Whiteface (performance)

Last updated December 22, 2024

Whiteface is a type of performance in which a dark person uses makeup in order to appear white-skinned, usually to portray a stereotype.^[1] The term is a reversal of the form of performance known as blackface, in which makeup was used by a performer to make themselves look like a black person, usually to portray a stereotype. Whiteface performances originated in the 19th century, and today still occasionally appear in films. Modern usages of whiteface can be contrasted with blackface in contemporary art.

History

The earliest use of the term, noted by the Oxford English Dictionary, is from the New York Clipper in 1870, informing readers that William "Joe" Murphy has given up minstrelsy to "appear on the legitimate boards in white face."^[2]^[3]

By 1908, actor Dooley Wilson had earned his nickname for his whiteface impersonation of an Irishman singing a song called "Mr. Dooley".^[4]

The OED also lists a 1947 reference to the black actor Canada Lee performing the role of Bosola in The Duchess of Malfi in whiteface.^[2]

Examples

The 1970 film Watermelon Man begins with Godfrey Cambridge playing a whiteface character, who then wakes up one morning to find himself to be black.^[5]
Eddie Murphy performed in whiteface on Saturday Night Live in the 1980s, and appeared in whiteface for minor characters in the films Coming to America , Vampire in Brooklyn and The Nutty Professor .^[6]
In the 2004 film White Chicks , Shawn Wayans and Marlon Wayans play two FBI agents who go undercover as young white women by using whiteface.^[7]
The 2006 FX reality television show Black. White. had two families realistically portrayed via makeup as another race: One in blackface, the other in whiteface.^[8]
Nick Cannon white faced in portraying alter ego character Connor Smallnut in promoting 2014 album "White People Party Music".^[9]
Chamillionaire whitefaced as anchorman Bob O'Wildy in the 2007 video for Hip Hop Police .^[10]

Comparison to blackface

Blackface is widely considered racist due to its traceable racial links to slavery and racial segregation.^[11] For this reason, blackface is heavily condemned in modern art forms, while whiteface is occasionally employed in modern times, usually in a comedic context. Whiteface is still considered racism. Those who defend it as art differentiate it from blackface, often arguing that whiteface does not draw on a legacy of racism in the way that blackface does, hence arguing that the intended satire of white lifestyles is not racist.^[12]

Related Research Articles

Female impersonation is a type of theatrical performance where a man dresses in women's clothing for the sole purpose of entertaining an audience. While the term female impersonator is sometimes used interchangeably with drag queen, they are not the same. Drag as an art form is associated with queer identity whereas female impersonation may come from a wide a range of gender identity paradigms, including heteronormativity. Additionally, many drag artists view drag as a lived form of self-expression or creativity, and perceive drag as something that is not limited to the stage or to performance. In contrast, female impersonation is specifically limited to performance and may or may not involve an LGBTQI point of view.

Blackface is the practice of performers using burnt cork, shoe polish, or theatrical makeup to portray a caricature of black people on stage or in entertainment. Scholarship on the origins or definition of blackface vary with some taking a global perspective that includes European culture and Western colonialism. Scholars with this wider view may date the practice of blackface to as early as Medieval Europe's mystery plays when bitumen and coal were used to darken the skin of white performers portraying demons, devils, and damned souls. Still others date the practice to English Renaissance theatre, in works such as William Shakespeare's Othello.

<i>The Black and White Minstrel Show</i> British BBC TV light entertainment show (1958–1978)

The Black and White Minstrel Show is a British light entertainment show on BBC prime-time television that ran from 1958 to 1978. The weekly variety show presented traditional American minstrel and country songs, as well as show tunes and music hall numbers, lavishly costumed and often presented with cast members in blackface. A popular stage show, based on the TV show with the same title, ran from 1962 to 1972 at the Victoria Palace Theatre, London. This was followed by tours of UK seaside resorts until 1989, and tours in Australia and New Zealand. From early in its history, and increasingly throughout its run, the show received criticism for its racist premise and content.

The minstrel show, also called minstrelsy, was an American form of theater developed in the early 19th century. The shows were performed by mostly white actors wearing blackface makeup for the purpose of comically portraying racial stereotypes of African Americans. There were also some African-American performers and black-only minstrel groups that formed and toured. Minstrel shows stereotyped blacks as dimwitted, lazy, buffoonish, cowardly, superstitious, and happy-go-lucky. Each show consisted of comic skits, variety acts, dancing, and music performances that depicted people specifically of African descent.

<i>White Chicks</i> 2004 film by Keenen Ivory Wayans

White Chicks is a 2004 American buddy cop crime comedy film directed by Keenen Ivory Wayans from a screenplay co-written by Wayans, Xavier Cook, Andy McElfresh, Michael Anthony Snowden, with additional contributions by and starring Marlon Wayans and Shawn Wayans. It also stars Jaime King, Frankie Faison, Lochlyn Munro, and John Heard. In the film, two black male FBI agents go undercover as white women by using whiteface to protect two hotel heiresses from a kidnapping plot targeting socialites.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rastus</span> Pejorative name

Rastus is a pejorative term traditionally associated with African Americans in the United States. It is considered offensive. As a type of stock character, Rastus is meant to portray ignorance and foolishness. Similar images have appeared in advertising, prominently as the mascot for Cream of Wheat, which prompted objections from activists.

