We have discussed the minstrel-esque qualities of Beatty's portrayal of Gunnar's LA life. From the places to the people, there are ever-present comedic exaggerations. From the humorous descriptions of the people he encounters in his day-to-day adventures to the vulgar, comedic, and expressive dialogue Beatty presents us with, everything seems a caricature of what it should be, but slightly off. For example, the gangsters wearing all Blue are hard, but they aren't the crips. Dialogue between Gunnar and Co. almost always involves forms of sarcasm, irony, or general humor. The book itself keeps its comedic sense, even if the humor takes on a more cynical tone as the book progresses.
Unlike the Eatonville residents, almost every character fits some stereotype. Nick is a really good basketball player, which fits the stereotype about black men and basketball we all know of. That said, the thuggish boy we are first presented with is an avid jazz fan, something that might've caught a lot of people off guard. Gunnar, an avid fan of poetry and poet himself, falls under the same category. I think these ironic character twists do a really good job of subverting stereotypes we may or may not believe, however this doesn't seem to affect character to character interactions as much, giving a minstrel feel. However, I think because we as the perceived audience see what makes these characters unique beyond first impressions is what distinguishes the humor in White boy shuffle from another minstrel-like show.
I completely agree. While there could definitely be an argument made about the minstrelesque nature of White Boy Shuffle, it would definitely come from a place of lack of understanding. The names of the characters, places, and objects in the book can sometimes be blatantly stereotypical. However, more often than not these stereotypes are subverted in some other very obvious way and that is part of what makes the book so funny and so important at the same time.
ReplyDeleteEntertainment is a main theme of the novel and I think that Beatty is trying to bring the racist background behind the stereotype of the black entertainer to the forefront. I also agree with you that there is certainly a difference between the residents of Eatonville and the characters in the White Boy Shuffle.
ReplyDeleteI agree. There were also the representations of Gunnar being the "Funny Black Guy" which is basically the more modern term for one of these minstrel actors. I do feel that Beatty is trying to employ and subvert these themes in White Boy Shuffle.
ReplyDeleteGreat post! I like how Beatty shows us the stereotypes, then makes a twist for each of them. Gunnar also sees this, and is able to point out all these stereotypes in one of his basketball games, where he asks the announcer to read off the names of the players using very minstrel-like names (he even does white face). I like the twists int the stereotypes.
ReplyDeleteCool post! In particular with Nick, Beatty likes to turn the stereotypes on their heads. This could be to make the reader think about why they were applying the stereotypes before they were given information, for example what music Scoby was listening to.
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