The Blackface Number Was Just Weird
I realize times are different and many didn't see blackface in those days as being racist but the makers of this movie should have been able to recognize it's strangeness.
shareI agree. It made me cringe.
MovieChat Forums > Holiday Inn (1942) Discussion > The Blackface Number Was Just Weird
Watching this for the first time. My oh my, was that uncomfortable. Times sure have changed. I completely understand why it's cut on TV.
shareIt was one of the last non-ironic blackface scenes used in a 'major' motion picture -- who knows if maybe bad critical reaction to this scene helped nail the coffin in the whole genre.
Also in the lyrics to "Abraham," you have the verse,
"When black folks lived in slavery
Who was it set the darkie free?
Abraham, Abraham..."
... which even in 1942 was pushing things about to the limit.
================
4) You ever seen Superman $#$# his pants? Case closed.
Except that it wasn't strange at the time. Blackface minstrel stage shows were once the most popular form of entertainment in 19th century America, and it was only natural that films used it, too. It was on its way out in 1942 but most moviegoers of the day wouldn't have thought anything of it.
And if you think THAT'S bad, check out the 'Galavantin' Along' number from the 1936 version of 'Show Boat', a number which features white actress Irene Dunn in blackface. And this was in a show that spoke out against racism!
Also in the lyrics to "Abraham," you have the verse,
"When black folks lived in slavery
Who was it set the darkie free?
Abraham, Abraham..."
To discuss another point, from what I have read about Lincoln and the American Civil War, he was not the savior for African-Americans as later generations portrayed him to be. Lincoln abolished slavery as a tactic to weaken the Confederate states, intended for African-Americans to come north and fight against their former owners. Lincoln even said if securing the Union meant enforcing slavery, then so be it.
"I'd rather be hated for who I am, than loved for who I am not".
This is one of the most misunderstood events in American history. The Emancipation Proclamation did NOT abolish slavery. It ended slavery in all of the slave holding states of the confederacy. Slavery was legal in several of the Union states (Maryland, Kentucky, Missouri and Delaware). The Proclamation did not affect those states. It was partially economic, contrary to popular belief, thousands of slaves were freed when it went into effect. But it was also partially borne out of a sincere desire to end a practice which Lincoln had come to abhor (as did a very large part of the country0the Civil War was fought for many reasons, but the desire to end slavery was definitely one of the most important). The 13th Amendment to the Constitution of the United States is what abolished slavery. Lincoln enthusiastically supported the passage of it: he wanted slavery to end forever. Ironically, had the Civil War not been fought, slavery would have almost certainly ended anyway because it would have become economically untenable - which is one reason why it ended on its own in many other parts of the world.
shareWhite entertainers performed in blackface because they admired black entertainers, not because they were trying to criticize them. It was not racism.
shareIt was born out of theft -- performers stealing another performer's act. That alone makes it repugnant.
If you can't see how rubbing burnt cork on your face (as if that's all there is to being black)is derogatory and insensitive and fetishistic, I don't know what to tell you.
I will remember that the next time I watch White Chicks. Or that SNL episode where Eddie Murphy dons whiteface.
shareRelax your sphincter, and don't worry about knowing what to tell me. I have no interest in what you think, anyway.
Bing Crosby didn't do this blackface number because he was racist or was "stealing another performer's act." He did it as an homage and spoof of 19th century minstrel shows. It was harmless
Before the Emancipation Proclamation the north was losing the war badly. The war had little support in the north because the Northerners did not care if the south seceded from the union. "Keeping the union together" was not enough of a reason for Northerners to send their sons to war. Lincoln gave the Emancipation Proclamation to give Northerners a reason to support the war. He "noblized" the war. Until he gave the Emancipation Proclamation the north was not in the war to end slavery. He knew full well that if the north fought the war to end slavery that slavery would end once the north won the war. The Emancipation Proclamation was strategic genius on his part. Without it, it is likely the union would have split and slavery would have lasted a lot longer in North America.
share"The Emancipation Proclamation did NOT abolish slavery. It ended slavery in all of the slave holding states of the confederacy. Slavery was legal in several of the Union states (Maryland, Kentucky, Missouri and Delaware)"
Methinks Not. I cannot imagine where you got this idea from.
14th amendment:
SECTION I:
All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the state wherein they reside. No state shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any state deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.
To discuss another point, from what I have read about Lincoln and the American Civil War, he was not the savior for African-Americans as later generations portrayed him to be. Lincoln abolished slavery as a tactic to weaken the Confederate states, intended for African-Americans to come north and fight against their former owners. Lincoln even said if securing the Union meant enforcing slavery, then so be it.
There are those who try to diminish Lincoln's anti-slavery beliefs for their own reasons and to help their agenda. I submit the following quotes by Honest Abe himself:
"In 1841 you and I had together a tedious low-water trip, on a Steam Boat from Louisville to St. Louis. You may remember, as I well do, that from Louisville to the mouth of the Ohio there were, on board, ten or a dozen slaves, shackled together with irons. That sight was a continual torment to me; and I see something like it every time I touch the Ohio, or any other slave-border."
"Whenever I hear any one arguing for slavery I feel a strong impulse to see it tried on him personally."
"I am naturally anti-slavery. If slavery is not wrong, nothing is wrong. I can not remember when I did not so think, and feel."
"I have always hated slavery, I think as much as any Abolitionist."
"A house divided against itself cannot stand. I believe this government cannot endure permanently half-slave and half-free."
The following quote is one of my favorites. In this one, Lincoln is not showing an abolitionist tendency as some might advocate for the mistreatment of animals; he's treating slaves as human beings without qualification:
"What I do say is, that no man is good enough to govern another man, without that other's consent. I say this is the leading principle - the sheet anchor of American republicanism."
Is very bad to steal Jobu's rum. Is very bad.share
Nothing brings out the proud and cock-sure ignorance of people like the issue of blackface. I've never read so much stupidity about the topic in one place as I have on the two threads concerning blackface on the board of this film. Incredible and cringe-worthy stupidity.
shareI'm not one of those people who is always looking for minorities in film, but they really should have had black people in this scene instead of doing black face. The musical number itself was also questionable.
shareIt makes me cringe, too, but I’m glad to have seen it. Many people, obviously, thought differently then. I think it would mistake to censor the movie, though.
shareIt's why diversity today is important.
share