Culture in the 'Tom' Shows

Paper Summary:

The paper refers to Harry Birdoff's book "The World's Greatest Hit", Thomas F. Gossett's book "Uncle Tom's Cabin and American Culture" as well as Stephen Railton's website of the same name. The paper examines the ramifications of the performances of Stowe's "Uncle Tom's Cabin" in contributing to a discussion about slavery, politics and race relations in America. The paper looks at how the 'Tom' shows incorporated elements of the minstrel show and focuses on the adaptations of this show before and after the Civil War and their racially-charged representations of Uncle Tom. The paper suggests that the 'Tom' shows were ultimately more detrimental to race relations than has previously been noted.

Outline:
Minstrelsy, Political Theatre and the 'Tom' Show
The Antebellum 'Tom' Show: Adaptation and Parody
Uncle Tom After the War
Concluding Remarks

From the Paper:

"In Martin Scorsese's 2002 film Gangs of New York, the two main characters--Amsterdam Vallon (played by Leonardo DiCaprio) and Bill "the Butcher" Cutting (played by Daniel Day-Lewis)--attend a 'Tom' show (a stage adaptation of Uncle Tom's Cabin) in New York City. In this scene, which depicts the end of the 'Tom' show, the deus ex machina in the form of Abraham Lincoln descends from the rafters to console the African-American characters (played by white actors in blackface). Lincoln's presence is met with derision from the nativist audience members, who throw vegetables at the actor playing Lincoln and shout, "Down with the Union!" By staging this scene in a 2002 blockbuster film, Scorsese demonstrated that the 'Tom' show was a nearly universal experience in Civil War-era American life, pervading its culture and its politics during and even long after the Civil War. In addition, Scorsese visualized the multiple ways in which Stowe's novel was adapted and appropriated for the stage, ultimately reflecting the racial, cultural and political tensions of the times."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Ammons, Elizabeth. "Heroines in Uncle Tom's Cabin." American Literature 49:2 (May 1977): 161-179.
• Birdoff, Harry. The World's Greatest Hit: Uncle Tom's Cabin. New York: S.F. Vanni, 1947.
• Brawn, Shaleen. Repurposing Uncle Tom. Diss. Stanford University, 2000. Ann Arbor: UMI, 2000. ATT 9986443.
• Breeden, James O., ed. Advice Among Masters: The Ideal in Slave Management in the Old South. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1980.
• Cherry, James M. Melodrama, Parody, and the Transformations of an American Genre. Diss. City University of New York, 2005. Ann Arbor: UMI, 2005. ATT 3169898.

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