Minstrelsy (proto-Blues)
Minstrelsy originally referred to black and, later, white performers in the late 19th century deliberately exaggerating racial characteristics and mannerisms (clothing, facial make-up) as part of a stage performance, because white audiences decidedly liked black music even if they held racist attitudes towards black people. This practice (also called “blackface”) continued in cinema and theater well into the 20th century. More recently, the term has also been applied to recorded music (unfairly, perhaps), with African-American performers supposedly playing up their “blackness” to appeal to a white audience or, conversely, with white musicians accused of cultural appropriation by playing “black” music (i.e., blues, rap, R & B).
See Francis Davis 36-38 for his observations on the topic. Then, with those definitions in minds, consider the editorial cartoon in a response that answers two (or more) of these questions:
- Is rap’s appeal to a suburban white audience any different than minstrelsy’s popularity back in the late 19th and early 20th centuries?
- How is it that “blackface” was an acceptable part of an performer’s repertoire until well past the mid-20th century?
- Note that the editorial cartoon is dated 2005. Has Black America made any social progress since then in the entertainment world?
- How has the renewed focus on issues of race, the “racial reckoning” of 2020/21, changed anything, in your opinion?
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- Give some thought to at least one of these films (Blazing Saddles, White Christmas, Song Of the South, Bamboozled), all of which have elements of minstrelsy — though in some cases clearly meant satirically.
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