Antisemitism in Film Comedy in Nazi Germany (Encounters: Explorations in Folklore and Ethnomusicology)

Synopsis

How party propagandists worked behind the scenes to create unspoken racist messages in the German culture—even in the most lighthearted of movies. Today many Germans look back fondly on 1930s film comedies, viewing them as a part of the Nazi era that was not tainted with antisemitism. Here, Valerie Weinstein scrutinizes these comic productions and demonstrates that film comedy, despite its innocent appearance, was a critical component in the effort to separate &“Jews&” from &“Germans&” physically, economically, and artistically. Weinstein highlights how the German propaganda ministry used directives, pre- and post-production censorship, financial incentives, and influence over film critics and their judgments to replace Jewish &“wit&” with a slower, simpler, and more direct German &“humor&” that affirmed values that the Nazis associated with the Aryan race. Through contextualized analyses of historical documents and individual films, Weinstein reveals how humor, coded hints and traces, absences, and substitutes in Third Reich film comedy helped spectators imagine an abstract &“Jewishness&” and a &“German&” identity and community free from the former. As resurgent populist nationalism and overt racism continue to grow around the world today, Weinstein&’s study helps us rethink racism and prejudice in popular culture and reconceptualize the relationships between film, humor, national identity, and race.

Copyright:

2019

Book Details

Book Quality:

Publisher Quality

Book Size:

362 Pages

ISBN-13:

9780253040749

Related ISBNs:

9780253040718

Publisher:

Indiana University Press

Date of Addition:

01/11/25

Copyrighted By:

Valerie Weinstein

Adult content:

No

Language:

English

Has Image Descriptions:

No

Categories:

History, Nonfiction, Law, Legal Issues and Ethics, Communication, Politics and Government

Submitted By:

Bookshare Staff

Usage Restrictions:

This is a copyrighted book.