John Safran's Race Relations
Encyclopedia
John Safran's Race Relations is an Australia
n comedy
documentary
television
series by John Safran
broadcast on ABC1
in 2009. The eight-part series is about cross-cultural, interracial and interfaith love. His globetrotting takes him to Israel, Palestine, the Philippines, Togo, Japan, Thailand, UK, Netherlands and the United States.
where his Palestinian
boom mic operator made a donation to a sperm bank, then to the West Bank
where a donation to a clinic was made by John, in an attempt to make half Jewish half Palestinian children - a "Jalestinian"
Noting that he has dated three Eurasian
women, Safran conducts an experiment by stealing and smelling the underwear of five Jewish and five Eurasian women (including Nicole Scherzinger
of the Pussycat Dolls
and actress Dichen Lachman
) to see which he "prefers".
, Safran travels the streets of Chicago after undergoing makeup that makes him appear black. He interviews some militants, preaches at a predominately black church and confronts people for using the word "nigger".
tells Safran that his hatred of Jews was quashed after watching Fiddler on the Roof
300 times, Safran heads to Palestine
, where he attempts to "de-brainwash" representatives of Fatah
and Hamas
by performing "If I Were a Rich Man
" for them. Satisfied with their positive response, Safran performs the song on a Palestinian Broadcasting Corporation
talk show.
Safran attempts to rid himself of Jewish guilt about inter-racial relationships by flying a shiksa
(non-Jewish woman) to Amsterdam
, where he asks her to make out with him in Anne Frank's attic
. He then travels to America, where Wayne Griffiths of NORM (the National Organization for Restoring Men) helps him to reverse his circumcision
.
for a voodoo death
, and later confronts his ex girlfriend he remains obsessed with.
disguise to try to discover whether he is attractive to Asian women, confronts his father about being a self-hating Jew, and takes matters into his own hands in a showdown with Holocaust-denier David Irving
.
ritual in order to ask her if she wishes for him to marry a Jewish girl. Unsatisfied with the response, he travels to Japan to take advantage of a service that allows patrons to hire people to be their relatives. He pours out his feelings to his "mother" who tells him that she believes real love and a connection are more important than race or religion.
as a religion replacement, and goes on a date as a Thai
lady boy to help get over his Eurasian
ex-girlfriend.
(and relation of Osama Bin Laden
) woman pretending to be Jewish and make a break from past and enter the world of post-race by subjecting himself to devotional crucifixion in the Philippines
.
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n comedy
Comedy
Comedy , as a popular meaning, is any humorous discourse or work generally intended to amuse by creating laughter, especially in television, film, and stand-up comedy. This must be carefully distinguished from its academic definition, namely the comic theatre, whose Western origins are found in...
documentary
Documentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
series by John Safran
John Safran
John Safran is an Australian documentary maker and radio broadcaster, known for combining humour with explorations into religion and other issues...
broadcast on ABC1
ABC1
ABC1 was a United Kingdom based television channel from Disney using the branding of the Disney owned American network, ABC.The channel initially launched exclusively on the British digital terrestrial television platform Freeview on 27 September 2004. On 10 December 2004 it was launched on...
in 2009. The eight-part series is about cross-cultural, interracial and interfaith love. His globetrotting takes him to Israel, Palestine, the Philippines, Togo, Japan, Thailand, UK, Netherlands and the United States.
Episode 1
Episode 1 saw Safran travelling to IsraelIsrael
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
where his Palestinian
Palestinian people
The Palestinian people, also referred to as Palestinians or Palestinian Arabs , are an Arabic-speaking people with origins in Palestine. Despite various wars and exoduses, roughly one third of the world's Palestinian population continues to reside in the area encompassing the West Bank, the Gaza...
boom mic operator made a donation to a sperm bank, then to the West Bank
West Bank
The West Bank ) of the Jordan River is the landlocked geographical eastern part of the Palestinian territories located in Western Asia. To the west, north, and south, the West Bank shares borders with the state of Israel. To the east, across the Jordan River, lies the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan...
where a donation to a clinic was made by John, in an attempt to make half Jewish half Palestinian children - a "Jalestinian"
Noting that he has dated three Eurasian
Eurasian (mixed ancestry)
The word Eurasian refers to people of mixed Asian and European ancestry. It was originally coined in 19th-century British India to refer to Anglo-Indians of mixed British and Indian descent....
