Racial Impersonations

What gives one the idea that impersonating and in turn mocking another race or ethnicity, based upon stereotypes created by the dominant ideology, is acceptable in any situation or scenario? In my mind imitating a people by means of cultural cliches is an act that should never be committed in private or public, much less on a screen for the viewing pleasure of an audience lusting for entertainment. First of all the existence of stereotypes in our society is unfortunate enough, but to raunchily entertain a group of  people at the expense of another is unnecessary and uncalled for.  The fact that these overt acts of racism have constructed the foundation of America's film industry, or shall i say pervaded the entertainment industry as a whole, and continue to be exhibited today in a variety of ways indicates something about American culture's dominant ideology. Not only does this fact solidify the idea of "white privilege" in America it exhibits an imbalance between "ethnicity" and "whiteness", in that throughout history whites have in a multitude of ways attained their status, privilege and dominance at the expense of non-whites, or "Others." A historical example of this racially based impersonation can be seen in the first film with synchronized sound called The Jazz Singer. In this film a Caucasian Jew sings in a Broadway performance wearing "Blackface", which is the use of face-paint and other props to imitate an African American. This racial mimic is completely, one-hundred percent irrelevant to the content of the film and is a prime example of acting out a stereotype for the sole purpose of comedic entertainment. A more contemporary example of this racial imitation can be seen in the Wayan's brother's film White Chicks, which is a comedy revolving around the impersonation of two white females by two African American men. It seems racially based entertainment and comedy are prevalent throughout society but i do not consider this issue to be one of any comical connotations and is not something to take lightly.

The Jazz Singer

The Jazz Singer, indicating the decline of the silent film era and the birth of what would come to be known as "talkies", was the first full length motion picture that featured synchronized dialogue excerpts. The story revolves around the young son of an elderly Jewish couple, who has chosen to defy and disobey the religious traditions of his reverent Jewish family by singing popular songs in a bar rather than the sacred ceremonial songs sung in the synagogue. Jakie's father, a cantor, punishes him for committing such an act of blasphemy as singing secular songs in a bar for recreation, so Jakie runs away home. Many years later, after changing his name to Jack Robin in hopes of separating himself from his Jewish lineage, he has become a famous and talented jazz singer. In his attempts to build a career in the entertainment industry, he finds himself torn between his culture and success. Realizing that his family's life is more important than the success of his own, he is finally able to make peace with his father and his god, and in turn spark a successful career.

Being the first full-length motion picture with synchronized sound I feel like this film was very well organized and produced fluidly, given the primitive technology at the time. The synchronization of the lips and the dialogue was executed quite well, and the movements of the characters are also synchronized with the ever changing background music which serves to accent, emphasize and dramatize the actions of the characters. 

In this film the Jewish culture is portrayed very differently than how Jews in contemporary films are portrayed. Jew's in this film are portrayed as extremely devout to their culture, religion and traditions, and extremely anti-secular. As well they are depicted as very much oriented around ideas of traditional values, ethics and morals. In "passing" as white, or trying to assimilate, the main character loses his home, family, traditions, culture, and heritage though he gains success, wealth, fame, friends and a job. It seems much of what is lost through assimilation is idealistic in nature and much of what is gained is materialistic in nature, this idea might be one reason minorities living in poverty assimilate into white culture. What i did not understand about this film, and had somewhat of a problem with, was the fact that the main character adorned himself with black face-paint, striving to imitate an African American, before his first Broadway performance. In my opinion the practice of "Blackface" in early cinema was, is, and never will be acceptable due to the fact that it's presentation is an overt act of racism, based on evolving ancient stereotypes. In this particular film i did not understand why the main character wore "Blackface" because it was completely unnecessary and irrelevant to the content of the film. If an African American man was not allowed to perform on Broadway, why would Broadway hire a Jewish man to impersonate one if not only to exercise white privilege.