the United States and England. The popularity of this act grew into what is known as the MINSTREL SHOW.
and experience you are familiar with? • What are some of the images you associate with those stereotypes? • What kinds of harm can come from stereotypes? Activity: Recognizing the visual aesthetics of minstrelsy Take some time to look at the image from The Jazz Singer (1927), the first TALKIE film. The main character, Jakie Rabinowitz, is a young Jewish man who aspires to be an entertainer against his parents’ wishes and finds fame in vaudeville performing in blackface. Lithuanian-American actor Al Jolson, like the character he portrays in the film, was a singer, comedian, and vaudevillian known for his charisma and great musical talent.
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Minstrelsy is a form of American entertainment developed around racist stereotyping of Black people. White performers would put on blackface using materials like shoe polish, greasepaint, or burnt cork, to play the roles of Black people in exaggerated and stereotypical ways. The performers often mocked Black people by portraying them as lazy, dimwitted, stupid, and frivolous. Blackface became a popular addition to entertainment for white audiences, who were not always willing to be entertained by Black performers but still enjoyed the song and dance inspired by Black culture and the depictions of racial inferiority.
Still from Lime Kiln Club Field Day, 1913. Courtesy of The Museum of Modern Art, New York
Here are some examples of early cinema stereotypes as defined by film historian Donald Bogle:
Reflect
such an aesthetic is perpetuated in present-day media allows us to uncover plural histories.
1. The Coon: Ineffectual and lazy, the Coon stereotype was a foolish, jive-talking simpleton who would do anything to avoid work. 2. The Uncle Tom: A character who was a black house slave who faithfully served his white master. 3. The Mammy: An overweight Black woman who took care of the white master’s children without concern for her own. 4. The Tragic Mulatto: A woman born of a mixed-race marriage or sexual union, often dying at the end of her story, punishment for the “sin” of being of mixed race. 5. The Black Buck: A brutal, animalistic, and hypermasculine African American man who threatened the white establishment because of his alleged sexual prowess.
• How would you describe the clothing of this performer? • What aspects of this person’s appearance are exaggerated? • What are ways this person looks unrealistic, even nonhuman? • Using the internet, your library, or other resources, research and collect more images of minstrelsy. • Looking at the list of descriptive characteristics you’ve made, what consistencies do you find in examples of minstrelsy? List some of the shared imagery. • How would you describe the shared visual aesthetics? • Now that you can recognize the visual aesthetics of minstrelsy, think about contemporary media, film, and animation. • Do you recognize any components that stem from minstrelsy? • Do we think the creators of these works are aware of the references these originated from? • What is the value of being able to recognize the origins of these images?
Explore: Group discussion
Consider some popular imagery of animated characters, both people and animals, where the characters are wearing white gloves and holding their arms outstretched and wide. Some people see a connection between this imagery and the aesthetics of minstrelsy and believe that images like this are rooted in a racist history. • Now that you know that some people have made this connection, what are some ways you can consider the influence of history on the visual aesthetics in the media you consume?
‡ Chicago Tribune. “Commentary: Our Brains Are Conditioned to Blame Black People and Block Change — but We Can Change That – Chicago Tribune.” Accessed October 4, 2022. https://www.chicagotribune.com/opinion/commentary/ ct-opinion-racism-stereotypes-psychology-20200727- bzezd5gxmrgx3bvyfefhdargou-story.html. Still from The Jazz Singer , 1927. Courtesy of Margaret Herrick Library, Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences
History
Stereotypes of Black people in the United States emerged well before motion pictures. But they became more pervasive as they took hold in the entertainment industries by the mid-1800s. One of the earliest characters to personify a Black stereotype is Jim Crow. The character was developed by Thomas D. Rice (1808– 1860), a white American playwright and traveling actor. In 1832, he made the Jim Crow character his signature act. Jim Crow was based on a folk trickster that was popular among enslaved Black people. Rice also appropriated a traditional slave song called “Jump Jim Crow.” He performed his Jim Crow act in BLACKFACE throughout
Reflect
Complexity of meaning
• Identify some stereotypes you are aware of. • What are some stereotypes of Black culture
The use of blackface was complex on multiple levels. Because of the popularity of blackface, some Black entertainers adopted the technique and performed exaggerated characters. This allowed some Black performers to reclaim ownership of their own image and cultural references.
Sometimes the visual aesthetic of a stereotype or misrepresentation can become so commonplace that it is absorbed into depictions beyond its original community reference. Recognizing where and when
Minstrelsy became an opportunity for Black performers to enter American show business. In his 1974 book
*Words set in ALL CAPS are defined in the Glossary of Key Terms and Concepts (section F of this guide).
*Words set in ALL CAPS are defined in the Glossary of Key Terms and Concepts (section F of this guide).
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