In the 1800’s a new era had begun in theatre. Many of the working white class men started
creating a theatre form to where they were mocking African Americans, yet they
did not know it would become part of American history. During the 1900’s Minstrel theatre plays
became famous. Since African American’s
were not allowed on stage, white males started playing their part on stage
during these performances (History of Minstrel Shows). These scenes
were originally formed to mock the ways of the African Americans. Their songs, art, and culture were incorporated
into these plays as the white males painted their faces and bodies with black
paint. These shows were created to
provide entertainment for everyone, and were thought to be disrespectful and
cruel to the African Americans. These white actors were "showing blacks as foolish and naive, minstrel shows presented blacks as happy with their status as slaves while perpetuating a nostalgic view of plantation life" (Felner & Orenstein, p. 334). Yet, it
is known to have spread word and experiences that the African’s were never able
to share. This showed everyone that they
were more than just colored people.
These plays emphasized the songs, musical component, and art of the
African Americans and even though the performances were mainly to mock the
blacks, the music became well known worldwide.
In today's society these videos are viewed as very offensive and are not accepted. When searching for videos I saw why some would be offensive, but some were very interesting in realizing how creative slaves were with what little they owned.
In
this video you can see the costume of the white male. The entire face is
painted in black, the hair texturized, and the costume of how an African
American would be dressed (could sometimes be over exaggerated) during the time
period. As you listen to the script you can see how the dialogue changes from character
to character between the different ethnic groups. The actors and actresses use different
tones in their voice and "slang" words to promote their characters.
Here you can see a group of men performing a Minstrel Show. Taking notice to their make up and outfits this is the usual costume for these men during performances. It was important when making these characters come to life that the cast use nonverbal and verbal changes to show the characters and their way of life.
I thought these pictures were interesting because they show a before and after photo of the guys who would dress as the African Americans.
When watching this, even though these shows were made to make fun of the African Americans I cannot help but think about how extremely creative they are. I feel these videos today, if viewed by society, would bring attention to everyone how creative the dances, music, and art that is involved. When watching this I was amazed that they threw sand on the ground to make music with the steps and dance moves shown in this video.
"Blackface Minstrel Show Sand Dance." YouTube. YouTube, 09 Jan. 2013. Web. 06 Mar. 2013.
"Cotton and Chick Watts Blackface Minstrel Show Comedy." YouTube. YouTube, 09 Jan. 2013.Web. 06 Mar. 2013.
Felner, Mira and Claudia Orenstein.
The World of Theatre. Boston: Pearson, 2006. 334-335.
Print.
"History of Minstrel Shows." OTRCAT. Old Time Radio Catalog, n.d. Web. 06 Mar. 2013.
Padgett, Kenneth W. "Blackface Minstrel Shows." Blackface. n.d. Web. 06 Mar. 2013.
No comments:
Post a Comment