# Small examples of diversity, as seen in entertainment, offen not remarked upon. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 19, 2005, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/small-examples-of-diversity-as-seen-in-entertainment-offen-not-remarked-upon/326980 "2005-10-19T21:45:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Dr.Rieux](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@Dr.Rieux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Rieux)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2005, 5:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/small-examples-of-diversity-as-seen-in-entertainment-offen-not-remarked-upon/326980/41 "2005-12-17T05:10:37Z")
> [@levdrakon](#): > > Exitedly isn’t a word is it? > > Insert excitedly. Insert what where excitedly? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![DocCathode](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doccathode/32/18773_2.png) [@DocCathode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DocCathode)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2005, 5:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/small-examples-of-diversity-as-seen-in-entertainment-offen-not-remarked-upon/326980/42 "2005-12-17T05:20:24Z")
In an issue of Scrooge McDuck, he first accidentally turns himself green. Then, a fault theme park ride flings the car he’s in across the city. Seeing a green duck stepping out of a rocket ship, onlookers conclude he’s an alien. Seeing a chance for fun, Scrooge says a strange word written in strange characters. Then, he says “Or in your language ‘Peace’.”. The word he said was peace, in Hebrew. The first thing in that word balloon is a word written in Hebrew. Babylon 5- At first I thought it was just me. Then, I had my family listen. They agreed that whenever the Narns pray, it sounds like a synagogue of Jews chanting. We find out Ivanova is Jewish when the rabbi from her home town comes to visit the station. When she presents an alien fish for dinner, the rabbi asks “Is it kosher?”. I was disappointed when Ivanova said that she didn’t know, and he shrugged and ate it anyway. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2005, 5:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/small-examples-of-diversity-as-seen-in-entertainment-offen-not-remarked-upon/326980/43 "2005-12-17T05:27:20Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > Which episode? I have the whole series on tape. I want to see this. I must be invisible. See Post #33. ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2005, 6:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/small-examples-of-diversity-as-seen-in-entertainment-offen-not-remarked-upon/326980/44 "2005-12-17T06:19:58Z")
> [@The Tooth](#): > > Garibaldi has a line in one of the later episodes of **Babylon 5** in which he slams Sheridan: “He’s not the Pope. He doesn’t look anything like her.” > > Not something you hear every day. Unless you watch **Babylon 5** a lot. I have that entire series on tape, and somehow I missed that line. I’m gonna have to find it. But I did learn later that the Pope in that time was female. In the brief successor series to B5, the show Crusade, a brief newscast is seen. It’s about the Pope leading a service in Vatican City and a teeny figure in white can be seen in a procession. The name of the Pope was mentioned as being Bernadette II. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Tooth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c67d28/32.png) [@The\_Tooth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Tooth)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2005, 8:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/small-examples-of-diversity-as-seen-in-entertainment-offen-not-remarked-upon/326980/45 "2005-12-17T08:39:46Z")
> [@Baker](#): > > I have that entire series on tape, and somehow I missed that line. I’m gonna have to find it. > > But I did learn later that the Pope in that time was female. In the brief successor series to B5, the show Crusade, a brief newscast is seen. It’s about the Pope leading a service in Vatican City and a teeny figure in white can be seen in a procession. The name of the Pope was mentioned as being Bernadette II. “Racing Mars” is the episode. Around the middle of Season 4. ---
**Author:** ![Laughing\_Lagomorph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/6bbea6/32.png) [@Laughing\_Lagomorph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Laughing_Lagomorph)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2005, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/small-examples-of-diversity-as-seen-in-entertainment-offen-not-remarked-upon/326980/46 "2005-12-17T13:49:18Z")
> [@DocCathode](#): > > In an issue of Scrooge McDuck, he first accidentally turns himself green. Then, a fault theme park ride flings the car he’s in across the city. Seeing a green duck stepping out of a rocket ship, onlookers conclude he’s an alien. Seeing a chance for fun, Scrooge says a strange word written in strange characters. Then, he says “Or in your language ‘Peace’.”