It was the age of Jim Crow; riddled with racial violence and unrest. But in the world of Our Gang; black and white children happily played and made mischief together. They even had their own black and white version of the KKK; the Cluck Cluck Klams—and the public loved it.The story of race and Our Gang; or The Little Rascals; is rife with the contradictions and aspirations of the sharply conflicted; changing American society that was its theater. Exposing these connections for the first time; Julia Lee shows us how much this series; from the first silent shorts in 1922 to its television revival in the 1950s; reveals about black and white American culture—on either side of the silver screen. Behind the scenes; we find unconventional men like Hal Roach and his gag writers; whose Rascals tapped into powerful American myths about race and childhood. We meet the four black stars of the series—Ernie “Sunshine Sammy†Morrison; Allen “Farina†Hoskins; Matthew “Stymie†Beard; and Billie “Buckwheat†Thomas—the gang within the Gang; whose personal histories Lee pursues through the passing years and shifting political landscape.In their checkered lives; and in the tumultuous life of the series; we discover an unexplored story of America; the messy; multiracial nation that found in Our Gang a comic avatar; a slapstick version of democracy itself.
#601353 in Books Romero Robert Chao 2012-01-01Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 9.00 x .80 x 6.00l; .90 #File Name: 0816514607272 pagesThe Chinese in Mexico 1882 1940
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