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** Upper class people don't generally come up with the longer end of the stick either. But then again, few people get treated well by the characters the Marxes play. |
** Upper class people don't generally come up with the longer end of the stick either. But then again, few people get treated well by the characters the Marxes play. |
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*** Of course, a lot of that comes from the Depression Era roots of the act; [[The Three Stooges]] and other comedy troupes of the time did the same. |
*** Of course, a lot of that comes from the Depression Era roots of the act; [[The Three Stooges]] and other comedy troupes of the time did the same. |
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* [[Once |
* [[Once-Acceptable Targets]]: "Then the Headstrongs married the Armstrongs, and that's how Darkies were born" -- Groucho in ''[[Duck Soup]]''. Also, Chico's portrayal of an Italian immigrant, Harpo's original "Irish bruiser" character from his vaudeville days, etc. Hey, it was the '30s! |
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** The "that's how Darkies were born" thing was actually a pop-culture reference: it was a play on an incredibly racist song that was popular at the time, "That's Why Darkies Were Born": the lyrics of which basically said "''someone'' had to be slaves and have crappy lives -- so it's ''you''" It could be read that Groucho-- himself a Jew, and probably quite familiar with racism-- was ridiculing the warped logic of the song. |
** The "that's how Darkies were born" thing was actually a pop-culture reference: it was a play on an incredibly racist song that was popular at the time, "That's Why Darkies Were Born": the lyrics of which basically said "''someone'' had to be slaves and have crappy lives -- so it's ''you''" It could be read that Groucho-- himself a Jew, and probably quite familiar with racism-- was ridiculing the warped logic of the song. |
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** Of course then there's the scene in ''The Big Store'' where they have black actors literally picking their cotton in-store... |
** Of course then there's the scene in ''The Big Store'' where they have black actors literally picking their cotton in-store... |
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Revision as of 18:15, 26 January 2014
- Acceptable Targets: A little person is mocked and threatened in At The Circus. It works because it makes Groucho seem cowardly and weak instead of cruel.
- Upper class people don't generally come up with the longer end of the stick either. But then again, few people get treated well by the characters the Marxes play.
- Of course, a lot of that comes from the Depression Era roots of the act; The Three Stooges and other comedy troupes of the time did the same.
- Upper class people don't generally come up with the longer end of the stick either. But then again, few people get treated well by the characters the Marxes play.
- Once-Acceptable Targets: "Then the Headstrongs married the Armstrongs, and that's how Darkies were born" -- Groucho in Duck Soup. Also, Chico's portrayal of an Italian immigrant, Harpo's original "Irish bruiser" character from his vaudeville days, etc. Hey, it was the '30s!
- The "that's how Darkies were born" thing was actually a pop-culture reference: it was a play on an incredibly racist song that was popular at the time, "That's Why Darkies Were Born": the lyrics of which basically said "someone had to be slaves and have crappy lives -- so it's you" It could be read that Groucho-- himself a Jew, and probably quite familiar with racism-- was ridiculing the warped logic of the song.
- Of course then there's the scene in The Big Store where they have black actors literally picking their cotton in-store...