AudioMo Day 30 - The Past and Present Memory

I had to race up to 2026 but that doesn't mean that we are free and clear of minstrel's influence on American culture. 

It is embedded. It is transmitted. It is encoded in a lot of things. Even a 2026 food commercial. This is my subjected look at how the past is influencing the present. 

AudioMo is an international participation of folks that want to share what they can do with the audio format. This is a captioned audio for those folks that are deaf, hearing impaired or English is not their native language.

ARP Day 25-28 A Slight Detour

 Sometimes you are yanked out of your normal life and put into a holding pattern.

You can fight it but I might be a good time to accept and see what you can learn from it.

That is what I told myself. Sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn't. I will wrap up the minstrel entertainment connection tomorrow.

AudioMo Day 25 Imitation of Life

According to the Britannica website, Fannie Hurst was an author who was concerned about romance and also social issues.

Fannie, to the best of her abilities, wanted to know what real people experienced. She took low wage jobs, she traveled with the common folk and made an effort to inject those experiences in her writing.

This is a quick look at two film version of one of her works, Imitation of Life.

If you would like to know more about Fannie Hurst, there is the Literary Ladies Guide biography.

And another biography at the The State Historical Society of Missouri Missouri Encyclopedia

AudioMo Day 24 Theatrical Animation

A little more personal than I would like, but I do mention some of the cartoons that have links to minstrel and vaudeville. 

Most animators were not intending to harm but they repeated what they knew or saw on stage. If all you know is snow, how can you recognize the green grass? 

I do think the website TV Tropes does a good job explaining the cartoon Coal Black and De Sebben Dwarfs. 

You can probably find a copy of that cartoon on YouTube. I have no desire to link to it.

AudioMo Day 23 The Beulah Show

There are times when the fiction is simple but the reality behind it is complex. Such is the case with the radio and television shows eventually called The Beulah Show.

For More Information:

Television Academy Interviews

Hattie McDaniel Filmography

AudioMo is an international participation of folks that want to share what they can do with the audio format. This is a captioned audio for those folks that are deaf, hearing impaired or English is not their native language.

AudioMo Day 22 Mantan Moreland

In movies, there wasn't just blackface. There was yellowface too. The Charlie Chan movies always had the character Charlie Chan performed by a white man. 

There various sons and daughters were portrayed by Asian actors.  At some point, someone at Monogram Studios decided it was a good idea for Mr. Chan to have a driver called Birmingham Brown.

Before Charlie, we have to talk about Mantan Moreland.

AudioMo is an international participation of folks that want to share what they can do with the audio format. This is a captioned audio for those folks that are deaf, hearing impaired or English is not their native language.

For more information:

Today I Found Out - Mantan Moreland

Yellow Face - History of Yellow Face in American movies

Same Passage page on the actor

AudioMo Day 21 - Amos and Andy Radio Show

The history of the Amos and Andy radio show is all about uncomfortable history. But uncomfortable history doesn't exempt you from knowing about it. 

This team pioneered a form of storytelling and method of syndication. On the other hand, they brought every trope that was in minstrel and vaudeville performances to a national audience. 

 

AudioMo is an international participation of folks that want to share what they can do with the audio format. This is a captioned audio for those folks that are deaf, hearing impaired or English is not their native language.

For more information:

This Old Radio Show page on the radio and television show.

Underground History for a different point of view.

The Jim Crow Museum page on the program.