John Safran's Race Relations
| Company type | Television series |
|---|---|
| Industry | Television |
| Founded | 2009 |
| Founder | John Safran |
| Headquarters | Australia |
| Products | Comedic documentary television series |
John Safran's Race Relations is a comedic documentary series from Australia, created and hosted by John Safran, which aired on ABC1 in 2009. This eight-episode program investigates the complexities of cross-cultural, interracial, and interfaith relationships. Safran embarks on an international journey spanning Palestine, the Philippines, Togo, Japan, Thailand, the United Kingdom, Israel, the Netherlands, and the United States.
Episode 1
In this installment, Safran visits Israel, where his Palestinian boom operator makes a donation to a sperm bank. While in the West Bank, he contributes to a clinic focused on producing children of mixed Jewish and Palestinian heritage, referred to as "Jalestinians." Reflecting on his past relationships with three Eurasian women, Safran conducts an unusual experiment by sniffing underwear belonging to five Jewish and five Eurasian women—including Nicole Scherzinger of the Pussycat Dolls and actress Dichen Lachman—to discern his personal preference.
Episode 2
Motivated by the 1961 book Black Like Me, Safran travels to Chicago after undergoing makeup that alters his appearance to resemble that of a Black man. During his visit, he interviews activists, delivers a sermon at a predominantly African American church, and challenges individuals on their usage of the N word.
Episode 3
Following a conversation with ex-Muslim former terrorist Walid Shoebat, who credits watching Fiddler on the Roof 300 times for ending his animosity toward Jews, Safran journeys to the Palestinian territories. There, he attempts to "de-brainwash" representatives from Fatah and Hamas by performing "If I Were a Rich Man" for them and later appears on a talk show broadcast by the Palestinian Broadcasting Corporation. Confronting his own Jewish guilt connected to interracial relationships, he flies a non-Jewish woman to Amsterdam and requests she kiss him in the attic of the Anne Frank House. In the United States, Wayne Griffiths of NORM assists him with reversing his circumcision.
Episode 4
Safran travels to Togo to participate in a voodoo death ritual while also addressing unresolved feelings toward an ex-girlfriend who continues to occupy his thoughts.
Episode 5
Disguised as the Elephant Man, Safran tests whether he can attract Asian women. He also confronts his father regarding accusations of being a self-hating Jew and challenges Holocaust-denier David Irving.
Episode 6
Together with two companions, Safran performs a Kabbalah ceremony beside his mother’s gravesite seeking clarity about marrying a Jewish woman. Finding no satisfaction there, he travels to Japan where he hires actors to portray family members and confides in a maternal figure who advises that love and emotional bonds transcend racial or religious boundaries.
Episode 7
Safran investigates the practice of Christian domestic discipline, contemplates adopting Star Trek as an alternative belief system, and dates a Thai lady boy as a way to move beyond his previous Eurasian relationship.
Episode 8
To question whether ethnic identity is merely socially constructed, Safran participates in a staged wedding with a Muslim woman related to Osama bin Laden, pretending she is Jewish. He then undergoes devotional crucifixion in the Philippines, symbolizing his separation from past identities and entrance into a purportedly post-race era.