Blackface

Dorsey, Bruce. Reforming Men and Women: Gender in the Antebellum City. Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 2002. Thesis: Dorsey argues that "gender provided men and women with a powerful set of meanings by which to interpret their daily relationships" in Antebellum America and that his study presents "men as gendered beings" because manhood is a "crucial category of analysis in the study of the history of the United States (243)." Themes: One of the themes of the texts is stereotypes/stock…

The American Film industry, even in the 1940’s, was thought to be a progressive space full of liberal ideologies and access to diversity, but unfortunately, this was not the case for African Americans, especially pre-dating the Civil Rights Movement.“Classical Hollywood, in its role as America’s dream factory largely maintained the myth of Black inferiority while minimizing America’s long history of racial injustice.”African Americans were discriminated against in all areas of society, including…

West Side Story: the Racist Representation West Side Story, written by Arthur Laurents and produced by Jerome Robbins, constructs racialized identities for its Puerto Rican characters. Their constructed, stereotypical identities are not accurate or realistic. However, the film has been very popular, among the mainstream audience – the white Americans – and among the Puerto Rican spectators. I believe that the so-critiqued racist elements against Puerto Ricans in the film is lightened up the…

A remarkable book chronicling an understudied period in Cuban history, “Nationalizing Blackness: Afrocubanismo and Artistic Revolution in Havana, 1920-1940”, by Robin D. Moore is an intriguing study of Cuban popular music in the twentieth century. Moore dissects and explains how the music which is often associated with Cuba was considered at one time riffraff and lewd because of its African influence, origins and associations compared to the more sophisticated music of Europeans. Between 1920…

Blackface Minstrelsy was the most popular form of entertainment in the United States. This is a form of Racism because it was White people in makeup which was usually a black face doing performances and comic skits. Because of this type of entertainment Blacks were stereotyped and people expected Blacks to act the way the White people did who participated in the blackface minstrelsy. This is a big form of Racism because they are acting…

and shows that display black citizens as hardworking, positive characters. However, all of Delacroix’s show ideas are shot down, until he comes up with a stereotypical, offensive show that exploits black Americans by having black actors dress in blackface and do stereotypical actions. However, much to…

considerable amount of time. It began developing in the 19th century however really progressed and changed with time. Each minstrel show was a variety of acts. Such as comic skits, dancing, music, and variety all being performed by white performers in blackface. Minstrel shows depicted black people in several different lights, usually negatively. Minstrelsy is the root of stereotypes within our society today, it showed black people through the eyes of white males, it depicted black people in a…

You can trace a variety of different themes through music’s long history, but the one I have chosen to trace and the one I learned the most from is racism. Racism has been an issue in American culture from the very beginning, as shown through history and the horrible issue of slavery. Racism also shows its presence in music as well. Before taking this class, I had never thought about the implications that race had in the musical world besides the obvious use of slang and references to race in…

Fans of the show literally paint blackface on themselves to showcase their love of the show. Anyone watching the film is on the tips of their seats, feeling very uncomfortable by the film. It’s a hard thing to watch but it’s something that people need to do because although this was just…

Some of the most defining music for the United States undoubtedly comes from the unique instrument known as the banjo. Few can deny the images of rural America and Appalachian folklore that come to mind at the sound of the instrument. Forever known for their bright and cheery contribution to old-time music, banjos have long epitomized the rich history of America and the rugged days of our ancestors. However, the sweet, traditional facade of the banjo effectively hides an ugly history, suggesting…