Vaudeville Theater's Influence On Popular Culture

The emergence of a popular mass culture depended upon the introduction of many new forms of entertainment such as film, radio, and theater. One of the most notable forms of theater that emerged was vaudeville, which gained popularity in the late 1800’s, reaching its height in the 1910’s through the 1930’s. Vaudeville theaters’ affordability and accessibility allowed Americans of different ethnic and social backgrounds a chance to socialize in a way that was previously not allowed. Vaudeville had a major impact on popular culture and many films took much of their content from vaudeville acts. An example of a film that was influenced by vaudeville is the play turned film, Wonder Bar. The film features past traditions of vaudeville, while also exploring themes of race and sexuality. Wonder Bar is an example of a film that was pre-code (1934). Movies that were labelled as “pre-code” meant that they were loosely censored, which allowed images of sexual innuendo, drugs, prostitution, murder, suicide, profanity, etc. The film’s setting is in a Montmartre cabaret known as the Wonder Bar and stars Al Jolson as . His character is in love with the cabaret’s dancer Ynez (Dolores Del Rio), however she is in love with her dance partner and “gigolo”, Harry (Ricardo

Filled with racial stereotypes, his performance tries to emulate the vibrancy of the Harlem Renaissance, while paying homage to minstrel shows. The scene is filled with many white actors in black face parading around in what is shown to be heaven. There are references to pork chops, fried chicken, watermelon, craps, and Uncle Tom, all of which are associated with African American stereotypes. The oddest image of this scene, is a double play on ethnic identity, where Jolson, who is Jewish, is shown reading a newspaper that is written in