Broadway Blackface & Harlem Sex Tourism (The Bisexuals, Part 1)

Libby Holman, a Jewish girl from Cincinnati, arrives in Manhattan in 1925 and begins to make a name for herself as a torch singer, trading on her racially-ambiguous skin tone and deep voice at a time when white hipsters think the height of cool can be found in Harlem. Libby and friends like Tallulah Bankhead sojourned uptown not just to listen to Black music, but also to explore their bisexuality. Through mutual co-star Clifton Webb, Libby meets Jeanne Eagels – one of the greatest actresses of her generation, and a high-profile casualty of Roaring 20s debauchery. -this link

paired with: Man, Woman, and Sin (1927)

Notes:

As I pre-read the introduction and watch the movie tied with this week, I think about The Great Gatsby and my introduction to the harlem renaissance I had with the students, and the way my students talk about the lack of diversity in Gatsby itself. There is an intersection to discuss here and elaborate on.
this fall... They are going on tour to not Philadelphia: (
did I note tee movies that pair next with episode yet? Hold on... The cheat (1931) on YouTube for free also The devil and the deep which I have to pay y for
Libby Holman
white New Yorker centered in Harlem - queer space (think smoke lilies and jade)
Libby indicted for murder??
I feel like often I near about male queerness in Harlem - I think post roaring 20s we get a lot of homophobia
"Dreams that money can buy" (1947)
I am happy that we are going back to older films which is a cool way of looking at queerness
over time Karina Longworth'S voice when discussing politics has become more explicit
" as a Jewish person alive today I am constantly grappling with how one oppressed group of people can turn around and subjugate another group of oppressed people "
Libby utilized race to her empowerment,a reverse version of "passing" but more modern as a white person using race for money and power
able to discuss how "Libby" cited below is deeply racist
a fetishization of race and appropriation of black culture
key word appropriation in a space were appropriation is not a concept widely discussed or perceived
Zelda Fitzgerald mention, too young to be sent into war, experience shaped by war and culture of men abusing power. What does it mean for a 16 year old to be 16 in 1920?
so many connections to Gatsby!
" Garic Gaeties
Josephine Baker hated America lmao perhaps a more interesting figure than Libby ~ worth looking into
tallulah Bankhead
" Zu Zu " movie (baker's first talkie)
white envy of black culture that was "liberating"
Mrs cannigham, Libby's drama teacher, as a primary source is crazy
Langston Hughes quote at 36:54 : " the period when the Negro was in vogue.. " discussion on cultural capital in racial ambiguity
discussion of celebration of race but also using the most disgusting slurs I have ever heard in context to minstrels
this episode is heavy in a specific complex way though intersections of racial oppression in America specifically, like the real horrible racism is based in now white people oppress different oppressed groups but it is interesting to see see the tie back to longworth'S quotation from earlier
this conversation feels important in the background of who this person is
Libby's signature song "moan and low" "can't webe friends?"
" show-stopping racial spectacle"
Clifton Webb who is widely known as gay
Apache dance?????? ?? Ohyikes! Of course milt Michelin thought this was okay
Mrs Cunningham is back !! Dramatic bitch who the fuck even is she to be critiquing her student who is literally on BroadwayI do not think this primary source is super valid lmao
"key largo' mention
Libby seems to be aware of the problematic nature of her performances but continues to do this labor - she probably also had complex feelings quoted as her black face was somehow solidarity
Hughes quotation 55:09 on the role of Harlem specifically
THE divorcee movie utilizing bisexuality as a concept to show equality between the genders
https://www.amazon.com/dp/0231074891?bestFormat=true&crid=3LZJXU9ZAM087&gaOptInStatus=true&k=odd girls and twilight lovers by lillian faderman&language=en_US&linkCode=ll2&linkId=08e4b76f705b4a2ac3963346f5bd4308&ref_=as_li_ss_tl&sprefix=odd girls and t&tag=youmusremth0c-20
copy of federman text that seems so interesting!!
Harlem as a place to experience fluidity
insert connection here to Sontag's notes on camp and it's emphasis on tee 1920s aesthetic as such
Man, Woman, and Sin (1927) mention! Discussion of Jeanne Eagles manifesting the end of the 1920s and is mentioned in "all about eve" which is a movie to watch
" THE letter" movie 194? Starring Jeanne Eagels who got an Oscar nom
Te effect of the roaring 20s on her body and brain
Libby was upset by Jean's death despite ty here not lovers
sept 1929 - stock market crash impacts the perception of fluidity

status: 3. sprout

Sources: (bolded are texts to pursue)