Race in Silent Film: Blackface

These days nothing makes one cringe faster than the portrayal of African Americans in early film. The practice of black face (and its minstrel stereotypes) was around long before film, and it remained long after Silents...with several stereotypes penetrating talkies well into the 50s and 60s.

More than any other racial injustice a claim of blackface or minstrel portrayal will sink a legacy faster then you can blink. D.W. Griffith, Al Jolson, and several others have been sunk with that claim. True some of there work is still cringe worthy, but not to the degree people (who have mostly never seen their work) claim.

Climate of the Time
(Keep in mind this was the state of affairs in the US at the time)

*Slavery had ended just about a half century ago

*Poll taxes, the Klan, and Grandfather clauses seen to it things weren't easy for Blacks, especially in the South

*Segregation was in full swing

*It was illegal for a non white to marry a white

*Production Codes forbid interracial love portrayals, the Hays Code later made it a standard rule

*Race riots, lynchings, and white supremacy were the norm

*It would be 40 years after Silents ended before Blacks had equal rights with Whites in America

What is Blackface?

Blackface was the act of applying a deep black make up to a usually white person. It would be applied in a way to give the appearance of an exaggerated lip line. A wig was usually applied to give the nappy hair look. However blackface was also used by black performers, to make their characterizations more...cartoony.

Characterisations

Though the make up itself is enough to make one cringe these days, it was more the use of it that makes it so offensive. The characterisations came from minstrel shows, which started in the mid 1800s (ironically in response to the popularity of the anti slavery novel "Uncle Tom's Cabin"). Based off the novel, and folklore of the time the characterizations were extremely exaggerated portrayals of what they claimed to be 'authentic' black culture.

There was the 'Topsy' (unruly wild child), the 'Uncle Tom' (the yes sir no sir obedient slave like man), the Sexy Mulatto (sexually available and desirable), the uppity Dandy (the rich lazy 'undeserving' man), and of course the 'Mammy' (the all ruling matriarch, usually overweight).

These were all done to an extremely exaggerated degree usually with uneducated sounding slang and child like actions. For the longest time white men played many of these roles, making it all the more odd.

Why was it popular?

Blackface was wildly popular before film was invented. "Uncle Tom's Cabin" (an interesting read itself, which much like Birth is a little too misaligned for my liking) was the most popular book of the 1800s...second only to the Bible. Think Harry Potter times 10. In response "Uncle Tom's Plays" were put on all over the country by various troupes, so many so that sometimes more then one troupe would be in the same town! Uncle Tom's Cabin came out before the Civil War, and these shows were still at the height of popularity well into the early 1900s. Case in point: Mary Pickford played Little Eva in one of her early acting (not film) roles.

In fact "Uncle Tom's Cabin" was first filmed in 1903 (TWICE). It went on to be filmed twice in 1910, twice in 1913, once in 1914, and 1918. One of the final silent versions was filmed in 1927 at the cost of $1.8 million. In short the story retained quite a bit of popularity well into the flapper age, though one can guess much like Birth it fell off during the 20s itself.

Given the popularity of the Uncle Tom shows, blackface wasn't going anywhere. The practice remained (obviously if a final silent Tom was filmed in 1927) right up till the 30s.

Why was it used in film?

The obvious question would be as such since black actors were readily available. Most films used authentic African Americans for extras or bit parts, but never (or rarely) as leads. Indeed one can look through the entire Silent era and find not one authentic black star. On a more interesting note one cant really find anyone who continually was a star for blackface films either (at least on par of 'leading man', not bit player). Josephine Baker is usually cited as a Silent star, but really she wasn't. In fact her only Silents were in France...rendering the whole thing moot. Her stardom wasn't for films anyways, it was for her stage act. And mostly not in the US.

In short one could say non Whites were drastically under represented. But still that doesn't answer why blackface was continually used. This goes more to the attitudes of the time. Interracial mixing was still taboo, and for two races to act out a love scene was scandalous (more on this will be in the yellow face article).

The Hays Code didn't enter its first form until 1922, but before that there were local production codes. No interracial love scenes was a big one. Once the Code itself was in place (well into the 40s at that) this was a big rule. To avoid hassle if a white lead was chosen then someone in black or yellow face was used...it made the studios feel more at ease. This is why Anna May Wong never became a leading lady.

One can say shame on Silents but this type of ban was in effect well into the 50s and 60s.
The Ultimate Horror

In viewing any of these films one thing comes through more and more, which likely has a lot to do with attitudes and the movie code. Interracial love, especially an interracial child, was seen as the ultimate evil. If African Americans got it bad, mixed race folk got it WAY worse. If an interracial love took place, the non white usually died. If an interracial child was born, it usually died as well.

In the most infamous example, "Birth of a Nation" the most evil characters are 2 'mulattoes' who think they can 'go white'. The relationship between the white man and mulatto is shown as one of the most ultimate evil acts.

In a sad twist of fate if you look at film today interracial love is very rarely touched in America. Actors are chosen to look ambiguous as to not offend one audience or the other (Will Smith's "Hitch" had bad press for this. Look at his other films...same idea.) Another note of interest is that interracial marriage was still illegal to almost 1970 in most parts of America.

