Race Melodrama and Minstrel Shows: Crash Course Theater #30
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- Опубліковано 22 сер 2024
- We’re continuing our discussion of nineteenth-century American theater with a look at some upsetting parts of the US's theatrical past. In the nineteenth century, race and racism contributed to a unique and troubling performance culture, which helped create and spread racist stereotypes that are still with us today.
And just - to be super clear - the stuff we’re talking about in this episode is … tough. The images are upsetting, and much of the language is … fraught, to put it lightly. So, just an up front content warning, so you know what’s coming up.
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Thanks for not skipping or skimming over this.
I'm scared for the comments section....
LocalToast uhh
@LocalToast and you just outted yourself as a nazi. Congratulations you've played yourself, racist bastard.
@LocalToast you've never been to Britain or anywhere else in Europe, have you?
@Local Toast I’m sure you’ve completely assuaged Alex Aliona’s fears with that rant. 🙄
honestly, kinda wish you'd gone more in-depth with the caricatures and how they've survived into the modern day, but I guess that's another story for another day.... possibly not in the purview of a Crash Course, either.
I think they gave us enough to make us think critically about what remains.
Crash Course Sociology. The reason they don't go in depth in this video is because of how many racists and sexists bombed Crash Course Sociology.
Yikes, for real? I believe, though. Sociology is not a field of study friendly to white male supremacy, when taught properly despite its terrible history.
Thanks for this video. It's hard to look at our past and see what we did to other people, but we need to remeber that so we know what NOT to do in the future. Thanks for the video. It is a reminder of our past and a glance at our future. See you next time. DFTBA
Thank you for talking about this subject matter as a lot of people will just skip over and pretend it never happened as a way to deal with it. That doesn't help with understanding how we as a country/culture have changed and grown. It makes sure that we don't take steps backward and that we have a full understanding of where we have been. It matters to us that have to live with such images as the only way we are seen by ourselves and the rest of the world. For these images to lose power, we must understand and confront them honestly.
What an amazing job you did on this one! Much appreciation, and continued success!
Good job Mike Rugnetta and Crash Course Team. A delicate topic expressed with dignity, respect and sensitivity. This is the first Crash Course series I have watched and you've been a class-act from start to finish. ENCORE!
The stereotyping that the American Media has done towards certain groups of people is Despicable.
All media is facets of us, doing the job of informing, entertaining and propaganda. No culture has been immune to humans using the media of it's time and place for those purposes.
You mean like CNN?
Only CNN? Or are you adding to the problem?
Did I just see MIckey Mouse in blackface?!
that's definitely a thing
Yup
In Disney's The 3 Little Pigs the wolf disguises as a Jew.
Oh, no
I wish you guys could've told us at least the titles of more of those African Grove plays, since the only one you describe was lost.
If there are any that survive, I would love to know so I can at least look them up!
why do you not just look up "African Grove plays" and see where that takes you?
This is a superb series. Don't comment often but praise is really due.
If you know where to look,
many of these concepts carry on to this day.
I'm not really into theater, I'm mostly here because I missed Mike's face after idea channel stopped making videos. Love your work Mike! Keep it up!
2:53 Sherlock? Don't you mean Shylock, The villain of Merchant of Venice?
Andrea Mercier I was thinking he was probably too old to have played Holmes.
Yup. Pretty sure that's what they meant.
I was confused by that too.
He probably just said the wrong thing and no one caught it. Happens to the best of us.
Audrey the cat nerd Yup. Nothing wrong with that. Still worth correcting to avoid confusion, though.
Loved the delivery of this episode. Well paced, well voiced.
The Black and White Minstrel Show was shown on British television until the late 1970's.
This is so interesting and I am learning so much more now than ever. History of plays by African-Americans/Black and how they became part of the culture. I appreciate this a lot. Thanks for the lesson, Mike
Learning about minstrelsy and its era wouldn’t be so horrifying if so much hadn’t stayed the same into the present day.
unrelated to this course (this was the most recent video so this has more chance of being seen) I wanted to say thank you to everyone involved with crash course. This channel has helped me improve my understanding and knowledge of a wide range of topics. Crash course has helped me broaden my perspectives in life as well as academically. so thank you :)
We've come so far from the worst of racist performances, even as we have so far to go.
