#probably the excuse was ''it's not blackface bc in context it's just a bad disguise'' which is what trading places did in 1983

[watermelinoe]

ivie anderson was so talented, she was a member of the duke ellington orchestra for over a decade but had to quit bc of chronic asthma. tw for blackface at the end of the musical number bc the marx brothers are trying to "disguise" themselves but i like this video bc it credits the performers

i think the marx brothers movies may have been attempting to be progressive for their time in their portrayal of Black people but it's still a sour note in the otherwise hilarious and culturally significant films... the musical number in "a day at the races" is like, these performances are outstanding and it's great to get a paycheck in the great depression but idk how much of a paycheck it was? it was a huge ensemble though. i think the idea was to show them as sympathetic, as religious, and talented but "exotic," and i am kinda glad it exists to capture the talents of Black artists of the time and also what maybe passed for a "progressive" portrayal of Black people. of note is that the marx brothers were jewish, at least one of the writers was jewish, and one was homosexual. maybe that was a factor in an attempt at a "positive" portrayal even if it doesn't exactly hold up..