Race in Silent Film: Redface and Brownface

You'll be hung for blackface. You'll be forgiven for yellowface. And well...you could probably still pull off both redface (the portrayal of Native Americans) and brownface (the portrayal of Arabic and Indian folk). Several movies and shows have used both up to this very day, though genuine Arabic actors find themselves now getting the thankless 'evil terrorist' roles in such shows.

Both groups (which in fairness beyond American racial themes have little do with each other) are still slighted, mistreated, and forgotten. Its always been something of acceptable to stereotype a Native American. Westerns did it well into the 60s and 70s. And it is still extremely acceptable and common practice to stereotype a Middle Eastern person. Not much has changed since the Sheik...despite Valentino's best efforts.

Climate of the Time

*The Trail of Tears had taken place less than a century ago

*You could still enslave Native Americans in CA until 1863

*During the teens and 20s Native Americans were still being forced to live on reservations, and forced to have their children attend a 'residential school system' which made them forget their ways and 'turn white'

*If Asians were extremely foreign and peculiar Middle Easterners were more so. Luckily for them not many provisions were legally against them during the time...though it got worse in more modern days.

What is Redface and Brownface?

Oddly similar both were a practice of darkening the skin, but not the depth of blackface. Think really deep tan. Actors with brown eyes (or eyes that photographed deep brown, like Mary Pickford's) were constantly chosen for these roles. For redface once the skin was sloushed with the sticky and heavy darkener a heavy black horsehair wig would be put on (braids!), animal teeth styled jewelry, and leather clothes and woven blankets were worn.

Ironically though it sounds stereotypical (and of course lots of it was to a point) several instances showed Native Americans similar to as they were at the time. D.W. Griffith had several films portraying them as a people wronged in a modern time, and "The Vanishing American" was extremely light on stereotypes and heavy on message. Maybe more so than any other group redface got off easy. Ironically it was with the talking Westerns it'd get more stereotypical. Of interesting note they didn't feature as much as you would THINK in Westerns. Both the Tom Mix and William S Hart films I seen used whitey bandits as the bad guys and I don't recall any redface in either film. But not being an expert I wont say they never used it anywhere.

As for brownface its a little more confusing. Think yellowface only trying hard to be ACCURATE...and failing miserably. Indians (people from India, I know I'm trying to keep the terminology as least confusing as possible here) and Arabs of any country were seen as pretty much related or interchangeable. The cultures were distinct and separated to a point, but both were seen as highly mystical and slightly savage. However this was what was in vogue especially in the early 20s...flattery was meant over anything else.

To achieve brownface actors usually naturally tanned, or barely did anything. Some for The Sheiks applied a light yellow to the skin (which the flies loved apparently). Depending on what they were portraying extremely traditional costumes were used, such as the white robes of the Sheik.

Characterizations

For Redface its ironic but the stereotypes were still coming into being. For the most part they were seen as a wronged dignified people, and in the films I've seen they don't act much differently than any other normal leading character...in other words no stereotyping. Not to say it never happened, but when it did it was on a much smaller scale. This was much more a talkie thing than a silent.

In fact one use of redface as the bad guy would be "The Iron Horse" where they proceed to fight and try to kill the settlers. Even being the bad guys I would say that's where the stereotyping ends...they got off WAY easier than the white lusting black stereotype, or the opium smoking conniving Chinese stereotype.

For Brownface it was a mix of mystic, savage, and noble. By far The Sheik definitely colored this for the worst. However Valentino tried his best to thwart it...but nobody listened. Again beyond this there just wasn't much portrayed in the Silent era (beyond the obvious copycats).

The Brief Appearance of Princesses

As the years passed there weren't many Native American actors of note. However in the very earliest days of film there were 4 who made a tiny impact.

Thomas Ince made several films glorifying Native Americans. The community adored him and he was also one of the first to use an authentic Native star: William Eagleshirt in Custer's Last Fight (1912).

However he unfortanitly set a trend: though there were a few noteable Native actors they very rarely rose above bubbling under. Griffith discovered a native from Nebreska named Lillian St Cyr (stage name Princess Red Wing) in 1909 debuting in "The Lute". She continued work with Griffith and also made her way over to DeMille, taking a major role in his 1914 version of "The Squaw Man". Princess Red Wing was married to John Young Deer, and together the couple acted in several films through several companies. They were all the rage until about 1918, when Young Deer fled to Europe to avoid legal issues (and apparently made some documentaries). Red Wing continued to act through the 20s but by then both of their stars had faded. It is of note during their careers Young Deer also directed and wrote several of their films.

