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Historian Dale Cockrell once noted that poor and working-class whites who felt “squeezed politically, economically, and socially from the top, but also from the bottom, invented minstrelsy” as a way of expressing the oppression that marked being members of the majority, but outside of the white norm. Minstrelsy, comedic performances of “blackness” by whites in exaggerated costumes and make-up, cannot be separated fully from the racial derision and stereotyping at its core. By distorting the features and culture of African Americans—including their looks, language, dance, deportment, and character—white Americans were able to codify whiteness across class and geopolitical lines as its antithesis.
The whole idea of a stereotype is to simplify. Chinua Achebe slide 1 of 1
Tin windup toy of "Ham and Sam The Minstrel Team." The pervasiveness of stereotypical images like these made the civil rights efforts of African Americans even more difficult. The black people represented here were irresponsible, laughable, and difficult to understand. If white people accepted these stereotypes, it became that much easier to deny African Americans the full rights of citizenship.
Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of the Collection of James M. Caselli and Jonathan Mark Scharer The first minstrel shows were performed in 1830s New York by white performers with blackened faces (most used burnt cork or shoe polish) and tattered clothing who imitated and mimicked enslaved Africans on Southern plantations. These performances characterized blacks as lazy, ignorant, superstitious, hypersexual, and prone to thievery and cowardice. Thomas Dartmouth Rice, known as the “Father of Minstrelsy,” developed the first popularly known blackface character, “Jim Crow” in 1830. By 1845, the popularity of the minstrel had spawned an entertainment subindustry, manufacturing songs and sheet music, makeup, costumes, as well as a ready-set of stereotypes upon which to build new performances.
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Cover to early edition of Jump Jim Crow sheet music.
Thomas D. Rice is pictured in his blackface role; he was performing at the Bowery Theatre (also known as the "American Theatre") at the time. This image was highly influential on later Jim Crow and minstrelsy images. Institute for Advanced Technology in the Humanities at the University of Virginia Blackface performances grew particularly popular between the end of the Civil War and the turn-of-the century in Northern and Midwestern cities, where regular interaction with African Americans was limited. White racial animus grew following Emancipation when antebellum stereotypes collided with actual African Americans and their demands for full citizenship including the right to vote. The influence of minstrelsy and racial stereotyping on American society cannot be overstated. New media ushered minstrel performances from the stage, across radio and television airwaves, and into theaters. Popular American actors, including Shirley Temple, Judy Garland and Mickey Rooney donned blackface, bridging the minstrel performance across generations, and making blackface (racial parody, and stereotypes) a family amusement.
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Postcard depicting a caricatured boy eating a slice of watermelon. Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of the Collection of James M. Caselli and Jonathan Mark Scharer Blackface and the codifying of blackness— language, movement, deportment, and character—as caricature persists through mass media and in public performances today. In addition to the increased popularity of “black” Halloween costumes, colleges and universities across the country continue to battle against student and professor blackface performances. In each instance, those facing scrutiny for blackface performances insist no malice or racial hatred was intended.
View objects in our collection related to blackface and minstrelsy. slide 1 of 1
Three blackface masks Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of the Collection of James M. Caselli and Jonathan Mark Scharer
Whiteface is a type of performance in which a person wears theatrical makeup in order to make themselves look like a white person,[1] The term is a reversal of the more outdated form of performance known as blackface, in which performers use makeup in order to make themselves look like a black person, usually to exaggerate negative racial stereotypes of black people. Whiteface performances originated in the 19th century but have no origin in dehumanization or racism, and today still occasionally appear in films. Modern usages of whiteface can be contrasted with blackface in contemporary art.
Contents History Edit The earliest use of the term, noted by the Oxford English Dictionary, is from the New York Clipper in 1870, informing readers that William "Joe" Murphy has given up minstrelsy to "appear on the legitimate boards in white face."[2][3]
By 1908, actor Dooley Wilson had earned his nickname for his whiteface impersonation of an Irishman singing a song called "Mr. Dooley".[4]
The OED also lists a 1947 reference to the black actor Canada Lee performing the role of Bosola in The Duchess of Malfi in whiteface.[2]
Examples Edit The 1970 film Watermelon Man begins with Godfrey Cambridge playing a whiteface character, who then wakes up one morning to find himself to be black.[5] Eddie Murphy performed in whiteface on Saturday Night Live in the 1980s, and appeared in whiteface for minor characters in the films Coming to America, Vampire in Brooklyn and The Nutty Professor.[6] The 2006 FX reality television show Black. White. had two families realistically portrayed via makeup as another race: One as blackface, the other whiteface.[7] To promote his new album "White People Party Music", Nick Cannon portrayed a character of European descent named Connor Smallnut.[8] In the 2004 film White Chicks, Shawn Wayans and Marlon Wayans play two FBI agents who go undercover as young white women by using whiteface.[9] Comparison to blackface Edit Blackface is widely considered racist, based upon traceable racial links to slavery and racial segregation. For this reason, blackface is heavily condemned in modern art forms, while whiteface is occasionally employed in modern times, usually in a comedic context. Those who defend it as art differentiate it from blackface, often arguing that whiteface does not draw on a legacy of racism in the way that blackface does, hence argue that the intended satire of white lifestyles is not racist.[10] Critics of whiteface condemn it for being hypocritical or a double standard.[11][12]
From Wiki.
