I was extremely interested in your piece on the use of
blackface in The Jazz Singer. The
film is a contentious work, yet I frequently see its impact boiled down to a
simple statement: “it’s racist.” And while, yes, The Jazz Singer is a racist film, it’s also incredibly important to
examine the reasons behind the film’s use of blackface and its immense financial
success.
I will admit that I was also interested in your essay
because I see some parallels between your work and my own. Blackface and
playing Indian are both means for whites to act out anxieties about changes in society.
In the case you haven’t read my book, Playing
Indian, I’ll summarize my analysis.
Playing Indian was a powerful tool for white Americans and
proto-Americans in the political and cultural spheres. Adopting the persona of
an “other,” or the interior Indian – an Indian given positive characteristics,
as opposed to the negative, savage, exterior Indian – gave these Americans a
venue with which to act out the conflicting ideas of egalitarianism and
eliteness. Members of Indian societies and others who played Indian saw
themselves as unique participants in often hierarchical secret societies, simultaneously
used their membership as a way to assuage fears about the perceived changes in their
society.
I believe the same holds true for the usage of blackface. As
you noted, The Jazz Singer uses the blackface
to deal with the issues of cultural assimilation within immigrant societies. Al
Jolson’s character, Jakie/Jack uses blackface to move from the world of Jewish
cultural and religious traditions to the realm of American pop culture. By
disguising himself as a Negro “Other,” he is able to utilize the “interior”
Negro’s cultural capital and authenticity as a purveyor of jazz music. The
disguise also serves to render his separation from the Jewish community less
painful. In addition, the use of blackface further demonizes the “exterior”
Negro by perpetuating racial stereotypes and moves the Jewish protagonist
closer to the “American” white community that also upholds these stereotypes.
Your work concerning the Jewish community and the use of
blackface has inspired me to look more deeply at the role of playing Indian in
immigrant communities. At the moment, I’ve only managed to unearth the conflict
between Irish Catholic interests and the Tammany and Red Men societies, but I’m
certain that playing Indian could have played a pivotal role in the development
of national identities for immigrants in the early history of America.
I’d also like to analyze the role of playing Indian in
contemporary media. I’m sure there would be quite a lot to look at (see Fig 1). Let me know
if you have any thoughts on this.
Best,
Philip Deloria
Fig 1 Peter Pan Animated Film
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