Symbolic Slavery:
Black Representations in
Popular Culture*
STEVEN C. DUBIN, State University of New York at Purchase
. . . there is likely to be some connection, however complex, among the attachments men make to themselves, to one another, and to other objects. Modern sociology, in particular, is prone to do little with the
last and focuses primarily upon the first two. . . . Gouldner (1965:70).
Beginning with theorists like Thorstein Veblen, there has been a concern with the accumulation and consumption of goods and the consequent enhancement of social status (Veblen, [1899] 1953; for a more contemporary view, see Laumann and House, 1970). Some recent
work suggests how individuals project meaning onto objects and thereby derive a sense of self
and their relation to others (Csikszentmihalyi and Rochberg-Halton, 1981). Most commonly,
however, material goods are considered a residual category and their importance is assessed
only in relation to extreme circumstances—e.g., Erikson's examination of the loss of the "furniture of self" in disasters (1976:174-77).
While material culture is often ignored in relation to social structure and social interaction, there is no reason to consider these realms separately. Social science can make generally
mute objects speak. In a crucial respect, an analysis of material goods constitutes an archeological examination, digging through multiple thematic layers to determine what they reveal
about social time and place.
In each of these cases the ways objects are used commands more attention than the
meanings in the objects themselves. Some messages directly incorporated within knickknacks, bric-a-brac or "tchotchkes" 1 are easily overlooked. But the seemingly insignificant
articles of everyday life have an importance beyond their cost, size or mass-produced charac* This research was partially supported by National Institute of Mental Health Postdoctoral fellowships in the
Departments of Sociology at Yale University (5 T32 MH 15123) and the University of Chicago (5 T32 MH 15123-07). I am
grateful to Howard S. Becker, Paul DiMaggio, Kai Erikson and members of his seminar "The Sociological Craft," Wendy
Grisworld, Paul Hirsch, Ilona Lubman, Lester R. Kurtz, Stuart Michaels, Barry Schwartz, Gary Schwartz, Dennis
Wheaton, William J. Wilson, and Eviatar Zerubavel for comments and suggestions on earlier versions. One such version
was presented at the 81st Annual Meeting of the American Sociological Association, August 1986, in New York City. The
suggestions of three anonymous reviewers contributed significantly to its final form. All photographs are of objects in
the author's collection and were prepared by the Center for Instructional Resources, State University of New York—
Purchase. Correspondence to: Social Science Division, SUNY-Purchase, Purchase, NY 10577.
1. "Tchotchke," a Yiddish term for a toy or an inexpensive, unimportant thing, has entered into more general
English usage (see Rosten, 1968:407-8).
SOCIAL PROBLEMS, Vol. 34, No. 2, April 1987
Downloaded from http://socpro.oxfordjournals.org/ by guest on February 19, 2016
In this paper, I examine popular culture items that represent blacks in degrading, stereotyped ways, and objectify
former sets of work roles and social relations. These material objects were most popular from approximately
1890 to the 1950s, and they symbolically reflected the social control mechanisms underlying majority-minority
relations during that period. In addition, they helped to allay status anxiety and promoted a sense of social
solidarity and superiority among whites. The production of these objects declined only after the challenge of an
alternative development in the cultural sphere—the ascendence of a black self-consciousness during the Civil
Rights Movement. My research calls attention to an additional symbolic way social control is extended and the
structure of society is maintained and reproduced in a relatively stable manner.
Symbolic Slavery
The Objects
This article focuses on objects which represent black people in a degrading, stereotyped
manner—as subservient, powerless, and often with grossly caricatured features. Such commonplace objects as salt and pepper shakers, cookie jars, and ashtrays entrap the black image
within their design and thereby offer diminuitive figures to perform common service tasks.
The following generalizations apply to each of these items to a greater or lesser degree. First,
there are few strictly decorative items—most have some functional use.4 Second, they are
rather unconsciously used, even though they convey a powerful symbolic message. And fi2. Another novelist writing on southern life more recently has also noted these objects, calling them "blackamoors" (Brown, 1984:213).
3. The persistence of images of maligned groups which constrict their public identity has been similarly discussed
in relation to media characterizations of the mentally ill (Scheff, 1966:67-80).
4. The functional aspect of this material is so pervasive that outlandish design combinations result. For example,
consider an early (c. 1900) plastic alligator swallowing a black child. The alligator's tail is serviceable as a letter opener,
whereas the black figure can be removed from the alligator's mouth and used as a writing pen (see Berkeley Art Center,
1982:69).
Downloaded from http://socpro.oxfordjournals.org/ by guest on February 19, 2016
ter. The purpose of this article is to examine a group of such items and the social meanings
and relations they objectify.
To begin, I take my cue from a short story by Flannery O'Connor (1962) entitled, "The
Artificial Nigger." The title refers to a lawn statue of a black servant or lackey which people
use today as "decoration." O'Connor introduces this object of popular culture in the following
way: "They stood gazing at the artificial Negro as if they were faced with some great mystery,
some monument to another's victory that brought them together in their common defeat"
(O'Connor, 1962:269). This "artificial nigger"2 and a large number of other mass-produced
items represent blacks performing servile tasks, and symbolically recreate roles typical for
blacks at a distinct point in time. Many of these items have continued to exist, despite their
lack of correspondence with more contemporary race relations.