. > > The word he said was peace, in Hebrew. The first thing in that word balloon is a word written in Hebrew. > > Babylon 5- At first I thought it was just me. Then, I had my family listen. They agreed that whenever the Narns pray, it sounds like a synagogue of Jews chanting. > > We find out Ivanova is Jewish when the rabbi from her home town comes to visit the station. When she presents an alien fish for dinner, the rabbi asks “Is it kosher?”. I was disappointed when Ivanova said that she didn’t know, and he shrugged and ate it anyway. Somewhat related…I remember Leonard Nimoy explaining that the Vulcan “Live Long and Prosper” hand gesture was based on a gesture he had seen as a kid during an (Orthodox?) Jewish ceremony. ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2005, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/small-examples-of-diversity-as-seen-in-entertainment-offen-not-remarked-upon/326980/47 "2005-12-17T14:17:12Z")
> [@DocCathode](#): > > Later, one of the students is on a trip to nearby coastal village. She tries a bar. She notices that there are no men in the bar, but assumes that they just haven’t shown up yet. An older officer later recommends another bar, saying ‘you’ll find what you’re looking for there’. Fire exits? ---
**Author:** ![bouv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bc8723/32.png) [@bouv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bouv)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2005, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/small-examples-of-diversity-as-seen-in-entertainment-offen-not-remarked-upon/326980/48 "2005-12-17T16:44:30Z")
> [@DocCathode](#): > > We find out Ivanova is Jewish when the rabbi from her home town comes to visit the station. When she presents an alien fish for dinner, the rabbi asks “Is it kosher?”. I was disappointed when Ivanova said that she didn’t know, and he shrugged and ate it anyway. Well, Ivonova was established as Jewish, but she also made it clear in that ep. that she had pretty much lost her faith. By the end of the ep, the rabbi had helped her gain some of it back, and we even see her lighting a menorah (sp?) at the end of that season. As to the kosher part, if it’s a fish, odds are it’s pretty damn kosher. I mean, I think even Ivonova, who might not know all the small ins and outs of what is and is not kisher, would know that shellfish is out, so it’s presumably not shellfish and just a regular old swim along the water fishy. Plus, the rabbi’s response is great: Ivonova: It’s a kind of fish from the Centauri homeworld. Rabbi: Is it kosher? Ivonova: I don’t know. Rabbi: Well…I don’t recall it being mentioned in the torah. Though, techincally, wouldn’t it be mentioned in the talmund? 😕 ---
**Author:** ![Kyla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/eada6e/32.png) [@Kyla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyla)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2005, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/small-examples-of-diversity-as-seen-in-entertainment-offen-not-remarked-upon/326980/49 "2005-12-17T17:09:56Z")
> [@bouv](#): > > Though, techincally, wouldn’t it be mentioned in the talmund? 😕 The Torah itself has some pretty specific lists of what’s kosher and what’s not, although the Talmud gets even more specific. Speaking of Jew-stuff, in the episode of **Futurama** where they went to the Slurm factory, there was a t-shirt (maybe Fry was wearing it? It’s been a long time) that said “Slurm” in Hebrew. I practically died laughing - for some reason, American tourists in Israel love t-shirts with the Pepsi and Coke logos written in Hebrew. It was such a tiny in-joke, but hysterically funny to the twenty or so viewers who got it. I don’t know how much a commercial counts as entertainment, but a while back there was a cell phone ad for free calling between family members on the same plan, and there were all these couples looking at phone bills and saying “a trillion minutes?!?! who were you calling!” And the other partner would say “you!” One of the couples was two men. I saw the ad several times before I thought “hey! That’s a little unusual.” ---
**Author:** ![mobo85](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@mobo85](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mobo85)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2005, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/small-examples-of-diversity-as-seen-in-entertainment-offen-not-remarked-upon/326980/50 "2005-12-17T22:45:49Z")
> [@Ethilrist](#): > > Then there’s Peppermint Patty and Marcie. People who comment that Peppermint Patty and Marcie are lesbians seem to be forgetting that they also had crushes on Charlie Brown. (Good grief, **Ethilrist** , you should know- based on your location box, you live in Sparky’s hometown.) If anything, they’re bisexuals. ---
