Stereotypes In Show Boat

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In Show Boat, Queene and Joe are simply observers since they do not engage in any major plot points. However, they play an important role in providing the historical context for this show as well as addressing the racial stereotypes in the 1920s. For example, when Queenie questioned why Mrs. La Verne knew the song "Can't Help Lovin' Dat Man", she reminded the audience of the racial segregation at that time by saying she only heard “colored folks” sing the song. There are also other details in the original 1927 show that reveals the historical realities on black people’s livings such as separate entrances for white and blacks on stage set (Decker 3). Even in the lyrics of Joe’s “Ol’ man river”, there are elaborate depictions of the miserable