O'Connor's story relates the humiliating misadventures of a white grandfather and his
grandson during a visit to a southern city. They lose their way and then become separated.
The grandson subsequently runs into a woman in his panic and causes her to break her ankle.
When they are reunited, the grandfather denies responsibility for their various mishaps. A
little later his ability to provide information about what the "artificial nigger" is, and about
the status of blacks in relation to whites, vindicates him in the boy's eyes. The grandfather's
triumph rests upon his success at finding someone—even symbolically represented—less powerful than himself in the situation.
How can the grandfather's personal triumph be generalized to the societal level? How
have blacks and other minority groups been kept in symbolic servitude by the repetition of
particular images in mass-produced items?3 Taken collectively, do such items comprise a code
which has contributed to the replication of majority-minority relations? If so, recording these
relations in material form provides a template for continuing to organize actual social relations in specific ways.
In the analysis that follows, I first describe the characteristics that distinguish this "population" of material objects. Second, I analyze the symbolic meanings these goods convey by
discussing their humorous content on the one hand, and by uncovering their violent components on the other. Third, I examine how similar items carry messages that misrepresent a
number of different minorities. Then, I consider what groups were most likely to own these
items. Finally, I discuss the larger implications of studying popular culture, especially that it
can tell us about the relation between ideas and social structure.
DOMESTIC SERVICE/BUTLER-CHARWOMAN
DOMESTIC SERVICE/KITCHEN
Service Domain/Functional Representation
Flower Planters
Yard Jockeys
Ashtrays
Swizzle Sticks
Cream and Sugar Dispensers
Grocery Lists
Paper Towel Dispenser
Toaster Covers
Cookie Jars
Salt and Pepper Shakers
Type of Object
Table 1 • Black representations in popular culture: form and function
Black figure used as a floorstand offering an ashtray
outstretched hands
Black figure placed in yards which could formerly be used
tie horses to (the aforementioned "artificial nigger"); one
the few items now strictly decorative.
Black figure portrayed as a porter who would hold plants
one hand while tipping his hat with the other.
in
to
of
in
Aunt Jemima and her husband Uncle Mose are commonly
pictured. Another common motif has some combination of a
Negro youth and a watermelon, with each of these figures
functioning as one of the pair of shakers.
Aunt Jemima-type character; her body is used to hold the
cookies, with the head being removable. The pose and
function of this item indicate serving food, offering
nourishment.
Black women doll-type characters used to cover toasters
when not in use. The top part of the figure rests on the
toaster, while her skirts are placed over the appliance for
protection.
Aunt Jemima-type character used to hold a roll of paper
towels; her outstretched hands support the item to be
dispensed.
Item to be hung on a wall which portrays a woman with her
hands around a pad of paper (often pre-printed with a
shopping list), used to note needed items.
Similar to cookie jars and salt and pepper shakers, with Aunt
Jemima and Uncle Mose serving as the handles for these
containers.
A set of plastic drink stirrers collectively named "Zulu Lulu,"
portraying the progressive development then deterioration of
the character's body at various ages.
Description
Downloaded from http://socpro.oxfordjournals.org/ by guest on February 19, 2016
I
(J
Symbolic Slavery
125
= 1.
i«J|
S2
lit!
Si
'mi
B
St!
"S-5
IS "**
*
-
a is
B Sow
§ * "53
§£«a
"g'S & * B
X
C
Q.T5 --3
* 3ai g
ets
o
S(A
o
u
S
w
B
4>
IB
« 5
«o Irt*.
H
E
I
•«
B
3
5
I
o
aj
H
D
O
X
g
s
s
53
u
3
a
00
B
M
IS
o00
<s
:an
>-•
ing
S
u
(A
IS
ght
V
S
B
j=
abs
FM
Drawer
c0
a.
Downloaded from http://socpro.oxfordjournals.org/ by guest on February 19, 2016
Iff P"S
126
DUBIN
pi
•fin
u u u
E
3
111
i3 ra .C
bS
ifll
s-S
3
_ U
=5 "" B
03
*!?&*
o
1
6.J3 ^
l S-s
7J H -a
S SC S
fc a > a
<o .
B P 3 K ^
g
~
II
"1 M B
= 2 "
2 w ""
a SAC
o S S E
II
£ . . 2 O.J3
8 •aI gu ^ S
llll
I
I
a
5«3
in J3 B 3
2 73 * 3 .3 *"
B
Si o
<C "> B
—u—
8 J3 00
*M
op b g -s 3 u
3 o X e £..9
J3.fi - 5 • S-.S
OO
1
oofi.12
3a
M
-M ,_> E?
u *2 OJ
E ?2 P g
a 1J
73 J3 "2
S
s «2 B 8"
5
II
U
Downloaded from http://socpro.oxfordjournals.org/ by guest on February 19, 2016
I
;»i
i S «
8 JS
8 E
* Jj
E3
ij'lii
il
i
J 3 <0
"' S " I
1° B S
Symbolic Slavery
This is the kind of lunch you ought to serve stragglers. Instead of overcoats men here are still wearing summer suits and straw hats and women are wearing thinnest summer clothes.