Uncle Tom's cabin is less than a mile from where I'm sitting now. The Josiah Henson special park here in Maryland.
What laws and treatment couldn't do,the minstrel shows did and it still lives today.
~12:28-12:48 "..American theater like American society still hasn't shaken off the legacy of minstrel see the portrayal of racist stereotypes or kowtow to the expectations of intolerant audiences the entertainment
industry in many respects has come a long way but still has very very far to go" ..could the same be said of anime and it's depictions of black persons after the 90's? `_` ..
I'd say so at least. I mean, Japan is an extremely xenophobic country and have worked hard to keep their population majority japanese. And that's without even getting in to how black people are actually presented in the media. That's just on the history of the country.
I'm sure this was tough to make. Thanks to the whole team.
hey i'm just dropping by to say, i've been subscribed to your channel for quite a while now but i've recently noticed that i never even click on your videos and watch them although i'm sure you make great content. I figured that is probably because your thumbnails just don't catch my attention since there's so much text and no pictures. so i thought i'd tell you that in case it's something you yourself notice in your stats too:)
Now that you've identified your cognitive bias, you can work to overcome it and recognize that Crash Course videos are good not only in spite of, but perhaps because of, a lack of clickbait thumbnails. :)
Thanks for mentioning Ira Aldridge, who was also was extremely popular in the Balkans.
Minstrel show acts were popular in Victorian England - for example, the original "Christy's Minstrels".
Gilbert & Sullivan took stab at them in the patter song "As Someday It May Happen" in the Mikado. The line is usually updated to "And the piano serenader and the others of his racr... " replacing the N word with piano.
No words... just feelings of sadness and pride.
maybe youre saving it for an episode further down the line... but al jolson was a pretty complex character. not just another bum actor in blackface.
Indeed, even a lot of black people at the time liked him and he used his privilege to assist black performers. Paula Deen is similar, everyone remembers that she said something racist but forget she got the first black couple their own show on cable. She also helped promote black owned restaurants.
@@jessiesargent7212 Modern culture need to be able to take the good with the bad when it comes to people.
Being complex is not an excuse for also being shameful in his depiction of African Americans and hugely egotistical (widely reported)
The truth needs to be told. This was very sad yet eye-opening to learn about the past and have hope for a better future for all humans.
Hi, just watched it and I'm glad I know more now. It's appalling. Wasn't there also a really successful show in Great Britain that showed white performers in blackface well into the 1970s? Also, I would have loved to see some examples in the ending - like, I can think of general examples of racist stereotypes portrayed in film, theatre etc. of course, but giving examples directly relating to the minstrel show's impact would make it easier to understand and deconstruct racist portrayals in film, theatre etc. when coming across them
Future Courses Suggestions: Religion, Literature, Photography, Art, and Nursing I guess
There was a Broadway play, LAST OF THE CAUCASIANS that is on UA-cam. They can grant funding to local theater groups . We need more Native perspectives
Though “political correctness” can sometimes seem excessive and even ridiculous, it is good that we are now at least having serious conversations about language when it comes not only to race, but also about gender. “Huck Finn” and the Little House series of books have often come under fire for language deemed racist. Nevertheless, they are considered classic American literature. What do you think: Should books like this be bowdlerized-wiped clean of any controversial language-or should they be allowed to stand as written?
Just leave them alone and do not erase history.
It happened. No use crying over spilled milk.
A disclaimer seems like a good solution in between rewriting/censorship or banning and disrespect for sensitive and indignant or 'progressive' readers and viewers.
Russia and Prussia where now Poland is. He has a beautiful tombstone in my hometown of Łódź, Poland in the Old Cemetery (which in itself is really interesting, since people of three religious denominations: Catholics, Evangelicals and Orthodox are buried there).
You don't have to apologize for calling Canada New France when you're talking about this time period. At the time, we were the French colony of France Nouveau.
Nouvelle-France ☺
I stand corrected. Thank you.
No we weren’t, actually. In the 1800s, it was Canada (technically divided into either Upper and Lower or East and West) and we were a set of British colonies.
I hope they talk about Japanese hero Theater shows, that started in like the 1970's soon. Probably in like 3 episodes.
go crash course! loved this one.. great discussions.
Well handled ladies and gentlemen, great video.
