Negrophilia and Otherness Surrounding Jazz in France

Josephine Baker and Le Revue Nègre completely changed the music scene in 1920’s Paris. Jazz was seen as a direct extension of la musique nègre, and was therefore highly controversial. The people of Paris were simultaneously captivated by the dancing and amplified stereotypes of a new culture, and repulsed by them¹. This new jazz phenomenon led to the idea of Negrophilia in France. Some people may look back at this surge of black culture in France as loving and appreciative. However, it is likely that there was more racism and “othering” taking place around this topic than many would have admitted.

There are different theories for why the obession with African American culture exploded during this time. André Levinson’s theory was that the African American people had an “innate gift ” of “rhythmic superiority” and a percussive nature of dance. The dance performed by these othered people is very different that the ballet styles found in France. He writes that this “innate gift” would have been wasted in “the cultivated human being”.² Although there was an element of love and fascination with the culture, it is obvious to me that it was not with good intention. The intention was not to celebrate the culture for the inherent beauty of the art itself, but to become a form of entertainment for the “superior class” of French people. The concern did not lie with the well-being of the African American people, but with the excitement of a “primitive” art form in such a “civilized” society.