[JemimaKitty]

Hi everyone!

Don't even know if any of the old fans still post on here. Haven't been to the forum in probably five or so years. I miss CATS fandom soooo much!!

I was wondering if anyone could help me -- I need to write a paper for class about a musical + politics and I know CATS isn't an obvious choice to address politics, but nevertheless, I want to take on the challenge! Does anyone have any ideas? Since T.S. Eliot's book was published the same year that WW2 started, do you think Macavity might represent some crazy historical figures? I know it's a stretch but I realllllly want an excuse to write 15 pages about the best musical everrrrr.

Hope everyone is welllll!!!

[Moongewl]

Sorry, I think that's beyond stretching. Macavity is pretty obviously based on Moriarty, an enemy of Sherlock Holmes.
If you really want to use Cats, the only thing I can think of is to compare what was considered offensive then and then and now. For instance, " Then Gilbert gave the signal to his fierce Mongolian horde/With a frightful burst of fireworks the Chinks they swarmed aboard/Abandoning their sampans, and their pullaways and junks..." would probably be considered very non-PC by today's standards, as would calling the Pekes "heathen Chinese." That'd still be hard to stretch into 15 pages, even if you managed to fill a few with discussions of Eliot's obvious patriotism.
I'd really recommend doing another musical...there are a lot that are historical(meaning you could simply discuss how the politics of the time influenced the storyline), and it would be a lot easier to write 15 pages about the politics of Evita(which would be a really obvious-but-easy choice) or Cabaret or some other musical than it would be write about a show with no real political connections.

[JemimaKitty]

Yeah, I do feel like I'm creating an argument out of nothing but my professor is really encouraging me to tackle this (I think just to see what I can do with it). I was thinking about talking the whole Growltiger's Last Stand/Genghis part with the derogatory words but I don't really feel like there's enough substance there. I wanted to talk about sexuality in the show (Victoria, Rum Tum Tugger, and "Macavity") but then too, it's a show about cats and a lot of the song/dance numbers aren't really meant to shock us.

Cabaret & Evita would be really fun. I'm also thinking about My Fair Lady. We'll see.

Thanks for your help!!

[Rumblepurr]

The thing I have noticed, having lived prior to "Racial Awareness", is that I have seen many of the changes due to Political Correctness... Some of the most obvious non-PC points are made in some of the cartoons created in the 1930s, 40s, and 50s. Tom & Jerry, Bugs Bunny and Merry Melodies/Looney Toons, etc. all had ethnic jokes, stereotyping, and sight gags. When the PC era was applied, all of these cartoons disappeared or were severely edited. The same can be said of comedic plays of the same era...

TS Eliot lived and wrote during this time period. Thus, "Chinks" and "Heathen Chinese" were perfectly normal to TS Eliot and everyone who lived during that era. Part of this particular reference might be due to the Boxer Rebellion of 1901 - something that had to become part of Eliot's knowledge. The Boxer Rebellion brought the Chinese culture into the world spotlight, and many Europeans of the time considered the Chinese as backward and beneath their contempt... Thus, the invading "Chinks" swarming aboard was much like the events of the Boxers.

I agree with Moongewl on Macavity - he was the character based on Sherlock Holmes' mortal enemy, Professor Moriarty. See Sir Arthur Doyle's "The Final Problem" - Holmes refers to Moriarty - "He is the Napoleon of Crime..." A few paragraphs later, you can read the "lyrics" in the Macavity poem and the song that Bombalurina sings. "He is extreme tall and thin, his forehead domes out in a whie curve, and his two eyes are deeply sunken in..." As much as some of would like him to be either Stalin or Hitler, Maccie is definitely a Sherlock Holmes villain...

Respectfully,
Rumblepurr
The Writer Cat.

[tinasattler]

yes of corse i rember you