by Guest Blogger Virginia Camille
It is important to see things in context. Below is a clip from 1965 where Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin and Sammy Davis Jr are performing live. It is interesting to be able to observe the differences in context between today and 1965. If you notice there are two different bands; one is marked "CB" and the other has no identifier. As you can imagine the "CB" stands for colored band and they only perform when Sammy Davis Jr is performing or when the whole group is performing a work written by Sammy Davis Jr. It is also interesting to listen to the jokes and quips all three of them come up with while on stage. Frank, Dean and Sammy all make racial jokes and use language that are relevant to the time but oppressive no matter how you look at it.
This clip is just a portion of the performance they gave. Earlier in the performance they each come on stage individually and give their own performances which is also very interesting in the context of this class. But the interaction here sums up the time quite well. If you have time view it and see how much of it you pick up on; some is pretty blatant and some you really have to pay attention.
http://youtu.be/rUtjUy3UgMA
Some of the jokes were racist and stereotypical, but at least no one particular group was singled out. It appears the jokes were geared more toward each one in the group, however, I agree the jokes are inappropriate.
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