Sign in or register
for additional privileges

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

Nicholas Sammond, Author
Space, page 2 of 36
Previous page on path     Next page on path

 

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.

Space, Page 138

In the finale of what is often considered the first "talkie", The Jazz Singer (1927), Al Jolson performs the song "Mammy" in blackface. His mother sits in the audience as he sings about his devotion to her, his "Mammy." His performance attempts to reconcile his desire to be a famous singer, his devotion to his family, and his Jewish faith.

Jolson uses blackface and the sentimental caricature of the black Mammy who contentedly accepted slavery and happily nurtured the white family, thus conflating his love for his own mother with that of a Mammy. Jolson's signature blackface performance points out the essential place of sentimentality and nostalgia in racial formations of the 1930s. 




Comment on this page
  • Local Discussion
    •
  • Popout
    •
 

Discussion of "Space, Page 138"

Add your voice to this discussion.

Checking your signed in status ...

Previous page on path Space, page 2 of 36 Next page on path
Live Cinema    Moving Image    Sound    1920s

Related:  Performance, Page 54,  Race, Page 213,  Conclusion, Page 278,  Conclusion, Page 290,  Introduction, Page 4,  Space, Page 150,  Labor, Page 98,  Conclusion, Page 298,  Labor, Page 122,  Space, Page 172,  Race, Page 231,  Conclusion, Page 296,  Labor, Page 88,  Space, Page 182,  Introduction, Page 29,  Performance, Page 60,  Performance, Page 74,  Race, Page 258,  Space, Page 178,  Race, Page 221,  Performance, Page 45,  Space, Page 155,  Space, Page 191,  Space, Page 197,  Performance, Page 46,  Conclusion, Page 304,  Space, Page 188,  Conclusion, Page 303,  Introduction, Page 2,  Conclusion, Page 275,  Space, Page 165,  Race, Page 261,  Space, Page 187,  Space, Page 189,  Labor, Page 133,  Race, Page 254,  Race, Page 251,  Race, Page 229,  Performance, Page 43,  Race, Page 252,  Space, Page 170,  Performance, Page 77,  Race, Page 225,  Labor, Page 123,  Conclusion, Page 300,  Conclusion, Page 302,  Race, Page 247,  Labor, Page 132,  Race, Page 204,  Conclusion, Page 291,  Labor, Page 109,  Performance, Page 84,  Space, Page 177,  Conclusion, Page 292,  Introduction, Page 6,  Conclusion, Page 284,  Space, Page 175,  Space, Page 183,  Race, Page 224,  Race, Page 230,  Race, Page 248,  Labor, Page 119,  Conclusion, Page 289,  Performance, Page 82,  Space, Page 194,  Performance, Page 34,  Race, Page 235,  Space, Page 166,  Space, Page 148,  Race, Page 239,  Performance, Page 52,  Performance, Page 72,  Race, Page 206,  Space, Page 181,  Space, Page 184,  Labor, Page 110,  Introduction, Page 14,  Performance, Page 42,  Space, Page 159,  Space, Page 190,  Space, Page 152,  Performance, Page 50,  Race, Page 232,  Introduction, Page 21,  Performance, Page 47,  Space, Page 141,  Space, Page 146,  Space, Page 193,  Labor, Page 128,  Introduction, Page 16,  Race, Page 220,  Performance, Page 44,  Space, Page 143,  Introduction, Page 1,  Performance, Page 35,  Space, Page 163,  Labor, Page 112,  Introduction, Page 30,  Space, Page 195,  Space, Page 162,  Labor, Page 129,  Space, Page 156,  Labor, Page 113,  Race, Page 253,  Performance, Page 41,  Labor, Page 102,  Introduction, Page 15,  Conclusion, Page 268,  Labor, Page 93,  Conclusion, Page 286,  Conclusion, Page 273,  Space, Page 169,  Labor, Page 101,  Introduction, Page 23,  Race, Page 242,  Performance, Page 76