Introduction

Overview Essay

Throughout the history of the United States of America, whites have tried to dominate over all other groups of people. Whether it be enslaving Africans, destroying cultures, or stealing land, these have all just been means to an end in the domination scheme. Even now, there are still efforts to keep a social hierarchy in which white people(mainly men) are superior to everyone else. One place we can see this is in the media(film). However, in this exhibit, Blackface in the Media-19th and 20th century, I want to focus specifically on the use of blackface in the 19th and 20th centuries. Blackface is a form of entertainment where white people dress up and paint their faces black, while acting as a savage, which was how they wanted to depict individuals of African descent. Africans were mocked and this led to stereotypes that were held for centuries. This created a lack of representation for black people in the media, dismissing them from the “human progress” seen in America and allowed for appropriation of African race and culture. This aided the association of black people as evil, savages, and brutish, which has been reinforced by anthropology. 

History of Blackface in the Media

Blackface has been around for a long time, and we still see it today. Today, blackface may not have the same message as it used to, but it still represents a tragic mockery that has been recreated in America. Blackface became popular in the United States in the form of minstrel shows, where whites would paint their faces and dress in dirty clothes to impersonate black people in an insulting way. Its popularity peaked in the 19th and 20th centuries. There is an example of the Virginia Minstrels, the point of their show was to provide entertainment to white people, they would sing, dance and act uncivilized in an effort to negatively portray African Americans. I also included the lyrics to “Oh Susanna”, a song that became popular through minstrel shows. The song uses improper English to make blacks come off as idiotic. Aside from in songs, they tried to dumb down blackface characters through dance, the way they dress, and even just dialogue. Now at this time, whites did not see this as an issue, there was an overwhelming amount of support for minstrel shows and blackface was supported highly. Even politicians supported it, in this section there is an example where you can see actual politicians dressed in black face. There was no one sticking up for the African Americans, everyone thought it was harmless humor. Meanwhile, the acting dehumanized African Americans in so many ways and made them a joke to society. Over time, Africans were cast in roles, but that did not make blackface go away and their roles were almost as insulting as the blackface itself.

Stereotypes created by Blackface

Blackface in film led to many different stereotypes about African Americans. Many were woven into the way they talked, acted, moved, as well as what they liked, what their values were and more. In this section of the exhibit, I included a few different examples of where stereotypes were found as well as how they were perceived. For example, I included a poster for a Jim Crow minstrel show. You can see from the poster that the character is depicted in a way where he looks deformed, almost like a beast, though he is just walking. He is also in the jungle which makes it appear as though he is uncivilized. People would see things and expect for all African Americans to be barbaric and uneducated. Another example I included was a costume description for actors in blackface in “The Darker Drama”. The costumes create an image, similar to the ones in most minstrel shows, that made blacks look dirty and poor. Now this recurring image creates stereotypes, which makes blacks with these features appeal as ‘natural’ and ‘funny’, rather than a serious social issue. Lastly, I included a newspaper article from the Oregon Education Journal. In this article, it is discussed how stereotypes from minstrel shows have been accepted by many, but also discusses some of the negative effects they have had on blacks. Some of the stereotypes created from blackface are still around today and are used to justify discrimination. 

How Blackface Aided Cultural/Racial Appropriation

Blackface itself is a form of racial appropriation where whites dehumanize African Americans by painting their faces black and drawing features dramatically, such as eyes or lips, to mock them. They then act in a way that is insultive to African cultures and values. In this section, I included a video of Glenn Vernon and Edward Ryan in which they transition into their caricatures, or into blackface. When they have fully transitioned and have changed their appearance, as well as their face makeup, they act barbaric and uncivilized. They dance as if this is something else that is uncivilized, when doing so they resemble Africans who dance as a piece of their culture. Another way in which blackface brings cultural appropriation is the costumes. One example I included was John McCullough who wore African clothing in a minstrel show. He played an African man Othello, he wore a head piece which he first was pretending to be black, and then further mocking the way they dress. Lastly, there is another minstrel show which is about “Mr. Bones”. He tells one of the others to dance and we see a dramatic rendition of African style dance. The way in which it appears is crazy and insulting to African culture. The actor throws his body around and seems to be just randomly moving, when in reality, this is of cultural significance to Africans and can have different meanings. This made it hard for Africans to celebrate their culture without being mocked, and led to some dropping this part of themselves entirely. It was stolen from them and they were made to feel foolish for indulging in their own culture.

Blackface Creating a Lack of Representation

As discussed above, blackface is when white people put paint on their face and act in a way that insulted and mocked African Americans. Everyone in the crowds seemed to enjoy the shows, but that is likely because African Americans had no involvement in them. With the cast being white in blackface, and laws which would keep African Americans out of most theaters, the shows were made up by whites, which set the stage for stereotypes. An example of this can be seen in the cast photo for the “Black and White Minstrel Show”. The entire cast is white, leading to no representation for Africans, making it interesting that they would choose that name for the production. This lack of representation has been a topic we have discussed throughout the semester. With the lack of representation, we are not able to get accurate information and are subject to biases. Another example could be drawn from “The Jazz Singer”, which was a movie from Warner Brothers. Jazz is very big in African American culture, so we can see how not being cast in this role is an example of their lack of representation in film. This movie was also very influential for other minstrel shows and had it been an African American cast instead of a white person, there may have been different results. However, we do still happen to see some films that involve blackface, some even in the early 2000’s. I included an image of Robert Downey Jr. from Tropic Thunder(2008). Now at this time, it was very common for African Americans to be cast in movies and even be the main characters in movies. However, a white man was chosen above all others? The lack of representation in this case can also be seen as a lack of opportunity, there was no reason to go this direction with casting, yet it happened. Overall, Africans have not been able to define themselves in the eyes of the media, but instead have had this done for them by people who were mocking them. 

Overall, there are a lot of downsides to the use of blackface in the media. It does not allow for African Americans to have equal representation, it creates false and insulting stereotypes, and also appropriates the culture and race of African Americans. Many people do not understand the full extent of blackface and think that its effects are long over with. However, its influence can still be noticed today, even if it’s only in the stereotypes that still exist. In the next pages, you will be able to see the examples that I have listed as well as a bit more information on them. Blackface is something that people need to understand better in order to see how it has formed ideas that have been reproduced in society. By informing ourselves and others about the use of blackface in minstrel shows, as well as the harm produced, we can attempt to overcome the damage done.