The postcard's theme is barely noted, which renders blacks "invisible." While such a card
attracted the sender's attention and provided the means to transmit a message, the reference
to the card's theme seems no more important than the rest of the inscription. In this case, a
shared recognition must have existed between producer, sender, and recipient that blacks
could be legitimately portrayed in such a manner. There is a taken-for-grantedness that offense would not occur. This replicates an ambiguity intrinsic to many of the roles historically
performed by blacks—executing their duties in close proximity to their employers (obviously
seen and seeing), yet often times not "recognized" in a situation (thereby remaining
invisible).5
This of course raises the question to what audience this material was intended to appeal.
The assumption throughout is that the original consumers were white, although there has
been a more recent surge of interest in these goods by blacks themselves. Others who have
examined similar objects agree that what was originally offensive to blacks can now be approached with a greater degree of detachment and curiosity (Parker, 1980; Reif, 1981; Stix,
1982; Woo, 1985).6
These objects are now obtained primarily through either Salvation Army-type stores or
5. This somewhat paradoxical situation has been noted by many observers, among them Robert Park: "The lady of
the house may be on the most intimate personal relations with her cook, but these intimate relations will be maintained
only as long as the cook retains her 'proper distance'" (1964:257). In addition, Erving Goffman's discussion of the nonperson as a type of discrepant role describes those whose presence in an interaction is both acknowledged and ignored
(see 1959:151-53; also, Doyle, 1937).
It was only after I completed this research that I discovered Malek Alloula's fascinating study The Colonial Harem
(1986), which also uses postcards as "data." In this case the focus is on photographic postcards manufactured between
1900 and 1930, portraying Algerian women. He analyzes how an entire population could be captured by a popular
culture form exaggerating certain characteristics in the colonialists' minds, thereby committing symbolic violations
against an indigenous people.
6. Most interestingly, a magazine entitled Black Enterprise (subtitled "For Black Men and Women Who Want to Get
Ahead") recently emphasized the investment potential of such objects. It encouraged its readership to overcome any
personal repugnance and aggressively seek out these items in competition with whites, who have been collecting them
for a longer period of time (DeWitt, 1982:101). Further, collections assembled by blacks have been displayed at
Dartmouth College, the Berkeley Art Center, and at the DuSable Museum of Afro-American History in Chicago.
Downloaded from http://socpro.oxfordjournals.org/ by guest on February 19, 2016
nally, many users of these items would probably be surprised that such objects could cause
offense since they are, after all, "such little things."
I have organized a representative sample of such items into the categories presented in
Table 1. An examination of this inventory reveals the following distinctions. Former tasks of
domestic service were symbolically transformed into various types of kitchen aides, while
tasks included within the role of butler or charwoman were converted into other household
goods (see, e.g., Figures 1 and 2). Similarly, childcare responsibilities were embodied in toys
and games. And finally, the provision of entertainment and comic relief—in some respects
underlining each of these other types of symbols—was incorporated into mass-produced
messages such as greeting cards and wall plaques.
In each case, a major form of work typical for blacks has been symbolically recreated in
functional items. Another major characteristic—their commonness—is most evident in those
items in the comic relief/entertainment category.
For example, personal messages sent on postcards which picture blacks do not necessarily
refer directly to the theme of the cards. The following transcription from such a postcard
shows some reference to the conventional motif it contains. This particular card carries the
caption "Free Lunch in the Jungle" and depicts a black man struggling in the jaws of an
alligator. On the back, the writer conveys mostly mundane news about behavior and fashions observed in a vacation spot, however, he/she also refers to the card's motif:
128
DUBIN
Figure 2 • Aunt Jemima performs another household task: her outstretched
arms offer a roll of paper towels.
Downloaded from http://socpro.oxfordjournals.org/ by guest on February 19, 2016
Figure 1 • The familiar characters Aunt Jemima and Uncle Mose are ready to
provide service through their embodiment in celluloid salt and pepper
shakers.
Symbolic Slavery
Dating Popular Culture
Dating these objects of popular culture is critically important because many of the issues
they raise concern relatively enduring images of social relations between blacks and whites in
the United States. I used a number of general techniques to establish the time period when
these items were produced and distributed. Even though the dates of some of these goods
cannot be precisely pinpointed, my goal was to minimize the element of speculation in regard
to their age.
The lackey mentioned previously is quite old, dating from the 1880s (Friend, 1979).
Among such items this one is rather unique. It is older than most, and it has been transformed from a functional item (initially used to tether horses) into a purely "decorative" one.
Another systematic approach to dating popular culture items is to trace the persistence of
specific themes through time. For example, the Aunt Jemima and Uncle Mose motif has been
used since at least 1908, when these characters appeared as cloth advertising dolls (Gold,
1979). Similar items may be dated from a somewhat later period because they were made of
celluloid—an early form of plastic—which was most popular through the 1930s (see Figure 1).
Additionally, the same images can still be found on widely-distributed food products, as can
the black cook Rastus on Cream of Wheat products.
Another technique I used to date these items involved examining the distinctive styles of
these images. For example, many items portraying blacks were produced in the Art Deco
style that was popular in the 1930s. I gleaned similar clues either from items no longer manufactured in such large quantities (e.g., fly swatters), or from those which advertise products no
longer so widely used (e.g., household items promoting coal companies). In addition, picture
postcards that specified the correct amount of postage as one penny were issued primarily
between 1881 and 1917 (Scott Publishing Co., 1980:430-34).
