|
america has prolly profited off of black people's cultural enslavement as physical enslavement given how central appropriations of black culture are to what is commodified, consumed and exported as american culture.
as sowhat was trying to explain to max, this isn't (necessarily) a judgment on the artists themselves (although many, many have quite consciously played into these archetypes which are really stereotypes). white america, several centuries deep into the game, still has a limited lens through which they view (and relate to) black folks.
i would posit another category, the 'artiste/auteur', who is just so creative or excellent that he or she is taken on their own terms. but even with those types, there's often some reduction going on.
>Before Hollywood was created black stereotypical lanes were
>created by white folks in black face "minsterel"
what's interesting is that in black/african culture we had many of these archetypes, and they pervaded our musical and oral traditions.
in irony of ironies, 'minstrelsy' was actually white folks imitating black folks who were... wait for it... imitating WHITE FOLKS. a lot of the songs and dances that black folks created were actually lampooning white slave masters. white folks observing this, but not in on the joke, codified it as minstrelsy and created a genre of american popular culture which was, in essence, making fun of niggas who were making fun of them.
there's a pretty straight line from minstrelsy to vaudeville to modern american entertainment (just as we can draw the lines from the musical genres which paralleled them).
>
>Coon= laughing joking trickster nonthreatning
in especially west african folk tales / oral tradition, these were generally represented by animals. anansi, etc. the thing is, in the black tradition, there was generally a respect for the character who got by on his wits. this is where bugs bunny, woody woodpecker, etc. and all the archetypes that came from those actually originated.
>
>Black buc= threatening thug over sexed guy loves white women
the badass. in black culture, stagger lee / stack-o-lee, etc. (listen to some oooold blues records for references). the archetypical badass. the gangster. that character has roots that go back across the atlantic, certainly, but within black culture it took on more significance for a people that were powerless, de jure and de facto. there's nuance here -- it can go to pure gangsta, or be incarnated as the nickel-slick hustla, and even be clowned out as in the over the top and general extraness of pimps.
from a yt perspective, the buck/badass serves a couple of purposes.
1) it serves the societal purpose of furthering fear, which engenders the fucked up laws and enforcement and institutional racism. in so doing, it also provides a foil to keep white women in check (careful, them niggers would just LOVE to get a hold of you. you better stay ensconced in this here safe patriarchy). and it provides a very convenient other to keep the white working class distracted from the landed and wealthy class that really runs shit.
2) it allows them to vicariously work out they sick love/hate shit. ie, i won't hire you at my company, but i've heard you all got big dicks, and if ain't nobody know i'd let you fuck my wife type shit. not painting all white folks with that brush, but there are a LOT of cats on that shit. and look at the way that comments break on sports sites regarding black athletes (basketball and football, at least). the pros be waaay uncomfortable and the cons be on some other shit, too. there is most decidedly a market out there for big, fast, muscley, runny, jumpy black motherfuckers. you could easily parallel this poast through sport and see a LOT of the same categories emerge, with the archetype/stereotype being largely predictive of a black athlete's media perception and level of fan acceptance.
>
>Uncle Tom= loves everyone but himself idolizes white folk
sellouts. this one can be problematic, in group, because the label can be thrown about unfairly. but there are undoubtedly some uncle clarence type niggas out there who are eating based off of directly catering to white fantasies and stereotypes in a way that is demeaning to their own. (which really is a nonsense statement because i'd wager these artists don't see themselves, ultimately, as 'black', but rather see 'black' and yt perceptions of blackness, whatever those may be, as something to be exploited for maximum benefit).
i used to lump west coast cats into this bucket (instead of in the black buck/thug category) back during the rise of gangsta rap. it has taken me years to unpack that. yeah, there was hella east coast bias (and out and out hatingness) involved. and maybe being in college at that time had a lot to do with it, because i'm hearing nwa blasting out of white frat houses an shit, and seeing moves that record companies were making. but, at least originally, on the supply side, muhfuckas wasn't worrying about how the music was being consumed. they were eating, and getting paid to put it down they way they did around their way.
marketing and consumption were altogether different matters, though, and that gets precisely to the points ?uest was making. that exists to some extent, outside of the artists themselves. that's been going on forever, but some artists are more cognizant of the game and therefore cater intentionally to these archetypal niches as a success strategy.
before i get a bunch of 'not me' replies from a buncha down ass white boys who were feeling that real shit, i'm not talking about y'all. i'm talking about the large numbers who were copping records because it was like audio bungee jumping.
>
>Sambo/picanniny= wild out of control, filthy children who
>never seem to have parental.guidance, always in trouble.
>
>Tragic Mulatto= not quite white or black in both worlds and
>suffering from seeking acceptance from white folk.
ie, Why Was Monster's Ball Oscar Worthy for $1,000, Alex? (this one and the last one).
>Jezebel= the super freak down to fuck, suck where ever, when
>ever, she loves to ruin the lives of men, especially married
>ones.
peace & blessings,
x.
www.twitter.com/poetx
=========================================
** i move away from the mic to breathe in
|
Printer-friendly copy 
Email this topic to a friend
The Lesson
