Polish American History - Negative Media Images

Negative Media Images

American media depictions of Poles have been historically negative. Fictional Polish-Americans include Barney Gumble, Moe Szyslak, Banacek, Ernst Stavro Blofeld, Brock Samson, Walt Kowalski of Gran Torino, The Big Lebowski, and Polish Wedding. Polish characters tend to be brutish and ignorant, and are frequently the butt of jokes in the pecking order of the show. In the series Banacek, the main character was described as "not only a rugged insurance sleuth but also a walking lightning rod for Polish jokes." Folklorist Mac E. Barrick observed that TV comedians were reluctant to tell ethnic jokes until Spiro Agnew's "polack jokes" in 1968, pointing to an early Polish joke told by comedian Bob Hope in 1968, referencing politicians. Barrick stated: "...even though the Polack joke usually lacks the bitterness found in racial humor, it deals deliberately with a very small minority group, one not involved in national controversy, and one that has no influential organization for picketing or protesting." During the 1960s and 1970s, there was a revived expression of white ethnicity in American culture. The popular '70s sitcom Barney Miller depicted Polish-American character Sargeant Wojohowicz as uneducated and mentally slow. Among the worst offenders was the popular '70s sitcom All in the Family, where protagonist Archie Bunker routinely called his son-in-law a "dumb Polack" and proceeded to ostracize him from the family. The desensitization that was caused by the hateful language in All in the Family created a mainstream acceptance of the jokes, and the word Polack. Sociologist Barbara Ehrenreich called the show "the longest running Polish joke." In the series Coach, character Dauber Dybinski played the "big, dumb hulk of a player" role for nine series, and a spin-off character George Dubcek (also with a Polish name) in Teech displayed the "burly but dumb son of a former football player". The term Polack was so pervasive in American society through the 1960s and 1970s that high-ranking U.S. politicians followed suit. In 1978, Senator Henry Jackson of Washington made Polish jokes at a banquet. Ronald Reagan told Polish jokes multiple times during his presidential campaign in 1980 and during his presidency. As late as 2008, Senator Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania told Polish jokes to an audience of Republican supporters. Reportedly an audience member interrupted him, saying, "Hey careful, I'm Polish", and Specter remarked, "That's ok, I'll tell it more slowly." Mayor Marion Barry slurred Poles in 2012, and was apparently unaware the word Polacks was inappropriate.

Litigation has been pursued by the Polish American community to stop negative depictions of Poles in Hollywood, often to no avail. The Polish American Congress protested against the Dick Cavett Show in 1972, and eventually pushed comedian Steve Allen into an apology for his "polish jokes". In New York State's highest Appellate court, State Division of Human Rights v. McHarris Gift Center (1980), a ruling found that a gift shop was allowed to sell merchandise with "Polack jokes" on them; it was one vote short of making it illegal, based on public accommodations statutes citing the fact that Polish customers should be welcome and free from discrimination in the place of business. A lawsuit filed against Paramount Pictures in 1983 over "polish jokes" in the movie Flashdance was thrown out of court, as the judge found that telling "polish jokes" did not meet the "degree of outlandishness" to harm Poles' reputation.