Finally, it should be noted that not all of these items are historical curiosities. Some can
7. I am relying almost exclusively on items that have been discarded and drawing certain conclusions from them.
Several considerations are thereby simultaneously overlooked. First, this is a "residual" methodology; it can include only
a portion of the entire population which exists. Similar items which are retained remain unexamined and their relative
proportion of the population cannot be determined. Second, many of the items may have a relatively ephemeral use-life.
Because they share some of the characteristics of tourist souvenirs, it could be that many such items are purchased
because of an association with an event which quickly loses its significance. Therefore, the rate of discarding may say
more about an item's relative lack of importance rather than its importance or frequency of representation within the
culture. Finally, gathering discarded items avoids considering important aspects of the interaction between the product
and the consumer; for example, the decision to purchase and the specific meanings attached to the object.
Downloaded from http://socpro.oxfordjournals.org/ by guest on February 19, 2016
flea markets. The inventories of such operations largely depend upon what is discarded, especially when households are in transition due to moving or death. Salvation Army stores and
flea markets are the sand bars of popular culture, catching the alluvial residue of what is
typical of many households. The variety of items which portray blacks in similarly stereotyped ways and the frequency with which they appear for resale both underscore the commonness of these images in popular American culture.7 It is fair to assume that the types of items
which appear regularly in these outlets provide a very crude index of what has been popularly
produced and consumed on a mass basis. In fact, dedicated habitues can readily identify
patterns of dishware, clothing, and decorative items from a range of periods because of the
consistency with which they surface in such places. I assembled my own collection from
these sources over the past 10 years in both rural and urban areas, mostly in the Midwest.
However, I have discovered that these items are available throughout the country, which
attests to their extremely wide distribution. And while the contours of race relations have
certainly varied by region and other distinctive local characteristics, such items could play a
role in the variety of ways these relations were symbolized and enacted.
130
DUBIN
still be purchased as new items, especially in tourist-type shops. The contemporary presence
of some of these objects indicates either the continued manufacture of some of them, or possibly the existence of a backlog of items that were produced previously and are just now being
marketed.
It is safe to conclude that most of these items were manufactured and distributed after
1890, through the 1940s and early 1950s (see Brown, 1975; DeWitt, 1982; Reif, 1981).8 In
other words, these items generally overlap with the period of Jim Crow laws in the South, 9
through the initial upsurge of the black civil rights movement 1 0 that produced concurrent
decrease in support for open expression of racial prejudice and use of established racial
stereotypes.
Black Humor: Or, Is This Type of Popular Culture Funny?
Were these objects of popular culture intended to be humorous? Certainly some were
produced with entertainment or comic relief as their raison d'etre. For example, a number of
predominant themes in these items draw upon assumptions regarding the inferior intelligence and abilities of blacks. Situations where blacks have been chased up trees by alligators,
or have actually been caught by them, were not to be viewed with horror. Taking the point
of view of someone selecting such a postcard, a sense of humor and smugness should prevail.
What, after all, could be expected from a group of individuals you would assume to have an
inferior ability to reason and function effectively?
A sense of exaggeration also exemplifies the supposedly humorous nature of these materials. For example, a postcard which features a black figure with a greatly enlarged ear utilizes
caricature. The figure expresses the desire for "hearing from" the recipient by turning the
black person into an object and placing him in the role of fool.11 And the size of most of these
objects similarly conveys a "humorous" quality. When a black figure can be taken in hand
and made to perform some service (e.g., as with salt and pepper shakers), or manipulated to
cover or protect (e.g., cookie jars, toaster covers), this permits activity on the part of the user
and an extreme passivity or compliance on the part of the figure. "To reduce" is taken quite
literally in many of these items. However, the power of the message is magnified because the
gestures involved in their use appear to be insignificant and benign rather than malicious.
The humorous quality effectively disguises a more malevolent function.
The literature on jokes and humor spans a number of academic disciplines (e.g., sociology, anthropology and psychology) and draws upon a wide range of research locales and
situations. Common to such studies is a concern with how joking behavior is structured with
emphasis on how it is organized into a relationship that operates according to rules and not an
accidental, haphazard occurrence.
These studies can be summarized into three thematic groups. First, there are joking relationships among equals of inferior status. These interactions help people cope with the op8. An examination of the 206 catalog entries from the Berkeley Art Center exhibit (1982) shows only a small
proportion of items falling outside these parameters. Using the criteria for inclusion in this study, 12 objects were manufactured pre-1890, while 12 date from the 1950s to the present. Of the latter group, 50 percent are foreign made. Taken
together the items beyond the time frame suggested here account for less than 15 percent of the total.
9. There is general agreement that this system started with legislation enacted in Mississippi in 1890 and was
instituted throughout the South between 1890 and 1910.
10. I do not want to imply that this black consciousness arose independently of simultaneous structural changes—
e.g., the growth of a significant black middle class. However, the primary emphasis here is on the cultural sphere.
11. For a thorough discussion of caricature in art, see Kris (1964).
Downloaded from http://socpro.oxfordjournals.org/ by guest on February 19, 2016
[Humor] diminishes the horrors of the past, and it veils the horrors of the present, and therefore prevents us
from seeing straight, and perhaps from learning things we ought to know. Davies (1977:85)
Symbolic Slavery
12. This is admittedly a selective reading of a large body of literature. Alternative readings would accentuate
humor's critical and transformative capabilities instead.