**Author:** ![Love\_Rhombus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/love_rhombus/32/10694_2.png) [@Love\_Rhombus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Love_Rhombus)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2005, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/small-examples-of-diversity-as-seen-in-entertainment-offen-not-remarked-upon/326980/51 "2005-12-18T01:17:05Z")
> [@DocCathode](#): > > Superman The Animated Series- After standing up to Darkseid and his invading army, and essentially telling the ruler of Apokolips to kiss his ass, officer Turpin is disintegrated. Only by listening to the funeral service in the background as Clark talks about what a good man Turpin was do you catch Hebrew chanting. Turpin was Jewish, but it never came up on the other episodes. I heartily agree.I teared up at the end, especially with the dedication and Superman’s final words. That was a great episode and I loved it, made me think very highly of the series (and all of the DC animated shows) after that bit. ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2005, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/small-examples-of-diversity-as-seen-in-entertainment-offen-not-remarked-upon/326980/52 "2005-12-18T01:47:20Z")
> [@Kyla](#): > > Speaking of Jew-stuff, in the episode of **Futurama** where they went to the Slurm factory, there was a t-shirt (maybe Fry was wearing it? It’s been a long time) that said “Slurm” in Hebrew. It was Zoidberg who wore the hebrew shirt. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2005, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/small-examples-of-diversity-as-seen-in-entertainment-offen-not-remarked-upon/326980/53 "2005-12-18T03:03:07Z")
In the film Love Actually, Liam Neeson plays Daniel, whose eleven-year-old stepson Sam has just said he’s in love. They have this conversation, where Daniel is open to the possibility of the stepson being in love with another boy. > [@](#): > > Daniel: So, let’s go. We can definitely crack this. Remember, I was a kid once too. So come on. It’s someone at school. Right? > Sam: Yeah. > Daniel: Uh-huh, good, good. And what does she-- he-- feel about you? > Sam: _She_ doesn’t even know my name. And even if she did, she’d despise me. She’s the coolest girl in school, and everyone worships her because she’s heaven. > Daniel: Good. Good. > [sits on the couch next to Sam] > Daniel: Well…basically, you’re fucked, aren’t you? ---
**Author:** ![DocCathode](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doccathode/32/18773_2.png) [@DocCathode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DocCathode)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2005, 7:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/small-examples-of-diversity-as-seen-in-entertainment-offen-not-remarked-upon/326980/54 "2005-12-18T07:59:23Z")
> [@bouv](#): > > Well, Ivonova was established as Jewish, but she also made it clear in that ep. that she had pretty much lost her faith. By the end of the ep, the rabbi had helped her gain some of it back, and we even see her lighting a menorah (sp?) at the end of that season. I had no problem with Ivanova being a lapsed Jew. IIRC, by that episode Ivanova had talked to a few people about her mother, and that kind of thing would tend to make people doubt the existence of God and make religious practices seem pointless. I have a problems with the rabbi so casually eating something without finding out if it’s kosher. > [@](#): > > As to the kosher part, if it’s a fish, odds are it’s pretty damn kosher. You either have made an error in reading kashrut or an error in calculating those odds. > [@](#): > > I mean, I think even Ivonova, who might not know all the small ins and outs of what is and is not kisher, would know that shellfish is out, so it’s presumably not shellfish and just a regular old swim along the water fishy. Not all “regular old swim along the water” fishes are kosher. A fish is only kosher if it has fins and scales. Forbidden fish include- catfish, eel, shark, swordfish and others. > [@](#): > > Plus, the rabbi’s response is great: The rabbi’s response is terrible > [@](#): > > Ivonova: It’s a kind of fish from the Centauri homeworld. > > Rabbi: Is it kosher? > > Ivonova: I don’t know. > > Rabbi: Well…I don’t recall it being mentioned in the torah. There’s a long established procedure for deciding if a newly discovered animal is kosher. North American turkeys and bison aren’t mentioned anywhere in the Torah. But, going by the laws that are in the Torah these species are clearly kosher. It doesn’t matter what planet the fish is from. If it has fins and scales, it’s kosher. With all the new technology, and all the aliens bringing alien things to earth, a huge part of the rabbi’s job would be to figure out how Jewish law applied to these things. To say ‘It is not specifically mentioned in the Torah’ is to say ‘I am a moron who cannot do my job’ **Laughing Lagomorph** Yep. Nobody was quite sure what the Vulcan salute should be. Nimoy thought of the blessing given at high holy day services. Back To The OP When Charlie Brown goes to Europe, he visits a cemetery filled with world war two veterans. The majority of the markers are crosses. But there are Jewish stars here and there. ---
