Greil Marcus: "Blackface Then and Now"

Greil Marcus presented his lecture the 2007-2008 Una's Lecturer at the Townsend Center for the Humanities. Marcus is noted for his scholarly and literary work connecting rock & roll to political and social history. In addition to his career-long work as book columnist and contributing editor with Rolling Stone, he has been a critic and columnist for Creem, The Village Voice, The New York Times, Esquire, Salon.com, Artforum and others.

Sponsored by the Doreen B. Townsend Center for the Humanities http://townsendcenter.berkeley.edu/


Sponsored by Townsend Center for the Humanities
http://townsendcenter.berkeley.edu/

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[up2space]

mein friend, don't writer your dissertation before you gather the evidence. go west, go to coon town live among the indigenous peoples...this you must do first. relativism is a cop out.

[EBanonymous]

The one trying to impression the minds of the young is you.

You have a right to your fellings; so does everyone else. So why tell other people to shut up? You really are not a tolerant person. And read my 1st comment; I wasn't talking to u.

We're all related & all equal. Even you have some black in you - I bet you hate that. So much for the "white pride" you talk about. I'm not white or black; but I'd choose to be w/ blacks any day than a racist like you. Those are our brothers too.

[EBanonymous]

those stereotypes of university in the hippie days of the 60's wer never accurate - highly exhaggerated

You'll also know that "coon" is a racial slur, so when you say "go to coontown" to verify the way "blacks are", it just shows that the blackface images had thier effect on you -

Politicians use the same arguments: lazy, on welfae, ruining society, violent etc. differnece between whites and blacks is the way blacks are treated by society.

blacks don't behave diferently; that's more racism

[up2space]

if your a scholar then you know not all is fair in love and war. if your life is just preaching to youg impressionist kids, going home, smokin a joint, and kickin yourself in the ass when you look in the mirror the next morning, do us all a favor, shut up and get with white pride and learn to love it, dirty or clean.

[up2space]

i don't know you but i love you like a brother. but i think you have derailed yourself. what is the point of all this. if it's to throw eggshells, than i would rather read today's paper. listen, go move to coontown, stay there awhile until you can't take it anymore. then come back with better, more informed insight, rather than jerking your mind off everyday thinking that it's all relative. long live blackface.

[EBanonymous]

up2@

I disagree. Blackface supported slavery by saying that w/o slavery, blacks would revert back to "savagery". Hence, "sambo" the happy to serve slave & "Zip Coon", the freed black who just douldn't do it. That's direct support for slavery & always was.

Your attept to say slaves were mocking their masters is untrue. its the other way around, and apologists like to say this "honours" blacks. That's sad.

[AbsalomPitchingfork]

Good job generalizing, thereby making yourself less credible.

[bapyou]

Kid? Take some writing lessons. Your comments make no sense.

Talk about long-winded rambling and not getting to the point! Sheesh!

*rolls eyes*

[up2space]

no just tired of hippie liberals. who cares about blackface. it was great entertainment. the stereotypes actually did more harm to white cultural history than good. but this issue is at the bottom of the barrel when it comes to what the real issue is. then you get political. and that's where the twain shall never meet. when your out pickin cotton perhaps you may don a blackface to mock your masters.

[bapyou]

Give me a case where blackface isn't racist?

The entire point of this talk is the dispelling of cliched notions of race and expected behavior: the essence of blackface.

"Negroes are only good for doing certain things ... they actually like the menial jobs they have to do in order to survive" etc.

...sentiments thankfully much less prevalent today ... except in certain parts of Mississippi.

Are you one of those white guys who longs for the good old days of unlimited nigger-hating?