bum minstrel

A small round-shaped lump of poo after a "follow through"

ERIC: Have you farted?
ALEX: Yes
ERIC: Lovely!
ALEX: I think I dropped a bum minstrel
ERIC: Thanks for that!

by Eric Alex March 27, 2007

Minstrelsy

Minstrel performance was one of the first beginnings of African American theater although it was not to sensitive on the content it became popular due to the fact that Europeans thought it was entertainment to see blacks typecast as lazy, stupid, Manish, wild, serving them and going out of their way to please their “boss” or “massa”. Although the minstrel shows were extremely popular, being consistently packed with families from all walks of life and every ethnic group, they were also very controversial. Racial integrationists labeled the production as falsely showing happy slaves while at the same time making fun of them, segregationists thought such shows were disrespectful of social norms, portrayed runaway slaves with sympathy and would undermine the race.
The typical minstrel performance followed a three-act structure. The troupe first danced onto stage then exchanged wisecracks and sang songs. The second part featured a variety of entertainments, including a pun-filled stump speech. The final act consisted of a slapstick musical plantation skit or a send-up of a popular play. Minstrel songs and sketches featured several stereotype characters, most popularized the slave and the dandy. These were further divided into sub-archetypes such as the mammy, her counterpart the old darky, the provocative mulatto wench, and the black soldier.

These buffoonish caricatures of African-Americans help support the notion of black inferiority. It’s hard for people who are close minded to reconcile the existence of a Barack Obama. American pop culture has presented us with varying depictions of black figures, families, and lifestyle. Some have been met with harsh criticism while others have been heralded as groundbreaking. In the 1970’s there was “Sanford & Son,” “Good Times,” “What’s happening?” and “The Jefferson’s.” The 1980’s saw “The Cosby Show” shake up the way in which blacks were presented on television by giving us a middle class, educated black family. Ultimately several clones diluted the effect “Cosby” had. During the 1990’s, the portrayal of blacks on television entered a dismal wasteland of bad sitcoms (“Homeboys in Outer Space,” “The Secret Diary of Desmond Pfeiffer”) where blacks were reduced to goofy sidekicks. This is where revered director Spike Lee, no stranger to race and controversy, takes his aim in Bamboozled. In the movie, Lee satirizes the entertainment industry and their tactics as well as the portrayals and perceptions of blacks in entertainment including Minstrelsy. Lee’s Bamboozled is an attempt at satire that misfires in the eyes of critics and, as a result, is a piece that is viewed as racist. The movie was very raw and uncut and Lee took to the extremes to get his point across.

by Tishia M November 21, 2011

Minstreltainment

The act of cooning for any form of entertainment.

"I watched the 2009 BET Awards last night, it was a fine piece of minstreltainment."

by Mr2Tek3 July 28, 2009

Minstrel

a medieval singer or musician, especially one who sang or recited lyric or heroic poetry to a musical accompaniment for the nobility.

The minstrels visited towns with their battle stories often.

by Kreativebass July 31, 2018

mastrella

one who wears shorts even when it is 20 degrees below zero out; also famous for super bowl nick

"Wow, that mastrella is wearing shorts, and it's the middle of january!"

by Yick Lam March 8, 2008

minstrel show

1. A vaudeville show, often with white actors in blackface, portraying negative stereotypes of black people, showing them as lazy, stupid, oafish, etc.

2. A comedy starring Anthony Anderson.

1. The minstrel show had several actors in blackface shuffling about and singing old slave songs.

2. I can't believe I saw "My Baby's Daddy, what a minstrel show!"

by John Big August 12, 2005

minstrel show

A form of American entertainment performed by whites in blackface before the Civil War and by blacks after the Civil War. Minstrel shows usually involved dancing and singing. The shows portrayed blacks as ignorant, lazy, buffoonish, joyful, and musical. For several decades, it provided the lens for how white America saw blacks. Today, rap music and hip-hop culture is nothing more than a latter-day minstrel show, in which rappers try to put themselves and the rest of black America down by encouraging violence, being promiscuous, dropping out of school, and excessivly wasting money on trivial things such as "bling bling" and gold plated toilet seats. All the while, giving white America a view of blacks.

Minstrel shows are alive and well today. It used to be "Jump Jim Crow" 100 years ago, but today it's "Skeet Skeet Nigga"

by shaunnol December 13, 2008