Wednesday, September 9, 2009
Has Much Changed?
This weeks reading on Blackface Minstrelsy got me thinking about Pop Culture today and its ability to define identity similarly to the way blackface minstrelsy did in the 1800’s. The reading and class discussion made me think of the way the black community is portrayed in pop culture today and how this portrayal creates a type of false feeling for the white community as being knowable or being able to “understand” the black community. This made me think of how black minstrelsy acted as a vehicle for the white community to be part of the black community and black culture (or what the white community defined as the black community and black culture) as they pleased. Entering in to any community and taking from it as one pleases is a white privilege taken for granted. Even if there isn’t harm being done to the other community it is still a white privilege to be able to enter different communities as one pleases. Something that happens when one culture takes what they see from another and translates it as they choose back to a larger group of people is a loss of reality or fact. The images are portrayed through the eyes of the second party rather then first hand experience. This happens on a seriously detrimental scale with the black community in America. These stereotypes portrayed on stage in black ministry and today on the stage of rap concerts for example are then immersed into pop culture and become part of a normative discourse that is very hard to change. What I mean by this is when something becomes part of cultural common sense it is nearly impossible to change because it is so embedded in societies every day discourse that it cant be removed.
I selected this video because of the way it shows a small part of African American culture in the bay area but how it may be all that some people know of this area and therefore it will perpetuate particular stereotypes. Also the type of dancing reminded me of the way the actors in black minstrelsy would imitate the way they say African Americans moving on the streets.
A discussion question I would like to ask is what does this say about racism in pop culture today? Why are these videos appealing to us today and is it similar to why black face minstrelsy was appealing to audiences before?
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2 comments:
Samantha, thanks for starting this week's posts.
I think you raise interesting points about the relationship between Blackface Minstrelsy and contemporary pop culture of today.
When minstrelsy was at its peak of popularity, white and black Americans were obviously much more segregated than in today's society, therefore I agree with you that blackface acted as a vehicle for the white community to become part of black culture, (even if it was totally racist and demeaning to African Americans). Minstrel shows provided entertainment to the masses (primarily to white audiences of all classes), as they themselves took African American culture and translated it into their own racial stereotypes.
I find this to be similar (obviously to a lesser degree) of pop culture today; especially in modern hip hop, where the stereotypical view by white consumers is that it is urban in nature, and associated with ghettos, the working classes and crime. Interestingly hip hop remains to be one of the most popular genres of musical entertainment of today, with both black AND white audiences. Perhaps this is because white performers are forever becoming more immersed into the hip hop scene (like minstrelsy, it being a 'vehicle' for the white community to become more involved in contemporary black culture) or perhaps African American rappers are merely great performers, either way, there are definite similarities between hip hop and minstrelsy shows in regards to their popularity with audiences.
Finally I would like to address the idea reflected in the Saxton reading, that minstrelsy, however barbaric it was, placed usually ignored social content in the background of the shows, and by defusing the messages with “humour”, it made the content acceptable. This shows similarities with political messages that are often infused in lyrics from popular hip hop songs. Perhaps a reason why contemporary hip hop is so popular, like minstrelsy was, is due to its ability to push the ‘mark’ in terms of the political messages they incorporate into their performances, in which society, as a norm would never openly address.
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