13. Personal communication with a South African sociologist provides additional support for this argument.
When I asked him about analogous objects in his own culture, he was able to identify only one—what he called a "black
gnome," a statue placed outside a white working-class gambling and drinking resort. This relative absence of such items
validates the present line of reasoning. With a social and legal system effectively designed to control the black South
African population, mass-produced objects similar to those being discussed in relation to the United States would not be
necessary, at least not at this point in time.
14. For an extended discussion of the implications of such a belief system see Genovese (1974).
15. This "system maintenance" theme is also developed by George Orwell in an essay entitled 'The Art of Donald
McGill" (1946). Orwell examined a genre of popular English postcards which portrayed the repressive aspects of mar-
Downloaded from http://socpro.oxfordjournals.org/ by guest on February 19, 2016
pressive aspects of the social structure they commonly confront. Here joking is seen as a
safety valve, channeling off tensions and placing individual rage and frustration into a social
context. The system is strengthened and preserved by this type of humor (see e.g., Bradney,
1957; Coser, 1959). Joking relationships among equals of an inferior status can also be constructed so as to symbolically attack the superiors' position. However, since power relationships remain intact, the question is: "Who is actually the butt of the joke?" (see Barron, 1950;
Burma, 1946).
Finally, there are joking relationships between those of superior and inferior ranks which
ease specific encounters yet reaffirm the unequal nature of the exchange. Such relationships
are necessary both for the maintenance of micro-systems (e.g., families) and for society at large
(Radcliffe-Brown, 1952).
What is striking throughout these studies of joking relations is the necessity for those in
an inferior position to use joking behavior in order to adjust to—not significantly alter—intolerable aspects of their lives that are structured socially.12 In contrast to these studies, I assume
that the objects under consideration here were used by a majority racial group at the expense
of a minority group. We need to understand why use of such humor by whites was necessary
if they held the real power in the situation anyway.
Thomas Hobbes provides a clue to answering this question by seeing use of humor as a
form of "contrast effect." He "believed that humor arises from a conception of superiority in
ourselves by comparison with the inferiority of others" (quoted in Burma, 1946:710). In other
words, a superior position may only be confirmed if it is acknowledged in comparison to an
inferior position in either real or symbolic ways.
The relevant time frame for this study (approximately 1890 to the 1950s) was precisely
when white control over the black minority was diminishing in many respects. The elaborate
set of laws in the South referred to as "Jim Crow" attempted to minimize the shift in the
balance of power by approximating the formerly stable and predictable controls of the plantation system. These mass-produced items may have been an additional attempt at reasserting
white control by symbolically allaying white status anxiety.13
Along these lines, Freud (1950:218) argued that "the humorist acquires his superiority by
assuming the role of the grown-up . . . while he reduces the other people to the position of
children". The multi-determined nature of this statement and its relevance here should be
apparent. First, in the process of establishing his superiority, the humorist recreates the first
unequal relationship individuals experience—between parent and child. Second, white/
black relationships in the United States exhibited a high degree of paternalism, with whites
"benevolently" caring for their supposedly childlike slaves.14 Finally, I already noted that a
portion of the humorous quality of these items lies in their transformation of real individuals
into tiny representations that are easily manipulated. There is a clear resemblance in this case
to behavior typical of most children—aware of their own position of inferiority, they manipulate the even tinier forms of their dolls.
Two themes can be drawn from this literature on joking relations. First, jokes can maintain and preserve the existing system of power relations.15 When they express critical group
DUBIN
riage and home life, presented jokes regarding sex, and routinely caricatured voluptuous female figures with large buttocks. He concluded that"... his [McGill's] brand of humor only has meaning in relation to a fairly strict moral code . . .
Their |the post cards'] existence, the fact that people want them, is symptomatically important . . . they are a sort of
Saturnalia, a harmless rebellion against virtue" (1946:94, 98).
16. There is one ironic qualification to make here. Several black students have reported to me that their younger
siblings like Aunt Jemima on household products. Relatively unaware of the turmoil of the civil rights era, children can
now embrace such images as comforting, not insulting.
17. Davies' analysis of ethnic jokes primarily emphasizes their contribution to social solidarity and the alleviation
of group anxieties: "Ethnic jokes delineate .. . social, geographical and moral boundaries" (1982:383). However, it also
develops the theme of system preservation through channeling off friction and frustration. This is especially relevant in
the discussion of a genre of jokes directed against political elites in Eastern bloc countries which depicts them as ;/they
were foreigners or an ethnic minority (see 1982:393-95).
Downloaded from http://socpro.oxfordjournals.org/ by guest on February 19, 2016
concerns they can become a lubricant which "takes the edge off' conflictual relations with
other groups. This helps prevent different segments of society from rubbing against one another to such a degree that friction would threaten its continued operation. Within a joking
relationship, shared assumptions should guarantee that offense is not taken, or if offense did
occur, it would indicate that the wronged party "couldn't take a joke."
However, what might be inoffensive at one point in time might seem offensive and inappropriate later. If so, it is likely that a significant change in attitudes and/or the relative
position of the joker and the object of the joke would have occurred. In fact, this has been the
case for these mass-produced black items. For one thing, it is reasonable to conclude that they
are no longer produced in large quantities. With the rise of black consciousness and an increased emphasis on positive black self-images, these items would be social grit—not a lubricant for the smooth operation of a social system. The activities of a self-proclaimed "Black
Jockey Liberation Army" provide an interesting example of this shifting balance of definitions. In 1979, they "liberated" (i.e., stole) at least a dozen such statues from yards in the
Hartford, Connecticut area (Chicago Sun-Times, 1979). Their communiques indicated that they
felt these were residual signs of racism and not innocuous, humorous symbols.
