Sign in or register
for additional privileges

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

Nicholas Sammond, Author

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.

Performance, Page 72

The term "pickaninny" is a derogatory term for poor African American children, who were (and are) often stereotyped as immature, rebellious, and immune to pain. According to Felix the Cat creator Otto Messmer, Pat Sullivan, the producer of Felix, had first created a character, Sammy Jonsin, who was based on the stereotype of the pickaninny. That character eventually became Felix.

The pickanniny was a common figure in popular culture during the early twentieth century. A Blatz gum ad from a 1928 issue of the movie fan magazine Photoplay blithely asks why a pickaninny loves watermelon, implying that his uncontrollable appetites will lead him to steal that same fruit.

That voraciousness is on display when Felix dreams of an ideal future in which he can eat endlessly in Futuritzy (1928), simultaneously demonstrating the economy of line and of stereotype through which Sullivan Studios created its animated worlds.

Comment on this page
 

Discussion of "Performance, Page 72"

Add your voice to this discussion.

Checking your signed in status ...

Previous page on path Performance, page 18 of 25 Next page on path

Related:  Labor, Page 93Race, Page 204Space, Page 178Labor, Page 98Performance, Page 40Labor, Page 88Labor, Page 123Space, Page 155Labor, Page 126Race, Page 225Conclusion, Page 298Labor, Page 109Labor, Page 112Race, Page 229Labor, Page 129Performance, Page 62Space, Page 193Race, Page 251Conclusion, Page 292Conclusion, Page 275Space, Page 143Race, Page 258Race, Page 261Introduction, Page 14Space, Page 159Performance, Page 52Performance, Page 47Space, Page 169Space, Page 177Space, Page 165Labor, Page 113Race, Page 252Space, Page 192Performance, Page 77Labor, Page 128Introduction, Page 1Space, Page 190Race, Page 206Introduction, Page 2Performance, Page 84Space, Page 146Space, Page 175Performance, Page 43Conclusion, Page 286Conclusion, Page 303Performance, Page 45Space, Page 141Labor, Page 119Performance, Page 67Space, Page 182Race, Page 230Performance, Page 80Space, Page 188Space, Page 170Performance, Page 46Labor, Page 133Space, Page 148Space, Page 152Conclusion, Page 278Introduction, Page 6Race, Page 232Introduction, Page 26Race, Page 254Race, Page 239Race, Page 253Space, Page 172Labor, Page 122Performance, Page 82Space, Page 187Performance, Page 54Conclusion, Page 291Space, Page 162Performance, Page 35Performance, Page 34Race, Page 248Labor, Page 132Space, Page 194Space, Page 171Race, Page 221Performance, Page 42Performance, Page 74Space, Page 189Race, Page 219Introduction, Page 29Labor, Page 101Race, Page 235Introduction, Page 18Race, Page 213Performance, Page 70Race, Page 245Conclusion, Page 290Introduction, Page 21Space, Page 138Conclusion, Page 284Space, Page 181Performance, Page 60Space, Page 163Race, Page 231Introduction, Page 9Conclusion, Page 268Race, Page 247Labor, Page 102Conclusion, Page 302Space, Page 197Performance, Page 50Conclusion, Page 296Conclusion, Page 300Introduction, Page 30Labor, Page 110Space, Page 137Performance, Page 78Conclusion, Page 289Space, Page 150Race, Page 220Labor, Page 96Performance, Page 56Race, Page 224Space, Page 183Introduction, Page 20Conclusion, Page 304Conclusion, Page 272Conclusion, Page 274Race, Page 257Introduction, Page 23Performance, Page 44Labor, Page 131Introduction, Page 4Conclusion, Page 273Space, Page 156Space, Page 184Space, Page 191Introduction, Page 12introduction-page-22Performance, Page 41