Hesh and Black Women

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I see it as just another distinguishing trait of one of the characters on the show, like Silvio's hair and suit, Tony's cigars, Ralphie's hair piece. Some of the posters here have made it seem a bit like the point was being hammered home by Chase but I don't see how three mentions over the course of a 5 season TV show is Chase wanting to make it known. I think it is a great stretch to see a hint of racism or 'slave owner-slave girl' fantasy being played out by Hesh in his preference in female companionship, as some other posters have stated in this thread.

Black women and Jewish men intermarriage and love relationships in the 1940s and 1950s is well documented, especially in the entertainment industry, despite the racial segregation that was going on in the country. Lena Horne (married Sidney Lumet), Leslie Uggams, and Pearl Bailey all had Jewish husbands. If memory serves me correctly Dorothy Dandridge and Billie Holliday also had affairs (or marriages, I can't recall) to Jewish men.



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on the question of the show's portrayal of race relations...

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I think you have all brought up some valuable insights and observations about this whole subject of the representation of race relatioins and ethnicity in the show. As the subject has been brought up I wondered what some fans' opinions are/were about the representation of Meadow's prior relationship with her University boyfriend Noah who was African American and Jewish. Also, what do fans make of Tony's reaction to that scenario. Kind of a new topic - not exactly on Hesh and his 'women' but maybe there are some relevant connections there.

</p>Edited by: <A HREF=http://pub132.ezboard.com/bsopranolandf ... Madonna</A> at: 4/21/04 8:39 am

hesh

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nyla,

it's an interesting point. We saw Hesh do a 180 and get very defensive in Pie O My's stable when his Cuban friend tried to compare Native American treatment in the US to the holocaust.

The thing is, these are gangsters--even the likable ones--so we can't rely on any of them to be moral compasses or to "stand" for anything other than their own best interests. It's "the life". Add on to "the life" their own preferences, fetishes, whatever, and it makes for some interesting tv and discussions (to say the least)

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Hesh and racism

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I agree that Hesh is most definately not racist.

If you watch A Hit is a Hit more closely, there's a scene where he looks fondly at a picture of him and the singer kid back in the 50's. He feels somewhat guilty about cheating the kid's mother out of the money (though not enough to actually pay them anything).

If he had any negative comments about blacks towards Massive, I think it had more to do with him feeling guilty and being defensive, rather than being racist.

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