The Digital Past

On Monday, we talked about minstrel shows, which are popular shows performed by white actors in blackface. My initial reaction was confusion, and honestly the posters we saw were terrifying. As we talked about it more and learned the name of characters, like Jim Crow, things again started clicking. Jim Crow was a popular character, later used for segregation laws. There was also the comparison of Mickey Mouse to a minstrel, which sadly I can see and it was shocking, I never would have thought about it that way. Personally, I feel like the minstrel shows were meant to be racist, as they kinda looked like creepy clowns and were meant to be funny. The most fascinating comparison of minstrel shows that really shocked my mind was the movie “Get Out,” and it makes perfect sense. The white people in the movie are inserting themselves into the bodies of black people for their physical strength and such, just like how white actors put on a black mask. I personally am shocked about minstrel shows and how they are still kinda present today, like Yodel Boy singing how the minstrels would sing, even though he probably doesn’t even realize. My only question is why? Why whites in black face? Why can’t the white actors just perform? Why is something like this possibly present is Disney? I wish I knew!