Such activities dramatically exemplify the change in climate of opinion which previously
provided a supportive audience for such popular culture items. For example, "Nigger Hair"
tobacco (c. 1910) changed its name to "Bigger Hare" (c. 1957) due to N.A.A.C.P. pressure on the
manufacturer (Berkeley Art Center, 1982:68). Similarly, a restaurant chain called "Sambo's"
felt compelled to change its name as a marketing strategy more attuned to contemporary
cultural realities after criticism from black groups (Fox, 1982). However, such direct pressure
is not always necessary. Now anticipated criticism can also lead to such decisions. For example,
the manufacturer of two flavors of Funny Face powdered soft drink mix changed the name of
these products in the early 1960s—"Chinese Cherry" became "Choo-Choo Cherry," and "Injun
Orange" became "Jolly Oily Orange." Further, a potentially offensive black image was edited
out of rereleases of Walt Disney's Fantasia (Dorfman, 1983:120). Thus, what was previously
the right grade of "grease" for the smooth functioning of U.S. society is now too heavy to serve
this purpose. 16
The second important theme in the joking relation literature is that these material items
could promote a sense of social solidarity among its consumers and contribute to a feeling of
social superiority within the dominant racial group. There is a totem-like quality to many of
these items, but with a curious twist—these objects induce a sense a kinship, but not by condensing the group's distinctive essence into a material form. They do not provide a symbolic
embodiment of the vital characteristics of the community to be venerated (Durkheim, [1912]
1954), but instead furnish a common representation of the other. Solidarity could be enhanced
through this convenient identification of who was beyond important social boundaries (Coser,
1956; Davies, 1982; Erikson, 1966), and domination thereby shored up. 1 7
Symbolic Slavery
133
Symbolic Violence: The Underside of Popular Culture
18. This is a direct transformation of a set of social relations into a materialized form: ". . . there was a little
collection of carnival games, including one called Hit the Nigger in the Eye! where, for twenty-five cents, you could
throw three baseballs at a black man who stuck his head through a canvas and defied you to hit him" (Davies, 1972:95).
While this comes from afictionalizedmemoir about rural Ontario in 1936, there is substantial anecdotal evidence verifying similar "amusements" in the United States. For example, the amusement park formerly at Savin Rock in the New
Haven, Connecticut area featured the "African Dodger"; a black man would stick his head through a huge lifesaver as
players tried to bean him with "nickel rockets" (baseballs).
19. In both of these cases only the packaging displays a black image; the caricature was meant to represent each
piece of the product it contained.
Downloaded from http://socpro.oxfordjournals.org/ by guest on February 19, 2016
Counterbalancing the supposedly humorous intent of many of these items is the implicit
suggestion of violence. Violence may be implied on the surface, but generally becomes apparent only through the actual use of each item. This is a symbolic form of violence that complements its physical and structural manifestations. Its presence cannot be accidental; it is a
logical expression of the social control functions served by these material items.
For example, when a flyswatter prominently displaying a black figure was used, this
figure would obviously be slammed against a hard surface to complete the dirty chore (see
Table 1). A toss game operates similarly, although the violence is partially masked by its
entertainment function. Here the exaggerated black characters would have to be hit directly
by a tossed beanbag for the player to score points. (See Figure 3).18 Likewise, a noisemaker
demonstrates this attribute. Use of the noisemaker entails repeatedly striking a black figure in
the face with a wooden clapper (see Figure 4).
More subtly, the packaging of a brand of eyelets named "Solidhead" refers to the object's
nature while it also affords the opportunity to caricature and defame the black image. However, the insidious nature of this item is only revealed through its use—installing eyelets necessitates flattening them through applying pressure, thereby symbolically smashing these
black faces. A brand of golf tees labelled "Niggerhead" displays similar attributes. The product's package pictures a golf tee driven through the skull of a smiling black figure who is
depicted in a grotesque manner. In addition, the use of this item both reinforces the service
role of blacks and involves violence—an ersatz servant holds the ball as the game player
swings at it. Thus, these small, mass-produced items transmit a message of violence which is
activated through employment of force on a minor scale.19
In each of these examples, the implied violence was fairly general. However, one item in
my collection replicates conventional historical patterns of violence directed against blacks—
the closet or drawer sachet (see Table 1). A tag around the neck of this object reads "Hang me
up or lay me down." While these directions refer to the use of the sachet, they also symbolically represent the acts of lynching and rape—the two most violent means of social control
used against blacks.
This implicit violence reflects an institutionalized form of power that was once widely
supported but which has now diminished in significant ways. Nonetheless, it was in the
interests of those in power that such messages were recorded within these popular culture
forms. "Symbolic violence" has been defined in another context—the domain of education—
as "power which manages to impose meanings and to impose them as legitimate by concealing the power relations which are the basis of its force" (Bourdieu and Passeron, 1977:4).
While the present use of the phrase is more literal, it is in the same spirit. It has become
widely accepted that educational systems transmit assumptions and information that perpetuate basic inequities and thereby serve the interests of those in power. It should be clear that a
similar dynamic is at work in the more mundane sphere of popular culture. Whether in its
real forms, or through these symbolic representations, violence was employed when other
control devices were losing their effectiveness.
