Black Like You John Strausbaugh by John Strausbaugh 9781585424986, 1585424986 instant download after payment.

 A refreshingly clearheaded and taboo-breaking look at race relations
reveals that American culture is neither Black nor White nor Other, but a
mix-a mongrel. Black Like You is an erudite and entertaining
exploration of race relations in American popular culture. Particularly
compelling is Strausbaugh's eagerness to tackle blackface-a strange,
often scandalous, and now taboo entertainment. Although blackface
performance came to be denounced as purely racist mockery, and
shamefacedly erased from most modern accounts of American cultural
history, Black Like You shows that the impact of blackface on American
culture was deep and long-lasting. Its influence can be seen in rock and
hiphop; in vaudeville, Broadway, and gay drag performances; in Mark
Twain and "gangsta lit"; in the earliest filmstrips and the 2004 movie
White Chicks; on radio and television; in advertising and product
marketing; and even in the way Americans speak. Strausbaugh enlivens
themes that are rarely discussed in public, let alone with such candor
and vision: - American culture neither conforms to knee-jerk racism nor
to knee-jerk political correctness. It is neither Black nor White nor
Other, but a mix-a mongrel. - No history is best forgotten, however
uncomfortable it may be to remember. The power of blackface to engender
mortification and rage in Americans to this day is reason enough to
examine what it tells us about our culture and ourselves. - Blackface is
still alive. Its impact and descendants-including Black performers in
"whiteface"-can be seen all around us today.