Introduction, Page 23
In this scene from Babes in Arms (1939), Mickey Rooney and Judy Garland perform nostalgia for the good old days of minstrelsy. Featuring a full marching band of people in blackface, minstrelsy here is treated as an object from the "memory lane", as Garland fondly recalls "when Primrose was the king."
The form of minstrelsy invoked in films such as Babes in Arms (1939) or Holiday Inn (1941) stabilized following the Civil War. By the end of the 30s, the popular imaginary increasingly located minstrelsy in the past, treating it as a relic from bygone days.
This scene ends with Judy Garland taking off her makeup to become 'white' again, uniting with her blackfaced lover as a storm unravels the song and dance, washing off the burnt cork embellishing Rooney's face.
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