Funny Girl (film) depicted. In this role the Jewish woman was presented as smart, comedic, beautiful and talented. During the time this film was made, Jewish women had the stereotype of being dependent upon men. Yet Streisand tends to defy this stereotype. Jews are often over represented statistically in the field of humor, yet this could be what gives Jews the edge on making people laugh. Streisand takes the battle between the sexes, the double standard, and sexuality in a funny and shrewd way by stretching the boundaries beyond respectability and behaving in unladylike ways. Streisand's character in the film literally portrays a
People (Barbra Streisand song) for the musical score of "Funny Girl". It is based on the life and career of Broadway and film star and comedian Fanny Brice and her stormy relationship with entrepreneur and gambler Nicky Arnstein. Composer Jule Styne and lyricist Bob Merrill were hired to write the musical score and met each other for the first time in 1962 in Palm Beach, Florida. They wrote their songs by day and tested them by night on the Palm Beach socialites at cocktail parties. As they worked to develop the character of Fanny Brice, they needed to write a special love song depicting