[78-L] Boston Public Library's 78 collection

[DKing]

Hi Donna,

At least the BBC would have banned it during the middle of the war
and not at the end, when the full horrors of Nazi atrocities were finally
revealed to the general public.

I suppose something similar could be said for recordings made in the
20th century that took a certain attitude towards women, that would
be considered unacceptable now.

- Dave King


> On Jun 13, 2020, at 7:49 AM, Donna Halper <dlh at donnahalper.com.invalid> wrote:
> 
> 
> On 6/13/2020 4:36 AM, DKing wrote:
>> Hello Donna,
>> 
>> [ in that Boston Public Library collection of 78s ]
>> 
>> Do you think the English-speaking Allies would have found Noel Coward’s
>> rendition of "Don't Let's Be Beastly to the Germans” (1943) very funny?.
> 

> I think a lot of what passed for humor back then has not aged well. I 
> also note that some of the comedians who did so-called "ethnic humor" 
> would be considered bigoted today.  But I don't see much analysis back 
> then of what certain lyrics meant, although one would hope that folks 
> realized Noel Coward was being satirical. Evidently, the BBC was not 
> amused, however, and banned the song.
> 
> 
> -- 
> Donna L. Halper, PhD
> Associate Professor of Communication & Media Studies
> Lesley University, Cambridge MA
> 
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