women, Safran conducts an experiment by stealing and smelling the underwear of five Jewish and five Eurasian women (including Nicole Scherzinger
Nicole Scherzinger
Nicole Prescovia Elikolani Valiente Scherzinger is an American singer-songwriter, dancer, record producer, model, and actress. Scherzinger is perhaps best known for being the lead vocalist of the Pussycat Dolls....
of the Pussycat Dolls
Pussycat Dolls
The Pussycat Dolls are an American pop girl group and dance ensemble based in Los Angeles; currently consisting of Lauren Bennett, Vanessa Curry, Kristal "Lyndriette" Smith, Tiffany "Taz" Zavala, Kia Hampton and Paula Van Oppen. The Pussycat Dolls were founded by choreographer Robin Antin in 1995...
and actress Dichen Lachman
Dichen Lachman
Dichen Lachman is an Australian actress. She is best known for appearing in the soap opera Neighbours as Katya Kinski and Joss Whedon's science fiction drama television series Dollhouse as Sierra...
) to see which he "prefers".
Episode 2
Inspired by the 1961 book Black Like MeBlack Like Me
Black Like Me is a non-fiction book by journalist John Howard Griffin first published in 1961. Griffin was a white native of Mansfield, Texas and the book describes his six-week experience travelling on Greyhound buses throughout the racially segregated states of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama...
, Safran travels the streets of Chicago after undergoing makeup that makes him appear black. He interviews some militants, preaches at a predominately black church and confronts people for using the word "nigger".
Episode 3
After former Muslim terrorist Walid ShoebatWalid Shoebat
Walid Shoebat is a Palestinian immigrant to the United States and campaigner for Christianity and Israel, against Islam. He was born to a Jordanian father and Caucasian American mother, and claims to have been a former PLO militant, although neither the PLO nor the Israeli government have any...
tells Safran that his hatred of Jews was quashed after watching Fiddler on the Roof
Fiddler on the Roof (film)
Fiddler on the Roof is the 1971 film adaptation of the 1964 Broadway musical of the same name, with music composed by Jerry Bock, lyrics by Sheldon Harnick, and book by Joseph Stein, set in Tsarist Russia in 1905, about Tevye and his Daughters. It was directed by Norman Jewison. The film won three...
300 times, Safran heads to Palestine
Palestine
Palestine is a conventional name, among others, used to describe the geographic region between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River, and various adjoining lands....
, where he attempts to "de-brainwash" representatives of Fatah
Fatah
Fataḥ is a major Palestinian political party and the largest faction of the Palestine Liberation Organization , a multi-party confederation. In Palestinian politics it is on the left-wing of the spectrum; it is mainly nationalist, although not predominantly socialist. Its official goals are found...
and Hamas
Hamas
Hamas is the Palestinian Sunni Islamic or Islamist political party that governs the Gaza Strip. Hamas also has a military wing, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades...
by performing "If I Were a Rich Man
If I Were a Rich Man (song)
"If I Were a Rich Man" is a song from the 1964 musical Fiddler on the Roof. It was written by Sheldon Harnick and Jerry Bock. The song is performed by Tevye, the main character in the musical, and reflects his dreams of glory....
" for them. Satisfied with their positive response, Safran performs the song on a Palestinian Broadcasting Corporation
Palestinian Broadcasting Corporation
The Palestinian Broadcasting Corporation was established on 1 July 1994 and is within the jurisdiction of the Palestinian Authority. It has a subsidiary radio station known as the Voice Of Palestine and a satellite channel known as Palestinian Satellite Channel. Palestine TV first began...
talk show.
Safran attempts to rid himself of Jewish guilt about inter-racial relationships by flying a shiksa
Shiksa
Shiksa or shikse, is a Yiddish and Polish word that has moved into English usage, mostly in North American Jewish culture, as a term for a non-Jewish woman, initially and sometimes still pejorative but now often used satirically...
(non-Jewish woman) to Amsterdam
Amsterdam
Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...
, where he asks her to make out with him in Anne Frank's attic
Anne Frank House
The Anne Frank House on Prinsengracht canal in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, is a museum dedicated to Jewish wartime diarist Anne Frank, who hid from Nazi persecution with her family and four other people in hidden rooms at the rear of the building...
