this post was submitted on 02 Aug 2024
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Today I Learned
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I don't feel like Fagin is explicitly Jewish in that version. I only found out it was originally "Fagin the Jew" later in life. He's kind of a loveable rogue with a London accent.
Edit: wrong version of the film, on second thoughts I think he might definitely be definitely supposed to be definitely Jewish in the Alec Guinness version.
I really don't think that makes it much better.
Imagine if the original written version A Christmas Carol had a big, stupid, lazy black character that was also needlessly aggressive. And then they made a movie, but instead of "Big Black Buck" or whatever Dickens decided to name him, he was changed to "Buck" and was played by a white guy? I doubt people would say that was a story worth making a movie about at all if you're going to have to erase the racism to make it work for a modern audience.
Well that would be Huckleberry Finn wouldn't it, I'm not sure if there's a film. Don't get me started on The "Merchant" of Venice, either.
Apparently played by Serge Nubret in one version. That's incredibly funny to me.
Absolutely not Huckleberry Finn. Jim has a terrible nickname, but the whole point is that Huck and Jim become the closest of friends and companions despite Jim being black. It is an *anti-*racist book.
Here's Twain with his long-time friend John T. Lewis. He said of him, "I have not known an honester man nor a more respect-worthy one." Lewis apparently inspired Jim in the novel.
Twain (or more properly Clemens) and Lewis grew up together going to the same church in Maryland, which had slaves but also a large free black population, and that church was an abolitionist church and had been since the late 18th century.
https://marktwainstudies.com/john-t-lewis-mark-twain-a-friendship/
But yes, definitely The Merchant of Venice. People think the "hath not a Jew eyes" speech makes up for the rest of the play. Gee, thanks for recognizing Jews as not some sort of other species from you. Very generous, Shakespeare.
I know, I know. I'm being facetious.
Sorry, I didn't realize that. Anyway, I hope this might have helped someone else who hasn't read Huckleberry Finn and only knows about Jim's racist nickname.