Bamboozled

So I initially forgot to post, but still wanted to share this with the rest of the class!

http://youtu.be/KhnsaMLtQM8?t=49m10s

While reading "Minstrel Laughs: Popular Culture, Race, and the Middle Class," I was instantly reminded of the Spike Lee film Bamboozled (which Professor Delmont mentioned in his minstrelsy lecture) in Smulyan's discussion of the minstrel books and minstrelsy in popular culture. The film has many parallels to the article. For those of you who have not seen the film (I’m guessing most?), it’s essentially an exploration as to how would American society react if there were to be a stereotypical minstrel show in the early part of the 21^st century The scene in the link above is shockingly similar to the passage on page 20 about “blackening up.”. Along with the passages on “blackening up” I think that the film also reflects how Smulyan describes how minstrel shows were a part of mass culture. Later on in the film, the show becomes wildly popular, complete with catchphrases and merchandise developing from the show. The show in the film also connects the “folk” aspect of the amateur minstrels to the transition of to popular culture. The show is presented to a live audience, which interacts with the cast members, and then it was also televised (similar to SNL). This allowed for the audience to really respond to the performers in the film, and the expansion in to popular culture (TV), allowed for the same material to reach a variety of audiences. It’s very interesting how easily most of the viewers of the show quickly accept the show as a legitimate form of entertainment, providing, in Smulyan’s words “the historicity and nostalgic aura that allowed for an exploration and construction of race that so fascinated white Americans.”