Angela Winand
Department of History
Wayne State University
Abstract
My paper is a close analysis of specific scenes in Hollywood studio productions in the 1940s that contain performances by singer and actress Lena Horne. It has been stated elsewhere that Horne's scenes in such films were intended as scenes that would fulfill her studio contract, but that could also be edited out of the movies so that they would be shown in southern states without risking offence to white audiences. And though brief, such scenes also served a few other purposes. For those audiences that did see the unedited versions, they served to introduce those audiences to black performance styles that were noticeably different from their predecessors on film, the ubiquitous mammies and bucks, maids and buffoons. Yet these instances of black performance isolated from the central action of each film featuring the white stars also served to reinforce the notion of black bodies on film as entertainers rather than as actors playing a variety of scripted roles. In my paper, I want to explore the historical context of Horne's performances by answering these questions: What is the significance of Lena Horne's work in Hollywood films in representing authentic contemporary black popular culture? To what extent does her work succeed in moving black images away from stereotypes of minstrelsy and toward modernism? Why is the performance of black female glamour important, and what does it mean for subsequent representations of black women in film? To what extent are black performers able to visually and aurally signify meaning and identity for/to black audiences when performing white-authored and –produced material for white audiences? How are the uses of rhythm, instrumentation, articulation, improvisation, and presentation distinctly and uniquely presenting elements of black popular culture?