Annemarie Bean says that "minstrelsy can be said to have given American culture two legacies: one of creativity and one of resilient stereotypes" (Black Minstrelsy and Double Inversion 177). I believe Bean is speaking of the paradoxical representations of blacks that exist in the American imagination: one of gifted and innovative performer and one of cautious critic, always questioning the reason for the laughter or applause or critical acclaim from white audiences. This sense of having a double consciousness as a black performer has its foundation in minstrelsy as we see the first images of blacks being created by white bodies signifying what blackness is through speech, dress, mannerisms, and a literal blackening of the body. Through the legacy of minstrelsy audiences have been conditioned to see and read the humorous aspects in black impersonations so much so that these behaviors and creations shape the performances of black artists. So how does one create an "authentic" black representation when these strong stereotypes still exist in present reality? Is it possible?
I think so but the black artist has to have a layered consciousness to avoid falling into the trap of encouraging the re-surfacing of these stereotypes in the national imagination unless it is for subversive reasons or for the purpose of understanding present politics of performativity and representation. I think the latter is what we see in Spike Lee's "Bamboozled" as he modernizes the minstrel show to call attention to how these stereotypes are functioning today through what Bean calls "well-established types of humor or nostalgia" (Black Minstrelsy and Double Inversion 177). Time may have been displaces but the collective memory of these images is still present and operating as the New Millennium Minstrel Show becomes a hit in the ratings and a mainstay on televisions across America in both black and white households. I think this mentality of Delacroix's character when he is thinking of the project is one shared by many today--that blackface minstrelsy is archaic and could not resurface with as much popularity as it did at its inception. But like Delacroix we underestimate the staying power of these stereotypes. Bean sites James Weldon Johnson as saying, "Minstrelsy was, on a whole, a caricature of Negro life, and it fixed a stage tradition which has not yet been entirely broken" (Black Minstrelsy and Double Inversion 177). And what Spike posits in "Bamboozled" is that the mask is no longer needed because these stereotypes and images are operating without the deliberate creation of a minstrel. Mainstream Hip Hop is his main focus but they also operate in other facets of mainstream culture: television, cinema, and advertising.
Ultimately, I think to combat the frivolous re-surfacing of these images and stereotypes there has to be an awareness and realization that these representations are dangerous for when a race of people are infantilized, over-sexualized, criminalized in the national imaginations it limits their humanity which leads to social, political, economic, and cultural violence.
Works Cited
Elam, Harry J.; Krasner, David. African American Performance and Theater History. Oxford Press: New York 2001. 177.
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2 comments:
While we have clearly moved past the sterotypical depictions of African Americans that were depicted in society through minstrelsy, mainstream forms of this still exist in the media today. However, the problem that exists is that the African American community at large is not cognitive of how some less blatant media portrayls perpetuate these sterotypes. As long as rap artists and actors continue to utilize these sterotypes to market a product and gain a profit the community will suffer. Once the monetary gain that comes from this is taken out of the equation these stereotypes will easily become obsolete in society
I agree with you--the monetary part of the industry is very seductive and for some of those artist, its more of a priority than what they are actually producing and putting out to the world. We know that the money part of the system will never really go away but if some sort of checks and balances can be put into the music industry that allows artists to be nurtured, to grow, and to create product that is timeless rather than a product meant to be background music for selling product than we might get past the heavy commercialism of the industry. I dont think there anything wrong with artist wanting to be mainstream but if you dont really have a lot of creative control than it just becomes something like an assembly line of whack ass music pushing whack ass product.
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