Partially spurred on by Archeopteryx
quote:Originally posted by Archeopteryx:
quote:Originally posted by Yatunde Lisa:
DIGITAL BLACK FACE IS A VILE RACIST PRACTICE
If black people use White faces in a similar manner is that not racism too? Can only white people be racist?
Media caption, An Aboriginal mother has shared photos of her daughter with her face painted white for a school costume An Indigenous Australian mother has posted photos of her daughter dressed in "whiteface" in response to a debate over "blackface".
Last week a young boy in Perth attended a school event with his skin painted black in tribute to his idol, Australian Rules player Nic Naitanui.
The incident sparked furious discussion on social media.
Bec Bee, who is of Aboriginal descent, said there were "double standards" inflaming racial debates in Australia.
"I didn't see blackface," she told the BBC. "I saw a young fella who was proud to emulate his idol. There was no intent of racism."
The mother-of-two from Far North Queensland shared a photo on Facebook showing her daughter dressed as a Dr Seuss character in a red wig and white face paint for a similar school event three years ago.
"Not once did anyone say anything when I painted my black daughter white 3 years ago. We need to stop the double standards, a hero is a hero!" Ms Bee wrote.
(She sounds like Black folks who are confused by racism and can't tell why the situations aren't the same.)
Child dressed as Nic Naitanui IMAGE SOURCE,TWITTER Image caption, A photo of a young boy dressed as AFL star Nic Naitanui 'Innocent' She suggested the boy would likely be scarred by the controversy surrounding his innocent admiration for a sports star. ADVERTISEMENT
Ms Bee said: "I showed my daughter the article about the young boy… She said 'I'm proud that he wants to be the same colour as me'."
She said she did not believe the Western Australian mother at the centre of the debate had any intention of offending people.
"If this little boy and his mum had been mocking Indigenous culture then I can totally see how this is offensive," she said.
But some on social media disagreed with Ms Bee, saying the two photos were not comparable due to the historical usage of blackface to mock people of colour.
"Just because it doesn't offend you, doesn't mean it's not offensive," said Facebook user Aliera French.
The mother of the child who dressed in blackface last week said her son regarded Mr Naitanui as his idol and he wanted to dress up as him for Book Week.
Mr Naitanui, who is of Fijian heritage, said on Twitter that he did not believe there was any intentional offence but said the mother should "reflect and choose an alternate method next time".
posted
Googling Whiteface doesn't show much other than a mountain,that isn't true with Blackface. There was some controversy with Nick Cannon but I haven't seen much to the same level as Blackface.
Posts: 1123 | From: New York | Registered: Feb 2016
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-------------------- It's not my burden to disabuse the ignorant of their wrong opinions Posts: 2699 | From: New York | Registered: Jun 2015
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posted
@lioness Are the performance meant to be mean and degrading? Is any of the whiteface malicious in thought,intentions or purpose?
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Why do Australians keep wearing blackface? Published24 February 2016 Share Screen grab of Serena Williams fan wearing blackface IMAGE SOURCE,7 NETWORK Image caption, A fan supports Serena Williams while wearing blackface at this year's Australian Open A basketball star's Kanye West party costume has reignited debate in Australia about blackface. Trevor Marshallsea investigates why Australians keep generating headlines by "blacking up".
When a spectator at January's Australian Open painted her face in an intended show of support for Serena Williams, she inadvertently captured the essence of Australia's long-running problem with blackface.
The woman was clearly a Williams fan. She had yellowed her arms and chest in imitation of the tennis star's striking outfit, and clutched in her hand a sign that read "Keep calm and be Serena". To complete the homage, her face was painted boot-polish black. (Very unnecessary.) Shocked American journalists spread pictures of the fan on Twitter, leading to global news coverage and outrage. But a substantial number of Australians saw no problem at all, or believed the woman's only crime was understandable ignorance. (How can it be ignorance when they are adult with a known racialized history?)
A spate of high-profile blackface cases has opened up a divide between Australians who believe "blacking up" is a national embarrassment, and those who believe it is "just a bit of fun".
This week another drama erupted amidst the Australian Opals women's basketball team's preparations for the Rio Olympics. Opals player Alice Kunek posted to Instagram a photo of herself going to a party dressed as rapper Kanye West in blackface make-up.
The picture drew a heated response from Australian team-mate Liz Cambage, a player of part-Nigerian descent, who tweeted that it had "shocked and disturbed" her.
Basketballer Alice Kunek posted this photo of herself wearing blackface to her Instagram account IMAGE SOURCE,TWITTER / INSTAGRAM Image caption, Basketballer Alice Kunek attracted the ire of a teammate after she posted this photo of herself wearing blackface to her Instagram account While a reportedly mortified, and now enlightened, Kunek has apologised, it appears change on this particular matter comes slowly in Australia, if at all. There appears a lack of recognition that blackface make-up hurts and offends black people because it evokes historical mockery.Campaigners say excuses that blackface is less potent in isolated Australia than in the US sound increasingly hollow in a global society.
