I actually gave this some serious thought earlier today.
And truthfully I was inspired by a post I read over yonder at
P.R.O.B.L.E.M.S.
We were talking about optimism.
Well Sharon was but it got me to thinking.
(Scary, yeah.)
Anyhow, I had this post develop in my head. A post about good and bad. A post about optimism and pessimism. A post about Human Decency.
Then I promised me: I Promised me I would not post it because it might sound too preachy, but when we fall away from stating the obvious, because “it has been said too many times before,” well then we forget. And dammit! Some of us need reminding from time to time.
So, here it is:
I have spoken on ‘racism’ before.
No Preacher: me.
Just a schmuck.
But I love this movie.
Here are some links, if ya wanna read some scholarly shit:
Race:
Part of the reason why South Pacific is considered a classic is its confrontation of racism. According to professor Philip Beidler, “Rodgers and Hammerstein’s attempt to use the Broadway theater to make a courageous statement against racial bigotry in general and institutional racism in the postwar United States in particular” forms part of South Pacific ‘s legend.[123] AlthoughTales of the South Pacific treats the question of racism, it does not give it the central place that it takes in the musical. Andrea Most, writing on the “politics of race” in South Pacific, suggests that in the late 1940s, American liberals, such as Rodgers and Hammerstein, turned to the fight for racial equality as a practical means of advancing their progressive views without risking being deemed communists.[124] Trevor Nunn, director of the 2001 West End production, notes the importance of the fact that Nellie, a southerner, ends the play about to be the mother in an interracial family: “It’s being performed in America in 1949. That’s the resonance.”[125]
–From Wiki.
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Now, did Y’all catch all that above yonder?
You do not need to be (insert current equality apologist talking head here), to understand the message:
“Racism is Bad.”
Of course it is.
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Personally, I just go with my gut:
I don’t need to read scholarly shit to know right from wrong.
I do love this film. This film spoke against racism before any other did.
Always have loved this film, not only for that but for…well: There ain’t nothing like a dame if we are talking Mitzi Gaynor.
And Hey! I was a sailor!
I certainly can relate.
The most pertinent song is “You’ve Got to Be Carefully Taught”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/You%27ve_Got_to_Be_Carefully_Taught
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If you take nothing from this but that well, then that is good.
Cheers Y’all,
Lance, The Sailor
(West Coast Sailor–For those who know–well ya know, that is an important distinction)
Go Navy!
Beat Army!