Kendall

Bert Williams

Caryl Phillips' Dancing in the Dark reimagines the lives of the first black entertainers in America who achieved great levels of fame. In his novel he writes of many historically accurate facts about Bert Williams and George Walker. Phillips theorizes history by peeling back time, looking into the inner lives of these famous performers, and attempting to write of how their daily lives went about. According to Phillips the personal life of Bert Williams was subject to his occupation. He portrays the relationship Bert had with his wife as barely intimate and steered by his performances. The idea of blacking-up when he himself was Black surely affected Bert Williams' inner life. Phillips shows this by placing Bert in front of the dressing room mirror after performances, staring into the mirror with disgust and disgrace. How could he bring dishonor to his own people while at the same time make a profit and be fine with what he did? I think that Caryl Phillips brings to life the affect that Blackface minstrelsy had on the inner lives of it's performers and by doing this he theorizes a particular part of history. Without the writings of authors such as Caryl Phillips, these two once famous African Americans could have become forgotten pioneers.

Before reading Dancing in the Dark one might not have any knowledge of the first black entertainers in America who performed on Broadway, which was my experience. I believe the idea of "Forgotten Pioneers" inspired and motivated Caryl Phillips to write his novel. Phillips' novel contributes to the many revisions of history by bringing to memory the lives and experiences of African American performers who populated stages across America in their pursuit of the American dream. By writing about the first Black actors in America, Phillips has filled in the holes that history has left, however he doesn't stop there. He goes on in great detail of the inner personal lives of these famous people in an attempt to do them justice and eternally establish their contribution and mark on American history.

I think that writing a novel was the most effective way in bringing to light the first Black entertainers in America. The use of a novel was an excellent idea because in it Phillips can speculate and imagine how Bert Williams and George Walker were affected by their performances. A novel doesn't have to be completely true and this allows Phillips to display very effectively how he interprets history and how he believes the struggle for success actually played out in these two famous African American's lives. By writing a novel about this particular history it allows Phillips to interject his own beliefs and feelings towards the histories interpretation.

I think that the overall story being written about in Dancing in the Dark is about Blackface minstrelsy and how it is incorporated into American history. The story being told within this overall story is the affect blacking up had on it's performers which can be seen in the way Phillips writes of the personal lives of Bert Williams and George Walker.