Nice. Please anybody, min 8:47 "... Some of these adaptations were faithful takes on the novel ...- what word is next??? It sounds like /ʒuʒd/ I just can't make it out.
Fantastic presentation!!! Thanks
Have you or are you going have an episode about or at least containing Jerzy Grotowski?
isaac mitchell please!!!
Broadway used to do all black versions of plays like Guys and Dolls, and The Odd Couple. They haven't done for years since there is no market for it. You should have given examples of how the minstrel shows have continued to this day.
Don't cast enough black people? Exclusionary racist. Cast too many black people minstrel show racist.
Somebody missed the point.
1. It's about how black people and institutional racism (slavery especially) are represented, not just who is cast
2. Most blackface was white actors
Hard to watch but so glad your talking about it.
Just...how am I early-leah
You skipped a bunch of American playwrights that are women that came before this I'm so disappointed. I'm glad you talked about this but there is so much more
So is the minstrel show where we get the barbershop quartet?
Black Face is Not Copacetic, a Little Nod to Bill (Bojangles) Robinson.
Why have musicals in the U.S. been associated with homosexuals as a sort of cliche (and possibly a stereotype)?
Zoe is...Dolores from Westworld???
Educational!
What is with that cut at 12:45?
DId Thought Bubble dress Zoe like that girl from Westworld on purpose?
Knock, knock. Who's there? Knock, knock. What? Knock knock jokes came from the minstrel shows.
Thank you for this post cuz I knew it was awful but there was no concise breakdown of what and why it was. Also I adore you xo
oh god, *_Naturalism_*
please no forests, please no idiots wandering around in the dead of winter in uninhabited _forests_
IM ONE OF YOUR BIGGIST FAAANS
@Restoration true
Alguien que traduzca
God bless Stephen Foster
This is amazing, can you say more about the minstrel shows which attempted to unite Blacks and Whites? Any titles?
I don't understand this need to constantly apologize about race and racism in American culture. It happened, it's still happening. Instead of just going on how horrible it is, do something about it.
Well in this case it's history. He's not apologizing for it. He just said there are going to be racist and stereotypical images here as we review it.
@@Jaydoggy531
Agreed. There is a lot of pathetic apologism out there but this is not a case of it.
If you see this I hope god blesses you with 1000$
Should have mentioned Porgy and Bess. One of the greatest black shows of all time.
"...and so does the novel." 9:30
Absolutely not, at least not anything meeting the expectations of the Minstrel audiences. Are some characters dumb, yes - as can be expected for people without proper education, but others like Tom are shown to be highly intelligent and motivated. I doubt you have ever read the novel.
❤
I thought this was supposed to be about theatre in history. I'm not interested in your ideology and world view, I'm interested in theirs.
what is name of host, he needs hair transplant... his hair is great
Deal with it
Uncle grandpas cabin
Second
First
87th veiwer
Drag shows are a little similar to minstrel shows except for women.
Care to explain this remark? It's a little confusing
@@tugger I made the comparison because while minstrel shows are white people painting themselves as caricatures of black people, drag is men painting themselves as caricatures of women. Both perform as these caricatures, and both audiences know that they arent actually black/women. I dont believe that drag is as oppressive as minstrel shows, but i just thought they had interesting similarities.
Sophia June I think Drag started out that way but became its own thing (it’s own culture and art form). It’s like saying gay culture is a caricature of women. It isn’t. Gay men are just gay men. Drag queens are drag queens and have amongst themselves their own style, slang/Language, garb, etc.
I think it’s unfair to say they are mocking women when they are expressing their inner selves as opposed to trying to emulate real women. They are an extreme of women. They are separate.
But I get what u are saying and u aren’t the first to say it.
Sophia June I don’t think this is a good comparison to make as the history and purpose of these two things differ vastly and especially since one of the two is deeply rooted in oppression while the other in expression
@@triligyblood I understand that they aren't exactly alike, but people believed that minstrel shows were expression as well, and were regarded as an art form.
Ew no where's hank
D A B
Propaganda...
Sounds too liberal to me, unfortunately. Best regards.
I'm so sick of EVERYTHING being about race.
Back then, almost everything was.
Then help heal some of the problem and be productive
If one race didn't think they were superior to other races back then you wouldn't be "so sick" of everything being about race because there will be no subject on it right now
Understand the feeling but we can't run 🏃 from reality