Ah, what a Great place Britain once used to be. You could create a sit-com about a pair of Catholic and Jewish tailors, sending-up in a light-hearted and uncritical way, all of their bizarre religious nuances. And - correct me if I'm wrong - the parts were played by Catholic and Jewish actors, so there really was no conflict of ethnic interests.
The initial show featured the Jewish Partner advertising unsuccessfully for a fellow Jew, but finding that his only respondent was Catholic. Of course the Catholic pretended to be Jewish in order to get the job. By the time his deceit was exposed, he had proved his worth in work.
Today; this programme couldn't be made. Why? because a small but obnoxiously-virulent band of self-righteous bigots with no sense of humour whatsoever, mean to suppress any kind of inter-ethnic lampooning, however good natured it may be. You can be sure that if this show were given contemporary screening, both Catholics and Jews would be perfectly happy with the way their Thespian alter-egos each represented their respective beliefs. Yet a storm of politically-correct fury would arise from these others, steadfastly insisting that they understood Jewish and Catholic feelings better than the ethnic groups themselves, and presuming to represent their best interests without the least consultation.
I once rebuked some simpleton on IMDb who complained that the songs in 'Oliver' were 'anti-Semitic'. Yes; that's the same 'Oliver' written by Jewish Lionel Bart, performed by Jewish Ron Moody, playing a good-natured Jewish Fagin! As I live and breath; these people hatch out of eggs.
You'll only see this series on old videos now, I suspect. But if you get the chance, give them a go. Catholicism and Judaism haven't changed much since the 1960's, and neither have the jokes - when the bigots are not listening.
The initial show featured the Jewish Partner advertising unsuccessfully for a fellow Jew, but finding that his only respondent was Catholic. Of course the Catholic pretended to be Jewish in order to get the job. By the time his deceit was exposed, he had proved his worth in work.
Today; this programme couldn't be made. Why? because a small but obnoxiously-virulent band of self-righteous bigots with no sense of humour whatsoever, mean to suppress any kind of inter-ethnic lampooning, however good natured it may be. You can be sure that if this show were given contemporary screening, both Catholics and Jews would be perfectly happy with the way their Thespian alter-egos each represented their respective beliefs. Yet a storm of politically-correct fury would arise from these others, steadfastly insisting that they understood Jewish and Catholic feelings better than the ethnic groups themselves, and presuming to represent their best interests without the least consultation.
I once rebuked some simpleton on IMDb who complained that the songs in 'Oliver' were 'anti-Semitic'. Yes; that's the same 'Oliver' written by Jewish Lionel Bart, performed by Jewish Ron Moody, playing a good-natured Jewish Fagin! As I live and breath; these people hatch out of eggs.
You'll only see this series on old videos now, I suspect. But if you get the chance, give them a go. Catholicism and Judaism haven't changed much since the 1960's, and neither have the jokes - when the bigots are not listening.