What does it mean?

Question

I love watching old movie's, especially Turner Classic Movie's. Several times iv'e seen old movie's, where white people have their faces painted black, with white lips and believe it or not, i have no idea what it means, could somebody tell me?

Answer 1

Well ignore the other comments you got so far about seeing other movies and such... Old movies are great. New ones are too. But to answer your question...in the early times of movies and also the entertainment of that time, It was common that a lot of singers and dancers were Black. But not allowed to be in movies, So "balck face" was done. So when a white person acted like a black entertainer they wore the make-up you disribe, However so did the Blacks often wear the same make-up after they were alowed to be in movies. It was also a huge sign of discrimination.
Also in the early years of movies and tv all the people wore so really heavy make-up to make it appear as the looked normal because the cameras were so crude by todays standards. they really looked horrable off the cam.
Hope that helps. And keep enjoying those old flicks...they only make bad remakes of bad movies now.lol

Answer 2

How do you know that they are all white?

"Black face" is form of make up that is used to disguise the actor or actress as a dark skinned individual. The make up is made up of burnt cork and oil that is thin smeared on the person's face. It is not true that all of these people were white, a great number of them were black, and this was how they were allowed to work on stage with the whites. You can learn more about this fact by watching the movie "Bamboozled".

The most famous person to where black face is Al Jolson who though white was Jewish and that would have made it difficult for him to rise to the top of Vaudeville which he did.

It is similar to the white make up used by Geishas to turn them from women into works of art.

"Black face" artists are playing the fool so to speak which is discriminatory but it was actually ironic that the people wearing the black face were in fact defeating racism by wearing the "black face."

Answer 3

This form of ,huh, entertainment is know as "blackface". Blackface is a style of theatrical makeup that originated in the United States, used to affect the countenance of an iconic, racist, American archetype - that of the darky or coon.
Blackface was an important performance tradition in the American theater for over 100 years and was also popular overseas. Stereotypes embodied in the stock characters of blackface minstrelsy played a significant role in cementing and proliferating racist images, attitudes and perceptions worldwide. In some quarters, the caricatures that were the legacy of blackface persist to the present day and are a cause of ongoing controversy.
By the mid-20th century, changing attitudes about race and racism effectively ended the prominence of blackface performance in the U.S. and elsewhere.

Answer 4

This was called "black-face". Sometimes white people would sing songs in "black-face". It wasn't meant to be insulting but people were so it was stopped.

See the Jazz Singer with Al Jolson

Answer 5

I love those kind of movies too, The birth of a nation, The Jazz Singer, is just a matter of taste, but I think it is kinda stupid to be stuck just on those movies like you need to be in touch with current stuff too

Answer 6

Black people were not allowed to act in hollywood until the 1930s so until then, white people dressed up as black people to play thier parts.

after black people started acting in hollywood, white people used it to make fun of them. eventually it became bad taste (as well is should) and died out.

Answer 7

The Black and white minstrels used to do that until they were told they were racist. It's just imitating black people that's all.

Answer 8

it means u need to watch some better movies

Answer 9

Not sure either.