In the early 1890s; black performer Bob Cole turned blackface minstrelsy on its head with his nationally recognized whiteface creation; a character he called Willie Wayside. Just over a century later; hiphop star Busta Rhymes performed a whiteface supercop in his hit music video "Dangerous." In this sweeping work; Marvin McAllister explores the enduring tradition of "whiting up;" in which African American actors; comics; musicians; and even everyday people have studied and assumed white racial identities. Not to be confused with racial "passing" or derogatory notions of "acting white;" whiting up is a deliberate performance strategy designed to challenge Americas racial and political hierarchies by transferring supposed markers of whiteness to black bodies--creating unexpected intercultural alliances even as it sharply critiques racial stereotypes. Along with conventional theater; McAllister considers a variety of other live performance modes; including weekly promenading rituals; antebellum cakewalks; solo performance; and standup comedy. For over three centuries; whiting up as allowed African American artists to appropriate white cultural production; fashion new black identities through these "white" forms; and advance our collective ability to locate ourselves in others.
#3760290 in eBooks 2011-11-30 2011-11-30File Name: B005Y0OEM6
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