Minstrel Show Essay

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The minstrel show was a representation of how American society has been extremely racist to people of African descent. It was obvious that the main goal of the minstrel show (in the past) was to make fun of black people and demonstrate the sexualized connotation that the black bodies had in the minds of the spectators.
For example, the main characters of the first part of the show were painted with extremely black faces, even though most African Americans don’t have this pure black color. It shows how dramatic and exaggerated this shows were at the time. Also, the bodies of this “blackface” performers extremely sexualized. They were just wearing a tight black leather custom that emphasized the figure of the characters. This portrayal shows …show more content…
The show became a portrayal of the different racial challenges that African Americans have faced in American history. The appearance of a white woman in the show was the first thing that caught my attention. It showed black men looking at her and up to a certain point idolizing her. But at the same time these black men were shaking. I think it was because the white woman represented the cause of their problems. This white woman made black men to be persecuted by racist terrorist groups (KKK) due to unjustified reasons. It actually led to the lynching of one of the characters. The second time that a white woman appeared was when there was a white woman trying to get dressed. It presented a black servant satisfying all the necessities of the white woman. It showed that black people were not only slaves and brute people but they were also obedient of the orders of white mistresses. The minstrel show became a lot more “realistic” when they performed on stage the Trayvon Martin/George Zimmerman incident. This part of the show reflects that racism that existed in the times of slavery and that it was also a comical theme (minstrel show). But this problem is not a thing of the past. It still exists today and this murder is a perfect example of
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