<i>Mickeys Mellerdrammer</i> 1933 Mickey Mouse cartoon

Mickey's Mellerdrammer is a 1933 American animated short film produced by Walt Disney Productions and released by United Artists. The title is a corruption of "melodrama", thought to harken back to the earliest minstrel shows, as a film short based on Harriet Beecher Stowe's 1852 anti-slavery novel Uncle Tom's Cabin and stars Mickey Mouse and his friends who stage their own production of the novel. It was the 54th Mickey Mouse short film, and the fourth of that year.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stereotypes of African Americans</span>

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The stump speech was a comic monologue from blackface minstrelsy. A typical stump speech consisted of malapropisms, nonsense sentences, and puns delivered in a parodied version of Black Vernacular English. The stump speaker wore blackface makeup and moved about like a clown. Topics varied from pure nonsense to parodies of politics, science, and social issues, as well as satirical commentary on political and social issues. The stump speech was a precursor to modern stand-up comedy.

Coon songs were a genre of music that presented a stereotype of Black people. They were popular in the United States and Australia from around 1880 to 1920, though the earliest such songs date from minstrel shows as far back as 1848, when they were not yet identified with "coon" epithet. The genre became extremely popular, with White and Black men giving performances in blackface and making recordings. Women known as coon shouters also gained popularity in the genre.

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Racist music is music that expresses racism. Throughout history, music has been used as a propaganda tool to promote a variety of political ideologies and ideas, including racism.

The watermelon stereotype is an anti-Black racist trope originating in the Southern United States. It first arose as a backlash against African American emancipation and economic self-sufficiency in the late 1860s.

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The Jim Crow persona is a theater character developed by entertainer Thomas D. Rice (1808–1860) and popularized through his minstrel shows. The character is a stereotypical depiction of African-Americans and of their culture. Rice based the character on a folk trickster named Jim Crow that had long been popular among enslaved black people. Rice also adapted and popularized a traditional slave song called "Jump Jim Crow" (1828).

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brownface</span> Racial impersonation

Brownface is a social phenomenon in which a white or light-skinned person attempts to portray themselves as a "brown" person of color, but less overtly and with a lighter complexion than traditional blackface. It is typically defined as a racist phenomenon, similar to blackface.

Digital blackface is a term used to describe the phenomenon of non-Black individuals using digital media, such as GIFs, memes, or audio clips featuring Black individuals, to express emotions or convey ideas. This behavior has sparked debate and criticism due to concerns about cultural appropriation and the perpetuation of stereotypes. Digital blackface has been described as "one of the most insidious forms of contemporary racism" and has been compared to historical minstrelsy, while others have dismissed the concept in its entirety.

References

↑ Hilary Miller (24 March 2014). "Nick Cannon Wears Whiteface, Sparks Internet Debate". HuffPost. Retrieved 2020-06-21.
1 2 "white-face". The Oxford English Dictionary (3 ed.). 2015. sense 4.
↑ "Negro Minstrelsy". New York Clipper. 16 April 1870.
↑ Harmetz, Aljean (November 26, 1992). Round Up the Usual Suspects: The Making of Casablanca—Bogart, Bergman, and World War II . New York: Hyperion. p. 143. ISBN 978-1562829414.
↑ "Race Representations in Watermelon Man". Washington University. Retrieved 20 July 2020.
↑ Davies, Helen; Ilott, Sarah, eds. (27 July 2018). Comedy and the Politics of Representation: Mocking the Weak. Springer. p. 87. ISBN 9783319905068 . Retrieved 20 July 2020.
↑ Weston, Christopher (2020-06-10). "Does White Chicks Have A Future On Netflix? Little Britain Removal Sparks Wider Debate On Race!". HITC.com.
↑ McFarland, Melanie (6 March 2006). "On TV: 'Black. White.' is uncomfortable, revealing reality TV". Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Retrieved 6 July 2015.
↑ Lewis, Hilary (31 March 2014). "Nick Cannon on 'Whiteface' Controversy: 'I Was Doing a Character Impression; Blackface Is About Oppression' (Video)". The Hollywood Reporter . Retrieved 16 July 2021.
↑ Reid, Shaheem (14 June 2007). "Chamillionaire Busted By 'Hip Hop Police' For Ridin' Dirty With Jay-Z, Dr. Dre CDs". MTV.com. Archived from the original on October 19, 2012. Retrieved 21 August 2013.
↑ Desmond-Harris, Jenée (October 29, 2014). "Don't get what's wrong with blackface? Here's why it's so offensive". Vox . Archived from the original on May 23, 2019. Retrieved January 10, 2019.
↑ Hannaham, James (28 June 2004). "Beyond the Pale". New York Magazine.