Blackface minstrelsy was a popular form of entertainment for white audiences beginning in the 19th century. In the name of mocking black’s perceived physical and mental stereotypes, performers would dress in a makeup to represent a black person. Performers would achieve this “blackface” appearance by smothering their face in burnt cork or coca butter to create the black-face appearance. For additional effect, the actors would paint their lips and wear ridiculously overdone costume to enforce the stigma of blacks being poor, uneducated, and easily manipulated. To represent a variety of different types of characters, there were common “personalities” of black face that existed at most shows. The Zip Coon black face mocked free blacks by dressing elaborately but continuously making …show more content…
The Mammy, the typically stereotyped nanny-like black figure still featured in today’s cinema, was often a reliable source of wisdom for the group. Buck was a proud man with an interest in white women, the Mulatto was a mixed-blood individual who learned of their heritage after many years, and the Pickaninny’s were usually children with large mouths who would eat watermelon. (Padgett, Ken). Together, these flat characters all exhibited certain stereotypes found within the black community. While the practice exaggerated these traits for comedic effect, many spectators assumed many of these characters to reflect actual occurrences in the black community.
While black face initially found success appealing to the blue color American worker, it was not until the early 1900’s that ministry’s become more mainstream in the Vaudeville theaters. Vaudeville, a