Swing Time

I have been watching - in between baseball - the new Astaire/Rogers DVDs. Swing Time features a commentary track. Of course, the most disturbing aspect of this film is Astaire's use of blackface in the tribute to Bill Robinson. The dance itself is - like everything else in the film - virtuosic (is that a word?) According to the commentary, it was Astaire's only use of blackface on film and the commentator points out that Astaire used a form of blackface which, by failing to emphasive stereotypic African-American features, was less offensive than others.

Wikipedia reports that blackface was originated in the US in 1789 by an actor "playing the role of an inebriated black man . . .." This seems an inauspicious beginning. In fact, Wikipedia notes that in the mid 19th century, Frederrick Douglass was "one of the first people to write against the institution of blackface minstrelsy, pointing to its racist nature and inauthentic, northern, white origins."

Criticism of figures like Astaire who utilized blackface is often deflected by a claim that is anachronistic. However, if criticism of the practice dates back to at least the mid-19th century, is this valid? Bill Robinson himself performed in blackface but apparently shed the trappings when he toured Canada. Perhaps the use of blackface by performers like Astaire reflects a combination of the expectations of the public with an unwillingness to confront or challenge the meaning of the practice. In any event, Astaire possibly had the choice to engage in the practice or not while Robinson and other black performers likely had no other option if they wished to be accepted by a white audience.