THE ORIGINAL BETTY BOOP MOVIE

This holds true for official media as well, particularly in light of current events and ever-present racial disparity.įind out the truth for yourself. We can all learn to let go of hatreds and biases that cloud what we believe from social media. She may also be the world’s first “twerker” as in 1936’s, “ Betty Boop’s Halloween.” But, as popular as the character may be with all her composites, Betty Boop is a fake.Īs a student here at MCTC, I have the the opportunity to learn in a diverse environment. She is the world’s first cartoon sex symbol. There are, however, a few things about Betty Boop for which credit is due. He was also for African American rights “as early as 1911.” Jolson was very involved in advocating for African American rights in show business. I had always thought that his blackface act was demeaning for African-Americans, that it was degrading and it exploited black culture. I looked up Al Jolson as an example of a white entertainer who benefited by stealing from African American culture. Now, when I hear stories that seems suspect, I look them up for myself before believing them. I didn’t believe her, so I looked into it and learned that the saying is not in reference to inventor Elijah McCoy. It was my sister who told the story about the real McCoy. But, I am not immune to having disparities of my own. Despite the disparities among Black and White Americans, I am not inclined to blindly believe in such stories. The story is not true, but many African- Americans in the Tidewater area that includes the cities of Virginia Beach, Chesapeake, Portsmouth, Newport News, and Hampton, believe the story. More than a decade ago, a story emerged that the festival celebrates the era of sailing ships bringing African-Americans to America during slavery. In my home town Norfolk, Virginia, “Harborfest” is an annual festival that features tall ships from around the world. This same disbelief can also apply to current news stories as well.Ī friend of mine coins history as “his story.” I find that his story is not confined to White America. In a general sense, some African Americans don’t trust traditional history as it was taught. This was probably the driving force that eventually led to creating Black History month. History as it was taught when I was in grade school significantly and selectively excluded African-Americans. It was so radically slurred that I stop reading it. I once attempted to read a black-owned newspaper. Unfortunately, these types of stories pop up all the time, and they seem to serve racially biased self-interest of those who create them. In this case, neither of them received credit for Boop’s image, or the “boop-oop-a-doop” lyric. Neither Fleischer or Kane created the image, but in fact stole it from Jones. With such a mix of images and ideas that make up Betty Boop, she seems to have suffered from no-personality disorder.Īs early as 1950, Esther Jones was recognized as the originator of the lyric. She was the first actress to “flaunt her sex appeal during that era,” indeed an early pioneer of the sexual freedom women enjoy today.

THE ORIGINAL BETTY BOOP MOVIE

The most significant contribution made by Bow was her introduction of sex to the movie screen. Kane lost her lawsuit in 1932 against Fleischer Studios when it was proven that she had watched Esther Jones’s act.īetty Boop’s sexuality may be have been influenced by Clara Bow. Helen Kane’s signature song, “ I Wanna Be Loved by You,” is yet another component that created Betty Boop. The lyric was made popular by singer Helen Kane who allegedly stole it from Esther’s singing style in her hit song, “ I Wanna Be Loved by You.” Esther’s image, as it appears in the Facebook post is clearly Betty Boop.

It was Gertrude Saunders aka “Esther Baby Jones” who first used the lyric during the origins of scat singing which she performed at the Cotton Club. She is a caricature of the 1920s era of singing styles, image, and sexuality gleaned from several icons of the genre.įleischer is not the originator of “boop-oop-a-doop” either. Oddly enough, that phrase may have been used several years before McCoy’s birth.Īs it turns out, Betty Boop is not “the real McCoy” of creator Max Fleisher of Fleisher Studios. McCoy, who invented lubricator pads for trains. Is the cartoon icon “the real McCoy?” That phrase itself is fiction that bases its origins on Elijah J. Such is the case of a recent Facebook post of Gertrude Saunders as the original Betty Boop. As wonderful as instant media technology is today, the most significant downfall is the ability to spread myths instantaneously to large audiences of people who are inclined to believe them.

The original betty boop