{"id":493,"date":"2020-03-09T22:50:44","date_gmt":"2020-03-10T03:50:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pages.stolaf.edu\/performinghistory\/?p=493"},"modified":"2020-03-09T22:50:44","modified_gmt":"2020-03-10T03:50:44","slug":"negrophilia-and-otherness-surrounding-jazz-in-france","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pages.stolaf.edu\/performinghistory\/2020\/03\/09\/negrophilia-and-otherness-surrounding-jazz-in-france\/","title":{"rendered":"Negrophilia and Otherness Surrounding Jazz in France"},"content":{"rendered":"

Josephine Baker<\/a> and Le Revue N\u00e8gre<\/a>\u00a0<\/em>completely changed the music scene in 1920’s Paris. Jazz was seen as a direct extension of la musique n\u00e8gre, 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<\/sup><\/a>. 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.<\/p>\n

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There are different theories for why the obession with African American culture exploded during this time. Andr\u00e9 Levinson\u2019s theory was that the African American people had an “innate gift ” of \u201crhythmic 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 \u201cinnate gift\u201d would have been wasted in \u201cthe cultivated human being”.2<\/sup><\/a> 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.<\/p>\n

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