The Black & White Minstrel Show (11/04/70)

[@Aeonterbor]

This content is hosted here as close to it's original form as possible to act as educational research content so the program can be judged in full with it's content in context. If you would like to learn more about the racial stereotypes this show was based on consider visiting the web page for "The Jim Crow Museum"' for a in depth exploration of the culture of the time and how it affected people's lives. jimcrowmuseum.ferris.edu/index.htm

[@waynejones3870]

These are so good thank you for your wonderful work. Brings back many happy memories.

[@michaelsandford1015]

Well done

[@TheBrummie60]

Would really like to see an interview with the make up folks who applied the paint. 😊

[@Aeonterbor]

@@TheBrummie60 The BBC did put out a book about the show in 1963, it has a segment on the makeup along with photos of the cast getting ready for the show.

[@annoldham3018]

Could those bow ties in the first number get any bigger 😂?

[@Comfortzone99]

I wonder if Michele Summers is watching this?

[@AdrianFitt]

Have you got anymore christmas shows please

[@Aeonterbor]

@@AdrianFitt Oh yes I have several, but I'm saving them for December.

[@ianellis-ih3dd]

Last Sunday I saw a repeat of a 🎭 drama of George Orwell’s 1984. Earlier this year I saw a stage play of this famous story. The dictionary becomes smaller, words get removed. People get airbrushed from history as if they had never existed, like people removing those with slave trade connections from the history 📚 books. History is rewritten, today we see T.V dramas of the Victorian age where the population of Victorian Britain 🇬🇧 is multi national and multi cultural, Britain wasn’t multi national until the wind rush generation. Classic 📚 books are rewritten to make them sound acceptable, that has happened in reality, and classic films have been butchers because they are now considered politically correct. The Black and White Minstrels weren’t regarded as offensive back in the 60s or 70s, but they are now for the same reason golliwogs are. Isn’t a golliwog supposed to be a loveable, cuddly soft toy? If something is supposed to be loveable why should it cause offence?!😢

[@Aeonterbor]

@@ianellis-ih3dd Speaking of rewriting history this show was considered offensive even back right when it began in the early 60's, people wrote objections but the difference was their criticisms were brushed aside at the time. In response to them however as early as 1965 there were trial runs to see how the show did without the makeup but it went on, with it's last performance on stage being in the late 1980's.

[@melgrant7404]

Isnt trump in there somewhere.😊

[@DamonLawrence-u2e]

Actually the music is really quite good. The costumes are fantastic. But why in the world they thought it should be done in blackface? It’s not like this was performed in the 1930’s.

[@Comfortzone99]

In 1968 they piloted a show without blackface, with the intent to change entirely, the show flopped , in 1969 they reformated again also without the make up, those shows also flopped..This had nothing to do with the roots of minstrels or race mockery, they were just fantasy characters (that didn't represent anyone) to the audience and that is how they liked them.

[@howieat1574]

@@wt343 i am a white guy and its offensive white guys pretending to be black curly wigs and pretend accent of course white people dont find it offensive plus it was old fashioned and crap

[@Comfortzone99]

@@howieat1574 Nobody white or black looks like that in real life, if a black person wanted to be a minstrel he would still have to put on the make-up..nobody in the world has white lips or is as black as that.