134
DUBIN
Figure 4 • Symbolic violence would occur when this
noisemaker was shaken and the wooden
clapper hit the black image directly in
the face.
Downloaded from http://socpro.oxfordjournals.org/ by guest on February 19, 2016
Figure 3 • This board for a beanbag game provides black faces as targets for
play. It replicates a carnival game of the 1920s and 1930s where
blacks were the real targets.
Symbolic Slavery
Cultural Codes and Metaphors: The Generalized (Mis-)Representation
of Minorities
Black tchotchkes are part of a distinctive genre of popular culture that depict different
racial/ethnic groups in similar ways. For example, there are salt and pepper shakers featuring Asians that meet all the criteria for inclusion in this genre of popular culture—they are
functional, rather unconsciously used and commonly available, and their "humorous" patina
disguises a more offensive message. Further, these figures are typically presented in a solicitous position that emphasizes the presumed humble manner of Oriental culture (and thus
their suitability for service). Another such item, a sprinkle bottle in the shape of an Asian
man, was used to wet clothing in preparation for ironing (see Figure 5). It symbolically recreates the role of laundry worker—a role many Asians played historically.
Women are likewise portrayed with a distinctive metaphor. Contemporary postcards
that serve an "entertainment" function use the same motif of being subdued by alligators so
utilized to represent blacks. Here, however, the motif emphasizes sexual or "seductive" qualities, rather than inferior intelligence. The adaptability of this metaphor derives from the
similarity of the relative positions of these two groups in society. Common to both types of
cards are the presumed qualities of vulnerability and passivity.
The contemporary portrayal of women as "niggers" (a phrase used to indicate their com-
Downloaded from http://socpro.oxfordjournals.org/ by guest on February 19, 2016
Figure J • "Sprinkle Plenty" was designed to wet
clothing before ironing. It demonstrates
that a cultural code allows numerous
groups to be trapped by derogatory
images and sentenced to symbolic
slavery.
136
DUBIN
parable exploitation and powerlessness) 20 is not just a curiosity. Instead, it provides the basis
for posing questions about majority-minority relations in a society. For example, could the
acceptance of this image of women indicate that they are perceived as less militant and less
threatening than blacks? Could it indicate that women have not been as successful as blacks
in forcing a major realignment of their common portrayal in popular culture to present
realities?
Use of such metaphors is also likely to vary geographically. Maligned groups in specific
locales have been represented by salt and pepper shakers, planters, and other popular culture
items. 21 The presence or absence of these images in relation to a particular group and their
occurrence in time and space can highlight the interplay of opposing groups, their relative
structural positions, and changing images of them.
I have emphasized how objects of popular culture recreate former tasks of minority
groups and reinforced their traditional images, but so far I have failed to consider very specifically "For whom?" Under the best of circumstances it would be desirable to locate owners of
these products and interview them directly about why they have them and what they mean.
Of course, this is not possible since the original consumers cannot be identified. However, it is
not clear that interviewing could elicit a full disclosure of information and feelings, and I
have emphasized that the values attached to these objects has changed over time. While such
direct inquiry might be interesting phenomenologically, it would not exhaust the meanings
which can be teased from these material objects.
I believe that because of the commonness of these items and their cheap, mass-produced
character, it would be surprising to find many of them in upper or upper-middle class households. Rather, the lower-middle and working classes would have been more likely to own
such items for at least two reasons. First, these groups have traditionally filled an important
"buffering" position in "controlling" minority groups—in regard to both formal social regulation and more informal customs. In urban society, these groups have routinely felt local and
market pressures for neighborhood desegregation, and competition for jobs. In rural society,
this latter concern has also been important.
Symbolic control would seem to be most important among those who in fact have such
limited power to establish the general outlines of intergroup relations. 22 In this respect, these
items would make a threatening social problem seem humorous, and help to shore up a sense
of racial superiority. In addition, objects such as the lawn jockey might reasonably be linked
to status aspirations, creating the illusion of having servants for a group who never had them.
This would both reflect the loss of an available servant class and provide a type of fake gentility. As O'Connor noted in her story, "They ain't got enough real ones here. They got to
have an artificial one" (1962:212). Therefore, two kinds of superior feelings are involved; one
20. This phrase has been used at other times in relation to other groups—for example, "student as nigger" in the
1960s (Farber, 1970).
21. Intergroup prejudices not quite so familiar to our culture can be displayed in this way. One such example is an
80 year-old French-made tin toy depicting a Dutch maid spilling a set of dishes. Although an observer states "We do not
know whether some national slur was intended" (Spilhaus, 1980:163), this symbolic purpose is highly likely.
22. Richard Sennett and Jonathan Cobb argue that the assumption that racial prejudice is a necessary and omnipresent fact of white working-class culture is much too simplistic. Rather, racial attitudes within the same class are
determined by the interplay of a variety of factors (see Sennett and Cobb, 1973:136-39). The argument I make here is
similar and recognizes that many factors which might contribute to the development and maintenance of prejudicial
attitudes are concentrated in these admittedly non-rigorously defined groups called the working class, lower-middle or
lower class.
Downloaded from http://socpro.oxfordjournals.org/ by guest on February 19, 2016
Popular Culture for Whom?
