Definitions for minstrel show
min·strel show

Princeton's WordNetRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. minstrel shownoun

   a troupe of performers in blackface typically giving a comic program of negro songs and jokes

2. minstrel shownoun

   a variety show in which the performers are made up in blackface

WiktionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. minstrel shownoun

   A variety show performed by white people in blackface.

WikipediaRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Minstrel show

   The minstrel show, also called minstrelsy, was an American form of racist theatrical entertainment developed in the early 19th century. Each show consisted of comic skits, variety acts, dancing, and music performances that depicted people specifically of African descent. The shows were performed by mostly white people wearing blackface make-up for the purpose of playing the role of black people. There were also some African-American performers and black-only minstrel groups that formed and toured. Minstrel shows caricatured black people as dim-witted, lazy, buffoonish, cowardly, superstitious, and happy-go-lucky.Blackface minstrelsy was the first uniquely American form of theater. Minstrel shows emerged as brief burlesques and comic entr'actes in the early 1830s in the Northeastern states. They were developed into full-fledged form in the next decade. By 1848, blackface minstrel shows were the national artform, translating formal art such as opera into popular terms for a general audience.By the turn of the 20th century, the minstrel show enjoyed but a shadow of its former popularity, having been replaced for the most part by vaudeville. The form survived as professional entertainment until about 1910; amateur performances continued until the 1960s in high schools and local theaters.The genre has had a lasting legacy and influence and was featured in a television series as recently as the mid-1970s. Generally, as the civil rights movement progressed and gained acceptance, minstrelsy lost popularity. The typical minstrel performance followed a three-act structure. The troupe first danced onto stage then exchanged wisecracks and sang songs. The second part featured a variety of entertainments, including the pun-filled stump speech. The final act consisted of a slapstick musical plantation skit or a send-up of a popular play. Minstrel songs and sketches featured several stock characters, most popularly the slave and the dandy. These were further divided into sub-archetypes such as the mammy, her counterpart the old darky, the provocative mulatto wench, and the black soldier. Minstrels claimed that their songs and dances were authentically black, although the extent of the black influence remains debated. Spirituals (known as jubilees) entered the repertoire in the 1870s, marking the first undeniably black music to be used in minstrelsy. During the 1830s and 1840s at the height of its popularity, it was at the epicenter of the American music industry. For several decades, it provided the means through which American whites viewed black people. On the one hand, it had strong racist aspects; on the other, it afforded white Americans more awareness, albeit distorted, of some aspects of black culture in America.Although the minstrel shows were extremely popular, being "consistently packed with families from all walks of life and every ethnic group", they were also controversial. Integrationists decried them as falsely showing happy slaves while at the same time making fun of them; segregationists thought such shows were "disrespectful" of social norms as they portrayed runaway slaves with sympathy and would undermine slavery.

ChatGPTRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. minstrel show

   A minstrel show is an American form of theatrical entertainment, developed in the early 19th century, characterized by racist comedic performances that included skits, music, and dancing. It involved white performers blackening their faces (blackface) and imitating African American mannerisms, stereotypes, and dialects in a caricatured and often disparaging way. Some minstrel shows later also included African American performers in blackface. These shows played a significant role in promoting and reinforcing racial stereotypes.

WikidataRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Minstrel show

   The minstrel show, or minstrelsy, was an American entertainment consisting of comic skits, variety acts, dancing, and music, performed by white people in blackface or, especially after the Civil War, black people in blackface. Minstrel shows lampooned black people as dim-witted, lazy, buffoonish, superstitious, happy-go-lucky, and musical. The minstrel show began with brief burlesques and comic entr'actes in the early 1830s and emerged as a full-fledged form in the next decade. In 1848, blackface minstrel shows were the national art of the time, translating formal art such as opera into popular terms for a general audience. By the turn of the 20th century, the minstrel show enjoyed but a shadow of its former popularity, having been replaced for the most part by vaudeville. It survived as professional entertainment until about 1910; amateur performances continued until the 1960s in high schools, and local theaters. As the civil rights movement progressed and gained acceptance, minstrels lost popularity. The typical minstrel performance followed a three-act structure. The troupe first danced onto stage then exchanged wisecracks and sang songs. The second part featured a variety of entertainments, including the pun-filled stump speech. The final act consisted of a slapstick musical plantation skit or a send-up of a popular play. Minstrel songs and sketches featured several stock characters, most popularly the slave and the dandy. These were further divided into sub-archetypes such as the mammy, her counterpart the old darky, the provocative mulatto wench, and the black soldier. Minstrels claimed that their songs and dances were authentically black, although the extent of the black influence remains debated. Spirituals entered the repertoire in the 1870s, marking the first undeniably black music to be used in minstrelsy.

Matched Categories

1. • Company
   • Variety Show

How to pronounce minstrel show?

1. Alex

   US English

   David

   US English

   Mark

   US English

   Daniel

   British

   Libby

   British

   Mia

   British

   Karen

   Australian

   Hayley

   Australian

   Natasha

   Australian

   Veena

   Indian

   Priya

   Indian

   Neerja

   Indian

   Zira

   US English

   Oliver

   British

   Wendy

   British

   Fred

   US English

   Tessa

   South African

How to say minstrel show in sign language?

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of minstrel show in Chaldean Numerology is: 3

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of minstrel show in Pythagorean Numerology is: 4

References

1. ^ Princeton's WordNet
   http://wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn?s=minstrel show
2. ^ Wiktionary
   https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Minstrel_Show
3. ^ Wikipedia
   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minstrel_Show
4. ^ ChatGPT
   https://chat.openai.com
5. ^ Wikidata
   https://www.wikidata.org/w/index.php?search=minstrel show