Ethnic humor is a complex issue ause racism and national op- } Pession make it difficult to accept } “Nything at face value. That which ) “Yokes laughter can often be racist, ) “Xist and/or anti-Semitic as hell; } ising the question of whether it is Teally funny. j) The Frisco Kid falls into this Category. It is an entertaining Movie, but it also has some pro- -blems, | _ The film relates the adventures of | *Young Polish rabbi (Gene Wilder) WhO comes to the U.S. in 1850 to @nascent Jewish community in ; van Francisco. His ship arrives in hiladelphia, but the discovery of 80ld in California has caused the ) oe ship to the West Coast hj fave ahead of schedule. Wilder S forced to find his way across the | ay thus setting the framework f) “tthe rest of the film. : Pethaps the most revealing se- ‘ Pence in the film involves Wilder’s Hcounter with Indians. In Europe, ¢ young rabbi had heard that In- ae Viciously hunted whites and i. Mmitted all sorts of atrocities. He 1 fearful of people he had never et. The stage is thus prepared for lider and his cowboy/bank rob- : t/guide (Harrison Ford) to be ‘ ie by screaming Indians in the 4 € of a typical Western movie. Or you would think. a | Ae One scene, Wilder asks Ford } iy Indians “*scalp’’ white people. oa responds by saying that white ther had oppressed them for so long he really couldn’t blame them 9r displaying hostility. _The fact that the Indians are 800d guys’? is a big plus for ‘‘The sco Kid. There are no screaming, i Wild-eyed “redskins’’ ambushing 4 "880n trains and raping white | omen, I aes friendship between the rabbi §)\“ilder) and the cowboy (Ford) is V7 Other positive aspect of the film. ( Bae Men from widely varying él ale 8rounds come together, strug- s), 'O8ether, and end up as friends. ; Bee Oy saves the rabbi’s life by "| the Ing to accompany him across ki pany. The rabbi is forced to i lite ee saving the cowboy’s tin a. f tabbi learns how to survive cowhe wilderness, and he has the eae to thank for those lessons. Off 6 Of the rabbi’s humanism rubs N the cowboy, and he is a bet- ‘et Detson for it. THE FRISCO KID. Starring Gene Wilder and Harrison Ford. Written by Michael Elias and Frank Shaw. Directed by Robert Aldrich. At the Capitol 6, Van- couver. It is the element of humanism that runs throughout the film that, in my estimation, overrides the negative effects of ethnic humor. It becomes necessary to weigh the positive and the negative, and draw conclusions based on which is the dominant trend. Wilder’s accent is the butt of numerous jokes throughout the film. Language dif- ferences and accented English have been the basis for special forms of oppression and discrimination. It could be said that Wilder’s displays of stereotyped Jewish mannerisms serve anti-Semitic ends. The rabbi’s refusal to ride a horse on the Sab- bath even though they are, being chased by a posse could be inter- preted as a ridicule of Judaism. However, the movie’s characteriza- tion of Jews as peace-loving, reverent people far outweighs the overemphasis on ‘‘Jewishness”’ that is the basis for the humor. There are scenes in which the ethnic humor works without being offensive. The rabbi hears the cowboy saying ‘‘oh shit,”’.and can’t. understand what it means. The cowboy asks the rabbi what Jews would say in a frustrating situation, and the rabbi responds ‘‘oi gevalt.”’ In the next scene, both the rabbi and the cowboy find themselves Age e ae s . GENE WILDER IN THE FRISCO through. © plunging over a cliff into the river below. The cowboy screams ‘“‘oi gevalt’”? and the rabbi yells ‘“‘oh shit.” : Although both films draw on ethnicity as the source for humor, there is a world of difference bet- ween The Frisco Kid and an earlier film, Blazing Saddles. The worst kind of racist stereotypes and caricatures were dredged up in “‘Saddles,’’ a Western about a Humanism overcomes ethnic humor . the humanism shines KID. . Black man who becomes sheriff of a small town. The Frisco Kid is an inspiring movie. I walked away from it feel- ing good. It appears that the pro- ducers had a point they were seek- ing to get across, while the pro- ducers of Blazing Saddles just threw everything together — no matter how crass, repulsive and racist — in order to get a laugh. —Ronald Tyson ‘The lives of working people were mirrored in her writing’ Working people in British Col- umbia, whose struggles were chronicled in Tough Timber and whose lives were mirrored in a slim volume of short stories, A Bough of Needles have lost a lifelong ad- vocate with the tragic death July 15 of Myrtle Bergren. She was killed in a car accident on the Island Highway near the Chase River turnoff, south of Nanaimo. Born in London, England, November 27, 1919, she came to this province as an infant when her __ THE COMPLETE /, TRAVEL SERVICE/, We will professionally look after all your travel needs. We specialize in tickets, tours, passports, permits and reservations. Call us today — for prompt personalized service. 