Mintsrel stuff

First, I would just like to mention that we learned the other day in History that Sambo was a derogatory term used for slaves that accepted their position and respected the plantation owners and what not, and immediately I though of Invisible Man. The name really enforces the submissive aspect of the caricature that the dolls embody (this caricature being the whole minstrel thing that we've been talking about). It removes every shred of a doubt that the doll could be dancing because its happy (for its own sake) and not for the sake of amused white onlookers. By the doll I mean the characters, of course: the characters that follow the minstrel tradition. My thoughts in this post are very disorganized, I apologize.
So, speaking of minstrels, let's get into that a bit. This was something I was not aware of till this class, but has come up in the discussion of three out of four books so far, so I take it it's a pretty big deal. Invisible Man touches on it relatively briefly because it goes over so much. The Sambo/coin bank bits are pretty much the extent of it I think, but it's obviously that minstrelsy is an important grievance that helps the narrator realize his anger toward racial injustices.
In their Eyes Were Watching God it's not explicitly mentioned, but one of the most substantive criticisms (in my opinion) of the book was that it promotes minstrelsy. I think that Hurston can't really be blamed for including some comedy in her book and the one dimensional characters are justified by the extent to which she explores Janie's character, but I would understand if someone were a bit offended by some of the characters given this country's history with minstrelsy.
Lets see, uh, White Boy Shuffle. Right. All of Gunnar's ancestors seem to be minstrels in a way. They all humiliate themselves to fit into white society. The one guy who ran away to slavery is a perfect example of a Sambo. Even Gunnar himself seems to fall into it a bit at the beginning, accepting his position as cool funny black guy. I suspect he will grow out of this, though. Also, his humor is less at his own expense and more at others', so it's not quite the same.
^^ This was written before I saw the movie. Now I have a little more to say. First of all, "Sambo" is not just a term used to describe subservient slaves. Later, it became the name of a prominent character and stereotype that evolved from Jim Crow: a goofy, raggedy, dancing slave man. Irresponsibility, child-like simplicity of emotion, and a happiness to serve all make this character very unsettling to modern audiences. However, the character spread through American culture quickly in the 18 and 19 hundreds, just the way that the laughing white crowds eat it up on the streets of New York in Invisible Man, giving no thought to the absurdity of the character.
On the topic of defense of Hurston, the movie wrapped up with a man explaining that the stereotype characters were not inherently bad, and that it was the lack of serious and complex African American characters that was really troubling. I think this fits in very nicely with my opinion of minstrelsy in Their Eyes Were Watching God: not all the characters are like that so it's alright. One could say, "but they're still two dimensional characters" but no one could ever be expected to flesh out every single character in a novel completely. Some characters exist to make a point or move the plot along or for comic relief and that's okay. In fact, it's more than okay, it's necessary.
I have decided that Gunnar isn't a minstrel at all. He really doesn't conform to any of the stereotypes that go along with Sambo or the Pickenineys (however you spell that). He's not violent or impulsive, his humor isn't self-deprecating (Though he says it is, all the examples he gives us have a sort of satirical sarcasm that almost attacks whoever he's speaking with. Rather than making him look simple and happy, it makes him look thoughtful and dark behind a fun exterior. Whether people see this or not is another question.)
More than anything though, the movie confused me about what think about racism. Through this whole class I've had to rethink it a lot (which is great), and after that whirl wind of ambiguity and complexity, I really just need time to gather my thoughts.