hello out there,
last night i have seen the movie spaceballs by mel brooks with a lot of friends of mine.
so may question ist, what is the meaning of "schwartz"?
On Saturday, January 28, 1995 at 6:53:00 PM UTC-5, Martin Herbst wrote:
hello out there,
last night i have seen the movie spaceballs by mel brooks with a lot of >>friends of mine.
so may question ist, what is the meaning of "schwartz"?
I just watched Spaceballs again since it's release, now in 2021. Let's
have another go-round after 26 years.
Mel Brooks' use of "schwartz" is clearly Yiddish, not German. What's
been noted above in this thread is all true. Schwartz means 'black' and >schwanz means 'dick' or 'cock'. So it is curious that Brooks' uses
schwartz as if he meant schwanz. Obviously schwartz rhymes with "force"
so maybe that's all there is to it. But I wonder if there's not a bit
of a racial joke in this too. It quite common for Brook's generation
(and certainly earlier generations) to refer to black people as "the >schwartze". (Please note, I'm not trying to perpetuate this, just to
say this was a thing.) Could it be Brooks was deliberately conflating >schwartz and schwanz and making some kind of black dick joke? What's
even more curious is that no one involved in the production, Brooks or
anyone else, seems to have discussed this in the press (or at least
nothing searchable on the internet). He would have had to explain this
to the cast, given it's such a recurring joke in the movie.
Thoughts?
Mel Brooks would make a dirty joke? I just can't believe it.
On Wednesday, February 24, 2021 at 12:21:51 PM UTC-5, Adam H. Kerman wrote:
Mel Brooks would make a dirty joke? I just can't believe it.
Your sarcasm is boring as well as beside the point.
Of course, Brooks makes dirty jokes. The invitation is to discuss what
kind of dirty joke it is here, and why it's odd enough (in Yiddish)
that we can still be discussing the humor of it. If you've got nothing
to contribute, probably better farmach dos moyl.
On Saturday, January 28, 1995 at 6:53:00 PM UTC-5, Martin Herbst wrote:schwartz rhymes with "force" so maybe that's all there is to it. But I wonder if there's not a bit of a racial joke in this too. It quite common for Brook's generation (and certainly earlier generations) to refer to black people as "the schwartze". (
hello out there,
last night i have seen the movie spaceballs by mel brooks with a lot of
friends of mine.
so may question ist, what is the meaning of "schwartz"?
I just watched Spaceballs again since it's release, now in 2021. Let's have another go-round after 26 years.
Mel Brooks' use of "schwartz" is clearly Yiddish, not German. What's been noted above in this thread is all true. Schwartz means 'black' and schwanz means 'dick' or 'cock'. So it is curious that Brooks' uses schwartz as if he meant schwanz. Obviously
Thoughts?
On Saturday, January 28, 1995 at 6:53:00 PM UTC-5, Martin Herbst wrote:
hello out there,
last night i have seen the movie spaceballs by mel brooks with a lot of friends of mine.
so may question ist, what is the meaning of "schwartz"?
I just watched Spaceballs again since it's release, now in 2021. Let's have another go-round after 26 years.
Mel Brooks' use of "schwartz" is clearly Yiddish, not German. What's been noted above in this thread is all true. Schwartz means 'black' and schwanz means 'dick' or 'cock'. So it is curious that Brooks' uses schwartz as if he meant schwanz. Obviously schwartz rhymes with "force" so maybe that's all there is to it. But I wonder if there's not a bit of a racial joke in this too. It quite common for Brook's generation (and certainly earlier generations) to refer to black people as "the schwartze". (Please note, I'm not trying to perpetuate this, just to say this was a thing.) Could it be Brooks was deliberately conflating schwartz and schwanz and making some kind of black dick joke? What's even more curious is that no one involved in the production, Brooks or anyone else, seems to have discussed this in the press (or at least nothing searchable on the internet). He would have had to explain this to the cast, given it's such a recurring joke in the movie.
Thoughts?
I thought it was clearly a play on the age-old stereotype that
schwartzes have big schwanzes.
BTW, even though I'm Jewish and heard occasional Yiddish from my parents
and grandparents, I didn't actually know what "schwartz" meant (other
than it being a common Jewish surname) until I heard Gabe Kaplan's
standup routine. The joke that sticks with me all these decades later is:
When I was growing up I thought "schwartz" meant "bomb", because
everyone said that one of them could destroy a neighborhood.
On Thursday, February 25, 2021 at 2:40:58 PM UTC-5, Barry Margolin wrote:
I thought it was clearly a play on the age-old stereotype that
schwartzes have big schwanzes.
BTW, even though I'm Jewish and heard occasional Yiddish from my parents >>and grandparents, I didn't actually know what "schwartz" meant (other
than it being a common Jewish surname) until I heard Gabe Kaplan's
standup routine. The joke that sticks with me all these decades later is:
When I was growing up I thought "schwartz" meant "bomb", because
everyone said that one of them could destroy a neighborhood.
Thanks... Our bubbies and zadies (and Mels) are some schanda, eh? Glad
to hear someone else made the same connection (schwartz>schwanz). But
again it's interesting that no one seems to be saying that quiet part
out loud (until now, and not in this thread). It's not just because its >racist, but because it's just that obscure and awkward even in Yiddish.
Still like to be a fly on the wall at the scene where Mel explains the
joke to the cast.
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