Sign in or register
for additional privileges

Birth of An Industry: Blackface Minstrelsy and the Rise of American Animation

Nicholas Sammond, Author
Introduction, page 14 of 17
Previous page on path     Next page on path

 

This page was created by Patricia Hill.  The last update was by Alice Xue.

You appear to be using an older verion of Internet Explorer. For the best experience please upgrade your IE version or switch to a another web browser.

Introduction, Page 23

The form of minstrelsy nostalgically invoked in films such as Babes in Arms (1939) or Holiday Inn (1942) took shape following the Civil War.

In this scene from Babes in Arms, Mickey Rooney and Judy Garland perform their nostalgia for the good old days of minstrelsy. With a full marching band of people in blackface, minstrelsy is treated here as a memento, as Garland fondly recalls the days "when [George] Primrose was the king." This scene ends with Garland taking off her makeup to become 'white' again, uniting with her blackfaced lover as a storm blows in to wash the burnt cork off Rooney's face. 

Similarly, Holiday Inn scene offers a tribute in honor of Abraham Lincoln's birthday, performing Irving Berlin's  number "Abraham" as a blackface minstrel show. Not only are the two performers, Jim (Bing Crosby) and Linda (Marjorie Reynolds) in blackface, so is the entire band and all of the waiters and waitresses serving a white audience. The song details Lincoln's freeing of African American slaves. 

The scene features a counterpoint in which the inn's housekeeper, Mamie, sits in the kitchen singing the song to her two children. Her exclusion from the onstage performance, while she sings of black emancipation, deepens the racist irony of the scene.
Comment on this page
  • Local Discussion
    •
  • Popout
    •
 

Discussion of "Introduction, Page 23"

Add your voice to this discussion.

Checking your signed in status ...

Previous page on path Introduction, page 14 of 17 Next page on path
1940s    1930s    Live Cinema    Moving Image

Related:  Race, Page 248,  Race, Page 230,  Introduction, Page 14,  Conclusion, Page 303,  Performance, Page 60,  Race, Page 213,  Performance, Page 41,  Race, Page 225,  Race, Page 254,  Conclusion, Page 278,  Space, Page 197,  Space, Page 170,  Introduction, Page 30,  Race, Page 204,  Race, Page 224,  Space, Page 165,  Labor, Page 109,  Space, Page 194,  Space, Page 148,  Performance, Page 44,  Labor, Page 123,  Race, Page 235,  Conclusion, Page 273,  Race, Page 221,  Space, Page 138,  Conclusion, Page 289,  Race, Page 258,  Performance, Page 43,  Space, Page 163,  Race, Page 206,  Conclusion, Page 275,  Conclusion, Page 300,  Space, Page 175,  Space, Page 184,  Conclusion, Page 302,  Space, Page 171,  Space, Page 183,  Performance, Page 74,  Conclusion, Page 290,  Performance, Page 46,  Space, Page 191,  Race, Page 232,  Race, Page 251,  Labor, Page 132,  Space, Page 181,  Space, Page 177,  Performance, Page 42,  Performance, Page 50,  Space, Page 182,  Race, Page 247,  Space, Page 193,  Conclusion, Page 284,  Labor, Page 112,  Space, Page 146,  Labor, Page 88,  Labor, Page 128,  Conclusion, Page 291,  Labor, Page 131,  Performance, Page 72,  Labor, Page 133,  Race, Page 231,  Performance, Page 40,  Performance, Page 45,  Performance, Page 84,  Race, Page 239,  Space, Page 162,  Performance, Page 52,  Introduction, Page 4,  Introduction, Page 1,  Race, Page 253,  Conclusion, Page 286,  Introduction, Page 2,  Introduction, Page 16,  Space, Page 188,  Performance, Page 77,  Introduction, Page 29,  Space, Page 195,  Space, Page 152,  Labor, Page 119,  Race, Page 229,  Labor, Page 110,  Space, Page 150,  Labor, Page 122,  Race, Page 252,  Labor, Page 113,  Introduction, Page 15,  Introduction, Page 21,  Space, Page 178,  Labor, Page 98,  Conclusion, Page 304,  Space, Page 155,  Performance, Page 34,  Performance, Page 82,  Performance, Page 54,  Space, Page 141,  Race, Page 261,  Space, Page 187,  Conclusion, Page 292,  Performance, Page 35,  Space, Page 190,  Introduction, Page 6,  Space, Page 189,  Labor, Page 129,  Race, Page 220,  Space, Page 172,  Conclusion, Page 298,  Space, Page 143,  Performance, Page 47,  Conclusion, Page 296,  Space, Page 137,  Race, Page 219