Check out this video:This is crazy but not surprising.
The blackface minstrel act was a very popular form of entertainment in 19th-century America. It was also a highly racist depiction of African Americans. The stock characters of blackface minstrelsy have played a significant role in disseminating racist images, attitudes and perceptions worldwide. Every immigrant group was stereotyped on the music hall stage during the 19th Century, but the history of prejudice, hostility, and ignorance towards black people has insured a unique longevity to the stereotypes. White America's conceptions of Black entertainers were shaped by minstrelsy's mocking caricatures and for over one hundred years the belief that Blacks were racially and socially inferior was fostered by legions of both white and black performers in blackface.
Blackface makeup was either a layer of burnt cork on a layer of coca butter or black grease paint. In the early years exaggerated red lips were painted around their mouths, like those of today's circus clowns. In later years the lips were usually painted white or unpainted. Costumes were usually gaudy combinations of formal wear; swallowtail coats, striped trousers, large hats. The audience for these shows was largely working-class whites, and at first the blackface character was actually a smart and sympathetic one. But as time went on, the minstrel show took on a more racist tone.
Robert Downey Jr. in Tropic Thunder in 2008
There are those who believe that blackface is so offensive it should be erased from the cultural record. I am one of those people. Any artistic, technical, or film-history value it has is far outweighed by the repulsive stereotypes it reinforces. It is said to be an example of history that is "best forgotten." But no history is best forgotten. It's foolish and dangerous to censor historical events we're not comfortable remembering. The impulse to erase the historical record of books, films, TV shows and other cultural artifacts of things people find offensive or embarrassing today is a totalitarian urge that results only in ignorance.
wow i really like this entry! as i was reading i rememeber studying the history of the blackface in a class i took in the past. something i like in particular in your entry is the connection to the present day that you made, my class never really did that. i thought that was really interesting though i have seen tropic thunder but never really made the connection back to the history of the blackface, i just saw it as some random off the wall shenanigan of the film industry. nice entry!
ReplyDeleteVania -
ReplyDeleteI appreciate you bringing up the issue of blackface in your post and weaving it throughout time and different media types. The question of what we should do with blackface (because many early technical achievements in film had actors in blackface - including "The Jazz Singer" which we are watching next week) is a difficult one. I would love for you to talk about this issue with the class since you feel so strongly about it.
There are two small things I think you could have done to improve this entry: 1) Where did you get all the information about the history of blackface/the minstrel shows? It would be great to put that on the bottom of the entry so readers can check it out; 2) I wish you would have engaged with the issue of Robert Downey Jr.'s turn as an actor in blackface in "Tropic Thunder" instead of just putting the photo there. It is a great example of how racism is still alive and well in the film industry.
- Ruth