. He then travels to America, where Wayne Griffiths of NORM (the National Organization for Restoring Men) helps him to reverse his circumcision
Foreskin restoration
Foreskin restoration is the process of expanding the residual skin on the penis, via surgical or non-surgical methods. It can be performed for several reasons, among them being a desire to create the appearance of a natural foreskin covering the glans penis, or to increase sexual sensitivity of...
.
Episode 4
Safran travels to TogoTogo
Togo, officially the Togolese Republic , is a country in West Africa bordered by Ghana to the west, Benin to the east and Burkina Faso to the north. It extends south to the Gulf of Guinea, on which the capital Lomé is located. Togo covers an area of approximately with a population of approximately...
for a voodoo death
Voodoo death
Voodoo death, a term coined by Walter Cannon in 1942 also known as psychogenic or psychosomatic death, is the phenomenon of sudden death as brought about by a strong emotional shock, such as fear. The anomaly is recognized as psychosomatic in that death is caused by an emotional response—often...
, and later confronts his ex girlfriend he remains obsessed with.
Episode 5
Safran dons an Elephant ManElephant Man
Elephant Man, also known as the Energy God, born O'Neil Bryan on September 11, 1975 in Kingston, Jamaica, is a dancehall musician.-Career:...
disguise to try to discover whether he is attractive to Asian women, confronts his father about being a self-hating Jew, and takes matters into his own hands in a showdown with Holocaust-denier David Irving
David Irving
David John Cawdell Irving is an English writer,best known for his denial of the Holocaust, who specialises in the military and political history of World War II, with a focus on Nazi Germany...
.
Episode 6
With the help of his two best friends, Safran digs a hole next to his mother's grave and performs a KabbalahKabbalah
Kabbalah/Kabala is a discipline and school of thought concerned with the esoteric aspect of Rabbinic Judaism. It was systematized in 11th-13th century Hachmei Provence and Spain, and again after the Expulsion from Spain, in 16th century Ottoman Palestine...
ritual in order to ask her if she wishes for him to marry a Jewish girl. Unsatisfied with the response, he travels to Japan to take advantage of a service that allows patrons to hire people to be their relatives. He pours out his feelings to his "mother" who tells him that she believes real love and a connection are more important than race or religion.
Episode 7
Safran explores Christian Domestic Discipline, the philosophy of Star TrekStar Trek
Star Trek is an American science fiction entertainment franchise created by Gene Roddenberry. The core of Star Trek is its six television series: The Original Series, The Animated Series, The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager, and Enterprise...
as a religion replacement, and goes on a date as a Thai
Thai people
The Thai people, or Siamese, are the main ethnic group of Thailand and are part of the larger Tai ethnolinguistic peoples found in Thailand and adjacent countries in Southeast Asia as well as southern China. Their language is the Thai language, which is classified as part of the Kradai family of...
lady boy to help get over his Eurasian
Eurasian (mixed ancestry)
The word Eurasian refers to people of mixed Asian and European ancestry. It was originally coined in 19th-century British India to refer to Anglo-Indians of mixed British and Indian descent....
ex-girlfriend.
Episode 8
Safran attempts to prove ethnic identity is simply a social construct by undergoing a fake wedding ceremony to a MuslimMuslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
(and relation of Osama Bin Laden
Osama bin Laden
Osama bin Mohammed bin Awad bin Laden was the founder of the militant Islamist organization Al-Qaeda, the jihadist organization responsible for the September 11 attacks on the United States and numerous other mass-casualty attacks against civilian and military targets...
) woman pretending to be Jewish and make a break from past and enter the world of post-race by subjecting himself to devotional crucifixion in the Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
.
See also
- John Safran vs GodJohn Safran vs GodJohn Safran vs God is an 8 part television documentary series by John Safran which was broadcast on SBS TV of Australia in 2004. It has been described in a media release as "John Safran's most audacious project yet". It had a much more serious tone than Safran's previous work Music Jamboree...
- John Safran's Music JamboreeJohn Safran's Music JamboreeJohn Safran's Music Jamboree was a light-hearted Australian music documentary television series, hosted by John Safran for SBS television...
- List of Australian television series
External links
- Official website (ABC TV) - Interview with John Safran about the series
- John Safran: boundary rider - Article from The Australian - 24 October 2009