All of these reviews read like essays by high school kids competing with each other to gain the favor of their teacher who made them watch this movie, and then write an essay about how evil minstrelsy was. Extra credit for the most anti-minstrelsy.From the synopsis I read of this movie (I haven't seen it, but I'd like to) it would appear it has almost nothing to do with the real Dan Emmett, or the real cultural environment of the country during the time period covered, so there's no point in looking to the movie for insight into minstrelsy. Instead, it appears the reviewers looked elsewhere on the web, and found the most biased, least informative stuff they could find on minstrelsy, and cut and pasted it into the reviews.Folks, Minstrelsy was by far the most popular form of entertainment for a CENTURY in the US. Only the circus came close. Do you really think that minstrelsy was all about one thing, and it was always the same thing to the majority of the population for over a century? It is a shame that discussion of minstrelsy has been so suppressed that it has allowed these attitudes to grow up around it. Now there is a great deal of scholarly discussion, and the researchers have a sophisticated grasp of what was really going on. Most of this information hasn't trickled down to us yet.Imagine if somebody said that all of rock music is about one thing - stealing from and making fun of blacks. Mick Jagger was aping black people to make fun of them. Some people might agree with that, but they would be wrong. Or if they said rap music is about one thing - hating whitey.As wrong-headed as those assessments would be, it's 10 times worse about minstrelsy, which was a much bigger phenomena than rock and rap put together. Minstrelsy was about mockery, and mimicry. About admiration, and hate. it was whites pretending to be black, blacks pretending to be Chinese... there were many stock characters in minstrelsy, and everybody played everybody. Some of it was about hate and distrust, some of it was about finding a way to get along. In 1943, they were already looking at this stuff through filters, though if Al Jolson was out of blackface by then, it was only be a little bit. Now we have different filters. Don't take other people's word (including mine), look at it for yourself. But spend some time with it. Sure, the first thing you will see is the caricature, and it will appear it was all about degrading at hate. But the more you look, the more you will learn.

Dixie is a highly fictionalized biography of Daniel Decatur Emmett who was born in Mount Vernon, Ohio and was twice married: to Catherine Rives, who died in 1875 and then to Mary Louise Bird, a widow with two daughters.Emmett performed his first song Old Dan Tucker at the age of fifteen. He was one of four men in the "Original Virginia Minstrels," with Frank Brower. Billy Whitlock, and Dick Pelham. Emmett later performed with Bryant's Minstrels in New York and then with Leavitt's Gigantean Minstrels. Emmett wrote the song Dixie in the spring of 1859, while with Bryant's Minstrels in New York. At the beginning of the Civil War both armies marched to the tune of Dixie but by 1861 Dixie had become a Southern tune.The movie is essentially a series of songs and 'black-face' acts. The latter, although generally considered humorous in 1943, will probably offend many viewers today.

In the movie Dixie (1943), it was apparent that at this civil war time entertainment there were different styles of dance emerging. During this time it became a popular diversion to spend evenings at a minstrel theater. Straying away from the traditional opera or ballet, minstrels offered a new sense of entertainment which promoted the class system. Fortunately our society today is accepting African Americans and prejudices are less prevalent. Subsequent to professional minstrelsy's decline in th 20th century, its appeal continued in the south. Though Minstrels proposed stereotypes, some good did result from this type of entertainment. These shows presented black performers the opportunity to build a foundation which later helped many of them to emerge as successful entertainers.Minstrel shows exposed a wide selection of audiences to this unique type of entertainment. With its combination of eccentric dancing and diverse music, people enjoyed the allure of the entertainment. Closely similar to tap dancing, it boasted innovative and bizarre movements' pairs wit flamboyant eye-catching costumes.This type of amusement contributed to later types of dancing and entertainment. As a big benchmark in the industry, without minstrels played a role in what dancing has evolved into presently. Without minstrels, who knows if the great such as Dizzy Gillespie, W.C Handy, and Bert Williams, would have been as successful as they were.

DixieThroughout history there has been hardships for African Americans. Slavery, obtaining human rights, and discrimination are examples of the hard times that African Americans have gone through. Many movies that were made around the 1940's can be offensive to many African Americans because these hardships such as slavery and discrimination are portrayed within them. Within the comical musical Dixie directed by A Edward Sutherland, 1943, it lets its viewers see and recognize what the time period was really like. Although the movie was well directed, written and acted out, the truth of the time period shines through. Although this film was not made to be offensive, it is. Slavery and discrimination are shown through the song "Dixie," and by characters within the movie. When Daniel Emmett went and performed with his, at first three partners, they used makeup to paint their faces black and over exaggerate the size of their lips. They talked as if they were uneducated and didn't understand things. Also characters from the audience at first were insulted and appalled that "darkies" were performing on stage. This attitude is not make- believe. This was the reaction of people during this time period to African Americans. During this time period Minstrel entertainment was popular during the 19th century. White performers would mimic African Americans as a main attraction by coloring their faces and using makeup to make it look like they have big lips and eyes. Later African Americans did participate in there own form of festivities called the Pinkster celebrations in which black and white performers would gather and celebrate the change of the season. This would ultimately change into a primarily African American holiday that slaves and free blacks would catch up with family and friends. This gave them a chance to express and pass on their traditions and cultures. Dixie portrays the discrimination and slavery that was still going on during this time period. The racism of the audience and reference to slavery within the song "Dixie" all show how this can be offensive to a wide majority of viewers. Although these are within the film, overall the film does a good job at showing what the time period was like and had a good story.