Blandiver: So you were talking about the piece as a whole. Thanks for the clarification.

Yes, the song is heavily influenced by the Habanera from Carmen. And yes, I've seen the 1920s movie before (it's on Youtube) but the thing which struck me about the SOTBK scene is how close Marie Wells and Jack Pratt were (when she sang the chorus, he was leaning close to her, and they end up dancing together in the dance which follows the song. I suppose the closeness is related to ideas about the supposed hypersexuality of Arab men and to old accounts of White women in harem captivity. Not to mention the fact that all the Arabs were played by Whites in burnt cork).

About the piece as a whole-- yeah I suppose in a way, I think I'm being subversive and ironic. As I've posted before, it's a guilty pleasure.I think recognising the corniness and stereotyping under the catchy tunes and lyrics counts as being ironic.

Actually, related to this whole idea of racism in TDS, one of my other interests is creative writing, specifically fantasy and science fiction. I'm actually writing a fantasy novel inspired by this operetta which comments on all the stereotypes and the effects of colonialism. I've been doing research to make it plausible and culturally accurate. Including researching Arab stereotypes. For one thing, in my story the Red Shadow is a Bedouin Arab, and Pierre is his decoy. The plot's got a whole lot of stuff about the issue of a White guy from the colonising country being an anti-colonialist fighter against his own national interests.