Substance and Tradition

An advertisement for a typical minstrel troupe.

The entertainment device known as “blackface” is a burnt cork mixture used to affect a very dark complexion. It is combined with thick, strongly colored make-up around the lips and/or eyes to create an exaggerated set of facial features on the wearer. Blackface was used in films, plays, and dances, note the example at the bottom, but it is connected most strongly with the traditional minstrel show.

The minstrel style of performance was conceptually pioneered in 1828. Troupes of minstrel performers were established in earnest by 1840 and minstrel shows were popular until an eventual decline in the early 20th century. Minstrel shows used a cast of performers, which generally became larger as the popularity of minstrel shows climbed to its peak, employing a combination of comedic routines, dancing, singing, and dramatic pieces. Minstrel performers were expected to be proficient in all these capacities to accommodate the variety of features in a given show, a particularly virtuosic talent might be given a solo in a show.

A “transformation” affected by blackface.

As one could expect, thinking of the visual implications of blackface, the tradition of blackface and its association with minstrelsy carries with it strong racial undertones and semiotic function. Minstrel performances often developed from African-American sources and addressed the social status and position of African-American people. Minstrel shows were targeted to white audiences and were popular because of the way they addressed social and racial dynamics in a light-hearted and relaxing manner (this will be addressed in-depth in the “Performers” and “Audience” sections). While minstrelsy tended to follow a standardized set of themes in terms of content and structure, it shifted and adapted alongside its contemporary environment.

Abolishment of slavery following the resolution of the Civil War brought about the largest change to the dynamics of minstrelsy. Following the Civil War, blackface performers weren’t purely white, neither were their audiences. This change added a new dimension to the dynamic of adapting and acquiring African-American source material as well as attempting to address and interact with racial and social dynamics. Social and economic factors eventually drove minstrelsy into a decline, but blackface as well as minstrel stereotypes lingered on as the influences of the practice had been deeply ingrained into the public view.

http://youtu.be/-_swtbIi2F0

The above video demonstrates the style one would expect from a minstrel performer. Note the accentuated eyes and lips, there is also an exaggerated difference in the speech patterns between the woman and main performer, setting the two apart. Most notably, the minstrel performer uniformly plays the fool and foil to the authoritative white figure before launching into dance, portraying an easy talent in spite of being placed in the lower context.