Blackface, White Noise - Literary Noise?

My strongest reaction to the reading this weekend was to the Blackface, White Noise article. Having already viewed the movie and made a number of inquiries of my own, I found that my views and those of this author completely differed. For instance, he states that “the jazz singer escapes his Old World identity through blackface.” Although I agree on the surface, I believe there is so much more than escapism being shown in the film. There is a values statement against the old world. The tenor of the music and the close-ups of Jackie’s father in his rage appear to promote the idea that the old world is not only out-of-touch but is fanatical, establishing--via paradox--jazz as the new norm at a time when it may not have been.

I also find it interesting that this article is so one-sided in its treatment of racial spectacle in ‘The Jazz Singer’. While the article openly disparages the treatment of blacks via blackface in the film, it just about completely ignores the Jewish spectacle: the frantic, emotional responses of the mother and the out-of-control rages of the father. Furthermore, there aren’t any blacks at all in the film to even have a reaction against. Rogin states that “Jack is the ‘master minstrel” and that “his blackface double is his slave.” This would seem in alignment with Moisha Yudelson’s comment that Jackie looks like his own shadow; however, Jackie’s stardom does not appear to be linked strictly to the blackface mask in the film although it may have been in real life. I agree that Jackie uses blackface to assist him in showbiz but only one song is sung in blackface; the rest is without the mask. Furthermore, according to Jeffrey Melnick’s book, A Right to Sing the Blues, many Jews felt similar discrimination as Blacks and, therefore, felt they were not prejudiced when donning the blackface mask. They felt it was part of their identity and used it to subvert the upper classes as well. To read this article, you would think the Jewish Americans were sneaky, wicked little men stepping on Blacks to climb a ladder. I cannot completely believe such a story, considering the time period in which jazz had a foothold. Prejudice appears to have run rampant against those who were not the white elite. It is unfair as well as blind to only consider the prejudices against Blacks in ‘The Jazz Singer’ when there is so much more going on in the movie and the period.