The Shit List

Truly there is no other name for it. Two of the most notables would be Griffith and Al Jolson. I find that unfair...strictly because if one views work from this time they weren't the worst. In fact they're barely comparable (Griffith had his one horribly bad moment, Jolson never really did anything beyond mild). That is not to give an excuse of course...the portrayals of African Americans in Silents are for the most part cringe worthy even if only on screen for a few seconds. But that doesn't mean we should throw the baby out with the bath water.

We've already gone over the epically terrible "Birth of a Nation". The thing with Griffith was he wasn't really racist. Those who knew him said his views were no different from anyone else of the time (which in viewing that film one may believe him a radical). "Birth of a Nation" was mostly an ode to his memories of the South (where he grew up), and his father's stories (his father was a Confederate veteran). The source material, "The Leopards Spots" meets "The Clansman" by Thomas Dixon, was much more fiery and disgusting. However Griffith made statements at the time of filming he had only 'skimmed' the book for the jist of his ideas. In comparison "Birth" is much more tame than either book. That being said its also horrifying.

Some credit must be given as though critics praised the film, many had trouble with its extreme view. Not all, but many. Birth is likely still the best selling film in America ever (with inflation and ticket prices its hard to calculate an accurate list) even through talkies.

No one can seem to get past "Birth" in Griffith's work. Unlike Disney he cant just bury it as it is a milestone in his filmmaking (the first feature length as we know it, though his second attempt at such). However its not typical of Griffith work. Griffith rarely touched on race in his films. He was more a 'melodramatic' fellow...enjoying tales of simple people. The only other notable race film remarks for him would be "Broken Blossoms" (in which an Asian man is the hero and the white man the villain) and several of his shorts in which the 'Redman' was wronged by the whiteman. Griffith always sided with the Native Americans.

The only other note on his work would be his attitudes towards interracial love. One can see in "Birth" its shown as the ultimate horror time and time again. As his biographer noted Griffith was a fan of always showing a 'beauty and the beast' styled trapped/likely gonna be raped scene. This happened between all sorts of races and nationalities in his films...9 times out of 10 all whiteys. It seemed to be an obsession of his. However in the mid 30s when he was attempting a film comeback he was said to have remarked a white slavery film would be a big crowd pleaser because (paraphrasing) 'interracial rape always gets them going'. More then anything its just likely the nearing 60 year old man's views were antiquated at the time. That being said Griffith was not some Klan mastermind, and he definitely deserves more then a hearsay ban based off what might have happened in Birth (a film most people have not seen these days).

Another notable name on the shit list is Al Jolson. If Griffith deserves a little hell over Birth, Jolson deserves next to nothing. Jolson was primarily a vaudeville performer, basically an early 'Elvis' if you will. He performed black style songs (jazz) and occasionally did it in blackface. Tell me how this is more offensive then Eminem for being a white boy in rappers clothes and well...you'd win. But it isn't.

Jolson's blackface characterizations were MILD in comparison to anything else of the time. His make up was the worst part of the whole affair. He sang his songs the same way he would out of face, and none of the stereotypes (beyond the word 'Mammy' and an occasional slang word) were used. Jolson's career was based on being interesting to hear and watch...not by wearing blackface.

He continually gets hell for "The Jazz Singer". The way people make it out you'd think it was "Birth of a Nation...2!" But it wasn't. The film is more Jewish stereotype than anything (and still not really offensive). Its not racist, and its not really a talkie. The film revolves around a Jewish son wanting to be big in showbiz, against his family's wishes. Jolson performs I believe 3 songs, and only one (the ending) in blackface. Blackface figures into 5 minutes of the film at best, and none of it is in an offensive way. The song he performs is "Mammy" which I really didn't find anything wrong with. This was one of Jolson's few forays into film, and for it he definitely does not deserve to be on the shit list. But he is.

An interesting note is just how many people performed in blackface. Judy Garland, Eddie Cantor (Jolson's contemporary), and even Mae West! I mean click this list. Its huge. And yet so few of them are on the shit list over it.

Ramifications

The saddest thing about blackface use is it really didn't show us the error of our ways as a society. Three things came of it: the Shit listing of 2 of the greatest stars of the early 1900s, stereotypes rappers and black filmmakers still use to this day (Eddie Murphy, 50 Cent, I'm looking at you), and ironically...the black film industry.

Before Griffith there really was no film. There was flickers and nickelodeons, but Birth is where the more modern silents and films came in to play. After "Birth" the black community was outraged. Several films made for and by blacks were made in response including, "Birth of a Race". One man, Oscar Micheaux, decided to make his own films in response. Using a black crew and cast he created "Within our Gates" and with it a series of films that would be made by and mostly for blacks. He was the father of Black film. But without the push from Griffith this likely would not have been. Thus the outrage towards Griffith is all the more interesting, given he indirectly helped inspire the creation of the Black film industry.


Notable Black Actors and Filmmakers of the Silent Era

*Madame Sul-Te-Wan (performed in Birth of a Nation, several other Griffith films)
*Evelyn Preer (starred in several Oscar Micheaux films)
*Oscar Micheaux (created the Black film industry)