Another 'Princess'' Mona Darkfeather also had a similar career. However she was a lot less authentically Native: she was about 1/4th Native American. Like Red Wing and Young Deer her career was passe by 1917. She continued acting on stage for the rest of her life. And once the war was over, and the talkies came, so did the stereotypes thus ending any influence these actors had.

Why was it popular?

It would be wrong to say that either brownface or redface wasn't popular; though the use of it was a lot less 'demanded' than yellow or blackface. To this day there is an extreme shortage of actors from both groups, and that was definitely true in the teens and 20s. Black and yellowface both made a false claim they HAD to use it due to shortage; but both black and redface most likely really did.

As for popularity it went down to the themes portrayed. In redface it was the yearning for the times they had known were past. It was also the first awareness of what exactly we as a country had done to this people and that their way of life was disappearing (re: The Vanishing American).

In brownface it was that sexy mystical portrayal. Something between being wise, and being rapey. I know it doesn't make much sense now; but go ask Edith Hull or the other 'erotic romance novel' writers of the day.

Why was it used?

Again likely due to the shortage of authentic Native American, Middle Eastern, and Indian actors at the time.

The Shit List

If yellowface doesn't inspire outrage than red and brown never will. Maybe more than anything Valentino could be placed upon it. He was constantly used in brownface (and posed in red, though never acted). However Valentino did his best (once The Sheik was over) to not act stereotypically, and to speak out when people took his films that way. Hes never really been in trouble over it, and I don't think he really deserves any.

Interesting note: Mary Pickford constantly played redface in her Griffith days (due to the eyes). She never did in a feature though.

Ramifications

Honestly this story brews long past the Silents and if any ramifications come in than its definitely a talkie thing. During the 40s-60s the Savage Indian was a big staple of the Western. Even "Peter Pan" (the Disney version) was some cringe worthy moments in relation to the new redface stereotypes.

Once the Civil Rights movement took place the Native Americans tried their own especially in the late 60s and early 70s. They even had Marlon Brando on their side (who notoriously refused an Oscar for his Godfather portrayal because of 'the depiction of Native Americans in film'. It didn't really work...It took till 1990 for a real hit about Natives "Dances with Wolves" which was extremely popular (and tried to use authentic Native American actors). Disney's 1995 "Pocahontas" was also an extreme hit (using an authentic Native for the title role) though so PC it hurts...and still caused some uproar.

Even recently, the 2008 film "Twilight" (which is so kitsch you must see it, and if you have a tween in your family you will) has a Native American character named Jacob using apparently authentic actor Taylor Lautner. The second film (which should be in production any minute) is supposed to focus on him, but rumor has it they don't think hes beefy enough for the role (hes supposed to be wolf like). That being said it'd be again one of the few films in the past 20 years to portray Native Americans.

As for Brownface that's...been even more complicated. Middle Eastern and Indian characters were rarely leading fodder, usually comic taxi drivers or the like. The American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee claims Hollywood follows the 3 Bs when portraying Arabs: billionaires, belly dancers, and of course bombers. While relatively quiet even through the Iran thing and the first Iraq War there has been a huge increase in stereotyping Arabs since 9/11 (though in fairness "Rules of Engagement", the most slighted film by the committee was released in 2000).

This phenomena has been so apparent that a book has been written titled "Reel Bad Arabs" by Jack Sheehan. He viewed 900 portrayals, and found only 50 were positive or balanced. Several Arabic descent actors have complained they have no other way to break into acting other than playing the typical 'terrorist' in various shows and films.

Ironically cartoons play into this arena. The Simpsons recently had an episode titled "Mypods and Boomsticks" which the Council of Islamic Relations praised (Homer suspects Bart's new Muslim friends are terrorists; but the entire episode shows how silly that was).

As for Indians The Simpsons are a little more slighted. Probably one of the most recognizable Indian characters on TV is Apu, the stereotypical Kwik E Mart clerk. Though he is exaggerated several episodes have focused on him as a human and human issues, and even correcting overt racism (such as Homer's statement, "Want to come to the civil war reenactment with us Apu? We need lots of Indians to shoot!)

Another recent Indian character would be that of Rajesh Koothrappali, Ph.D. (portrayed by Kunal Nayyar) on The Big Bang Theory. Possibly one of the greatest sitcoms ever. And the show goes above the call to make sure the stereotypes really aren't there (Raj loves bagels and smears, finds Indian food boring, isn't a fan of arranged marriage, and a white character named Sheldon thinks he knows more about India and Hinduism than Raj, who grew up there). The show debuted in 2007.

Notable Indian, Native American, and Middle Eastern Actors of the Silent Era

*Princess Red Wing (Actress)

*John Young Deer (Actor, Writer, Director)

*Princess Mona Darkfeather (Actress, Performer)

*William Eagleshirt (Actor)