'Ignorance from distance' This is not a uniquely Australian problem - Dutch Christmas celebrations feature the blackface helper of Sinterklaas, Black Pete, and Japanese band Momoiro Clover Z were in a blackface controversy last year - but Australian circumstances contribute to its continuance here.
"There's ignorance from distance," University of Sydney associate professor Catriona Elder, an expert in Australian cultural identity and history, told the BBC.
"Only 2-3% of Australians are Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander. It's hard to be mean about a race if you're friends with people from that race, but most white Australians simply haven't been around Indigenous Australians.
"A lot of white Australians grew up in families or communities where casual racism is accepted, so there's an ignorance to racism there."
Of concern to Elder, anti-racism campaigners and many other Australians, both black and white, is the fiercely defensive responses which follow criticism of those playing racially-toned dress-ups. You could call it the backlash to the backlash.
These responses range from innocent-sounding pleas that blackface is harmless fun to visceral attacks on those who call out racism.
Screen grab of Indigenous rapper Briggs' criticism of two men IMAGE SOURCE,FACEBOOK Image caption, Indigenous rapper Briggs strongly criticised two men from a country city who painted their bodies black for a party Take the social media storm that flared early in February when photos circulated of two men in the Victorian city of Ballarat who attended an "Aussie Icons" party as Indigenous Australians. They were hailed as "legends" on Facebook by the party's host, triggering fierce protests led by Aboriginal rapper Briggs.
This sparked a torrent of racist abuse for Briggs. Some people painted their faces black in solidarity with the partygoers, posting pictures with the hashtag "#wewillblackwithyou".
"It's about a resistance," Catriona Elder says. "There's a resistance from some white Australians that says they won't stop saying or doing these things that are hurtful and racist, because they think it's harmless and funny. That's the racism - a general lack of respect for another culture."
'Buffoons' But as in the case of Serena's painted-up fan, utter cluelessness appears to play a role in many of Australia's blackface controversies.
Jackson 5 parody group on Australian television IMAGE SOURCE,NINE NETWORK Image caption, US entertainer Harry Connick Jr was openly upset when a group of performers wore blackface on Australian television In 2009, a special revival episode of the long-running TV show Hey Hey It's Saturday featured a blackface performance by a group of medical professionals impersonating the Jackson 5. American artist Harry Connick Jnr, a guest on the show, expressed his dismay and rated the performance zero out of 10.
"Man, if they turned up looking like that in the United States…" Connick Jr said, later adding: "I know it was done humorously, but we've spent so much time trying to not make black people look like buffoons, that when we see something like that we take it really to heart."
The story took a complicated twist when it was revealed that most of the men who performed the skit were not white.
The group's leader, an Indian-born doctor named Anand Deva, said five out of six of the men came from diverse backgrounds and all were huge Michael Jackson fans.
Catriona Elder says Australia's race situation is improving, with indigenous people now having a "bigger voice to fight for their rights". However, despite all the publicity, the message on issues such as blackface make-up is evidently not sinking in.
"One of the good things about Australia is that we have legislation and policies in place that enable people who want to do anti-racism," Elder said. "But there are other people out there who feel Australia should be a white place. And how do you get someone who doesn't care, to care?"
quote:Originally posted by Thereal: [QB] @lioness Are the performance meant to be mean and degrading? Is any of the whiteface malicious in thought,intentions or purpose?
quote:Originally posted by Thereal: Outside Marlon Brondo,none of the whiteface characters are anyone specific.
if the imitation is not specific that it much more easily could be construed as a stereotype.
So the Weekend could say "I wasn't trying to imitate white people, I was doing Brando in particular who happens to be white". Billy Crystal could say the same thing "I wasn't stereotyping black people I was imitating the specific way Sammy Davis speaks"
But If it is not somebody particular, just "a white person" or "a black person" or "an Asian person"
> Then that kind of specific person explanation can't be used.
It is very clear that when a specific person is not being imitated instead a type of person is being imitated that it could much more easily be construed as maybe racist
So of all the examples, the Brando and the Sammy Davis have the least potential to be offensive compared to the others although imitating a specific person can become more offensive if generalized stereotyping is d just a trick to go back to typing, an excuse to do so. The intent will vary based on the example, I think That is what they did in that Jackson 5 performance. They didn't try to closely imitate like with the Sammy Davis. They just used it as an excuse to go back to generalized stereotyping, racial mockery. But the point is the same. If no particular person is used then that is not even at play as a possibility, it's stereotype from the get go
Posts: 42922 | From: , | Registered: Jan 2010
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A tendency to treat all debates as if the opposing sides present equally strong arguments, or are equally valid or equally dangerous
Why anyone would need to defend the 5 examples you have of white face?
White face is not an cultural phenomenon
STOP!!!
-------------------- It's not my burden to disabuse the ignorant of their wrong opinions Posts: 2699 | From: New York | Registered: Jun 2015
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