**Author:** ![Bippy\_the\_Beardless](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ac8455/32.png) [@Bippy\_the\_Beardless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bippy_the_Beardless)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2005, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/small-examples-of-diversity-as-seen-in-entertainment-offen-not-remarked-upon/326980/55 "2005-12-19T19:09:54Z")
> [@Bippy the Beardless](#): > > Cowboy Bebop has a young girl character who is always mistaken for a boy. But less obviously, they do the old cliched chase scene in one episode,where they run through a bedroom interupting a couple having sex. Just in this case the couple are both men, with no comment or any other sign that it is strange in any way. Darn but I couldn’t find the scene on a ff through the series. I guess it was either really short and I missed it, or else something else I saw got melded with my memories of Cowboy Bebop and got added to my mental list of why Cowboy Bebop is really cool. There is a great TV sitcom in UK about a northern English commedy club, in which the owner is in a wheelchair. The owners dissability is completely underplayed in the series. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2005, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/small-examples-of-diversity-as-seen-in-entertainment-offen-not-remarked-upon/326980/56 "2005-12-19T19:26:39Z")
What is Cowboy Bebop anyhow? ---
**Author:** ![Scott\_Plaid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/258eb7/32.png) [@Scott\_Plaid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scott_Plaid)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2005, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/small-examples-of-diversity-as-seen-in-entertainment-offen-not-remarked-upon/326980/57 "2005-12-19T19:38:39Z")
> [@Bippy the Beardless](#): > > OH damn I hoped noone would ask, I’ll have to watch them all again. 😉 > I don’t think a script will help, as there was no dialogue during the chase. I have just spent foprever digging this up. I was quite certain that I remembered the scene you mentioned. However, it may exist nevertheless. However, there is a scene that is almost what was described. > [@Michiko Yokote](#): > > A shady motel room. Faye finds a male couple in bed. Faye grabs one of the > men and sticks her gun into his mouth. > > FAYE: I want to see Piccaro. Tell me where he is. > > MAN: H-Hyu don’f haff to be so suhhen… > > FAYE: Huh? Where did you say? > > MAN: I can’f breef… [Waltz for Venus, session #8](http://rfblues.aaanime.net/Sessions/session08.htm) > [@Fata Morgana](#): > > You know that scene where Faye busts in on that guy in bed while looking for Piccaro? In the original, there was _ahem_ another man in the room with him. Guy #2 was replaced with a pillow. The most bizarre thing about that edit is that towards the end, guy #2 speaks. Since he was edited out, it became a disembodied voice. Spooky! [http://www.jazzmess.com/sessions/waltzforvenus.html](http://www.jazzmess.com/sessions/waltzforvenus.html) ---
**Author:** ![bouv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bc8723/32.png) [@bouv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bouv)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2005, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/small-examples-of-diversity-as-seen-in-entertainment-offen-not-remarked-upon/326980/58 "2005-12-19T19:44:56Z")
**DocCathode** : My mistake. My knowledge of what is and is not kosher comes mostly from a few Jewish friends I had in college. And seeing as one of those was only Jewsih by way of his mother being Jewish, and was rasied much more in the traditions of his Christian father, his knowledge on the subject was also limited. ---
**Author:** ![Scott\_Plaid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/258eb7/32.png) [@Scott\_Plaid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scott_Plaid)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2005, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/small-examples-of-diversity-as-seen-in-entertainment-offen-not-remarked-upon/326980/59 "2005-12-19T19:47:01Z")
I just wanted to say “However” one more time. However. Also, thanks everyone for the great replies. ---
**Author:** ![Bippy\_the\_Beardless](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ac8455/32.png) [@Bippy\_the\_Beardless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bippy_the_Beardless)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2005, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/small-examples-of-diversity-as-seen-in-entertainment-offen-not-remarked-upon/326980/60 "2005-12-19T19:57:48Z")
Great **Scott** , I must’ve missed it whilst ffing. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/small-examples-of-diversity-as-seen-in-entertainment-offen-not-remarked-upon/326980.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/small-examples-of-diversity-as-seen-in-entertainment-offen-not-remarked-upon/326980.md?page=4)