do think it would be shocking to a younger generation to know that plenty of people really did have those attitudes. Thankfully most intelligent people now would'nt dream of behaving in that way just because another human being happens to have skin of different colour.

[masma]

My son has a boxed set of Love Thy Neighbours and we still laugh at it. In my opinion both neighbours were as bad as each other regarding racism.

[masma]

If people of different races laughed with each other more then maybe the world would be a better place.

[emmie]

Jolson wasn't according to the numerous books i have read about him, he loved the music from the deep south, and particularly Jazz from New Orleans, this was a nice Jewish boy who's father was a Cantor, so that must have been difficult for them in a way. I loved his music and still do, thats my grans doing.

[Zeuhl]

The George Mitchell Black and White Minstrel Show appealed to a particular age group because of the 'playlist' but the arrangements were pretty mediocre and though the three or four featured singers were ok it always sounded bland because the production method required them and the dancers to mime to their own backing tracks and a recorded never-seen choir.

When the show was produced without the black-face make up it was a flop so its musical qualities alone weren't sufficient.

With no disrespect to the artists involved (particularly Jolson) the conventions of blacking up and adopting caricature mannerisms e.g. rolling the eyes is inherently racist as it purports to represent a particular race but in a derogatory and patronising manner.

We Brits are happy to laugh at ourselves e.g. Basil Fawlty, Rab C Nesbittand The Wurzels - but I think we would soon tire of it if another country had a long running musical entertainment show called The British Minstrels in which all the singers and dancers were always presented as exactly those stereotypes.
.

[emmie]

as i said, i don't believe he saw it that way, and he didn't always black up, if you see him on film, mostly he wasn't.

[Zeuhl]

Agree about Jolson but in fairness it must be acknowledged he did go along with the racist caricature and it was part of his success.

I'm sure he had black friends and colleagues in the business. Would love to know how he squared it with them.

[emmie]

From the books i have read, and any number of documentaries i've watched, was that he had many black friends, they hung out together in clubs, played music together and didn't see it as being racist, perhaps as we see it now, as a caricature. He did black up, but most i what i have seen he wasn't We view it differently now as not right. Black people played in minstrel shows on the riverboats, and in vaudeville, so Jolson would have seen that, and copied what he saw, emulating their style, musicality and energy

[notasyoungasiwas]

Good grief look what you started Dave ...... !

Talking about racism - what about those awards they have every year for black entertainers only, Mobo awards? Surely, if there was one for white entertainers only, there would be a hue and cry?! Racism seems to only work one way in my opinion.