2679 E. Hastings St., a@Ncouver, B.C. 5 <4 | SS GLOBE TOURS family moved to Rutland in the Okanagan. A long career as a writer took shape there as she began pro- ducing material for the Kelowna Courier. The list of papers in which her work appeared grew later to in- clude the Province, the Victoria Colonist and the Western Producer as well as the CBC. Myrtle joined the Royal Cana- dian Air Force during World War II, but it was her work in the district office of the International Wood- workers of America and her mar- riage in July, 1946 to IWA organization director Hjalmar Bergren that begun the association with the woodworkers’ union which was later reflected in her book Tough Timber. Begun in 1958, the book was published in 1966 and told the epic story of the struggles to organize the wood industry, culminating in the establishment of the CIO- affiliated International Wood- workers of America. But Myrtle did more than chronicle a_ union history; she also looked to the future, beyond cold war policies which had forced her own husband, as well as other Communists, out of the union. Now into its third edition, Tough Timber has won considerable ac- claim from critics. A volume of Mpyrtle’s short stories, A Bough of Needles, was brought out by Progress Books in 1964. In the foreword, noted writer Margaret Fairley said, ‘‘These stories are concerned with people of flesh and blood. The author is able, is a few pages,_to let us into the ex- perience not only of a gallery of in- dividuals, but also of a whole com- munity.”’ At the time of her death, she was ~ working on a history of mining and the miners’ union on Vancouver Island, under the auspices of Malaspina College. She had been conducting interviews and compil- ing research for some two years, work which the college hopes to complete.- A memorial service was held in Nanaimo July 19 at the Cedar Valley Memorial Chapel. Port Alberni alderman George McKnight, an IWA member and long time friend, paid tribute along with May Brown who had worked with Myrtle in the writers’ group. In a letter signed by provincial - leader Maurice Rush, the provincial executive of the Communist Party sent condolences to Hjalmar, noting that Myrtle’s untimely death “will be a loss to working class history and to the labor movement.’’ Victoria CPC Annual Picnic Sunday, Aug. 19 — 1-7 p.m. at the Knotthole — 4810 Sooke Rd. Delicious food and refreshments — at reasonable prices! Spend a weekend in beautiful Victoria. Bring tent or camper — stay at the Knott's. “PACIFIC TRIBUNE— AUGUST 3, 1979—Page 7 CLASSIFIED ADVERTISING COMING EVENTS AUG. 5 — Surrey YCL’s first annual badminton tournament. Mixed doubles only, entry fee $2 per team. Barbecue (bring your own meat) refreshments, lots of fun, at Gidora’s, 12715-66th Ave., Surrey (take Pattullo Bridge and Scott Rd. exit, left on 66th Ave.) AUGUST 12 — COPE Garden _Party at Rankin’s Place, 3570 Hull St. From 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. Food, games, entertainment, re- freshments. Admission $5; old age pensioners, students $3.50; small children free. In case of rain, at Russian People’s Home, 600 Campbell Ave. AUGUST 12 — Keep t his after- noon free for the East Fraser Valley regional picnic, Sampo Hall. AUG. 19 — from 12 noon — swim- ming party and chicken barbecue, at Legebokoff’s, 3310 Cardinal Drive, Bby., rain or shine. Celebrate the first an- niversary of the World Festival of Youth and Students held in Havana, Cuba in 1978. Adm. $4, unempl. and seniors, $3. For in- fo. ph. 874-4806, 254-9797. AUG. 19 — from 1 p.m. — Annual picnic at Bianco’s, 10246 — 132nd St. Surrey. Entertainment, speaker, children’s sports, horseshoe tour- nament, mushroom burgers, homemade pies, hot dogs and more. Free admission, everyone welcome. Auspices: South Fraser region, CPC. AUG. 25, 26 — YCL Children’s Camp, Websters Corners. For ages 6-13. Activities include biology trip, look at children around the world, arts and crafts, singalong. For more © info. Ph. Kim Zander 585-9935. SEPT. 3 — Labor Day Salmon Bake with entertainment, speaker, games, refreshments. Outdoors at the Ukrainian Hall, 805 East Pender, Vancouver. Sponsored by the Greater Vancouver Regional Com- mittee, Communist Party. LEGALS PROVINCE OF BRITISH COLUMBIA CHANGE OF NAME ACT (Section 6) Notice of Application for Change of Name NOTICE is hereby given that an ap- plication will be made to the Direc- tor of Vital Statistics for a change of name, pursuant to the Change of Name Act, by me, Varasiko Joji, of 1595 East 33rd Avenue, in the city of Vancouver, province of British Columbia, as follows: To change my name from Varasiko Joji to George Joseph Tom. Dated this 26th day of July, 1979. Varasiko Joji BUSINESS PERSONALS ROOF REPAIRS Reasonable. New roofs and alum. gutters, 277-1364 or 277-3352. TRADE unionist seeks research, writing w or k. Phone Ron Sos- tad — 980-5157. HALLS FOR RENT RUSSIAN PEOPLE'S HOME Available for rentals. For reserv- ations phone 254-3430. WEBSTER’S CORNERS HALL — Available for banquets, meet- ings, etc. For rates: Ozzie, 325-4171. or 685-5836. UKRAINIAN CANADIAN CUL TURAL CENTRE — 805*€ast Pender St., Vancouver. Available for banquets, wed- dings, meetings. Ph. 254-3436.