Symbolic Slavery
137
involves ridicule, the other emphasizes superiority by the possession and control of black
representations.
Second, while a number of "production of culture" studies have emphasized that goods
are produced in relation to market demand (see DiMaggio, 1977 and Peterson, 1976), the situation is probably not so simple in the case of these items. Studies on attitudes have consistently
shown that attitudes and the expression of prejudice are not only socially channelled, but that
the acceptability of expressing prejudicial attitudes toward various groups changes over
time.23 Distinct segments of particular socio-economic classes might wish to have certain
symbols produced to bolster their position relative to other groups. However, production decisions regarding these material items probably have less to do with the market than they do
with what can be produced without offending well-organized minority groups. Lower status
groups are less likely to be successful in affecting the legal, market, or production decisions in
society than are various socio-economic elites.24
Much of this inquiry has focused on the process of maintaining social relationships
through symbolic means rather than use of overt force. While I have argued that the symbolic realm primarily supports dominant ideologies and social arrangements, it is not immune
to the impact of events which challenge these arrangements. Attitudes as well as the relative
positions of groups change, and so do the meanings that individuals attach to the objects
around them. The same items can be used as somewhat covert symbols of domination in one
era and later be unmasked as concrete residues of racism. This process of meaning transformation can proceed even farther so that the original supporters abandon these goods and
different groups pick them up. They can then serve either as reminders of an unfortunate
past, or, in unusual cases, become comforting images and models. Symbols thus have an
extremely labile quality which allows them to acquire many different meanings that support
alternative readings.
In important respects my analysis is consistent with the recent emphasis on "cultural
capital" and the transmission of cultural codes. Cultural capital has generally been defined as
symbolic elements valued by a dominant social class such as proper speech, etiquette, and
increased knowledge and sophistication gained through the appreciation of the fine arts. The
cultural capital approach also emphasizes how educational systems socialize and reward particular class segments to insure reproduction of the system and the dominant position of elites
(see Bourdieu, 1973; Bourdieu and Passeron, 1977; Collins, 1979; DiMaggio, 1982; Touraine,
1977). However, the evidence I presented here suggests two major conceptual modifications
of the cultural capital approach.
First, the concept of cultural capital must be extended to include popular as well as highculture items. I have argued that such material representations of blacks and other minorities
have been symbols appealing to, accumulated by, and representative of the sentiments of the
lower echelons of the white majority in the United States. These groups have been most
responsible for the actual implementation of social control over minorities. In addition, they
have traditionally perceived the black population as a threat to their socio-economic position
and have therefore utilized distinctive forms of popular culture to represent their concerns.
23. R.T. LaPierre's classic study showed an almost perfect inverse correlation between questionnaire responses and
social actions in attitudes towards Orientals (1934). Moreover, a review of the literature on public attitudes toward
mental illness and mental patients emphasizes that although attitudes in this area might have remained similar over
time, the acceptability of expressing them publicly has dramatically diminished since the 1960s (Rabkin, 1974).
24. One of the potential ways to bolster these assertions would be to find catalogs and advertisements which
feature these items and utilize whatever information they might provide regarding target audiences. Unfortunately I am
not aware of such depictions.
Downloaded from http://socpro.oxfordjournals.org/ by guest on February 19, 2016
Discussion
138
DUBIN
References
AUoula, Malek
1986 The Colonial Harem. Translated by Myrna Godzich and Wlad Godzich. Minneapolis:
University of Minnesota.
Barron, Milton L.
1950 "A content analysis of intergroup humor." American Sociological Review 15:88-94.
Berkeley Art Center
1982 Ethnic Notions. Berkeley, CA: Berkeley Art Center.
Bourdieu, Pierre
1973 "Cultural reproduction and social reproduction." Pp. 71-112 in Richard Brown (ed.).
Knowledge, Education and Social Change. London: Tavistock.
Bourdieu, Pierre and Jean-Claude Passeron
1977 Reproduction in Education, Society and Culture. Translated by Richard Nice. Beverly
Hills, CA: Sage.
Bradney, Pamela
1957 "The joking relationship in industry." Human Relations 10:179-87.
Brown, Curtis
1975 Star-Spangled Kitsch. New York: Universe.
Brown, Rosellen
1984 Civil Wars. New York: Knopf.
Burma, John
1946 "Humor as a technique in race conflict." American Sociological Review 11:710-15.
Chicago Sun-Times
1979 "Lawn statues of black jockeys are 'liberated.'" August 1:60.
Downloaded from http://socpro.oxfordjournals.org/ by guest on February 19, 2016
This use of these objects of popular culture in turn serves the interests of the upper classes
because it heightens identification of lower-class whites with their race instead of with their
class. In the context of this discussion, then, cultural capital is more general and includes
more symbolic areas. Cultural capital also needs to be viewed more precisely, specifying the
class interests and needs it serves.
Secondly, the cultural capital approach emphasizes the reproduction of existing social
relations, but it cannot effectively account for significant social change. Clearly, in the 1950s
and 1960s, blacks offered alternative sets of cultural definitions and images which helped to
trigger major structural changes—changes reflected in the decline of acceptance of the objects
of popular culture examined here. In this sense, these cultural items were no longer consistent with the new structure of relations between blacks and whites.
Moreover, my analysis suggests that the search for the sources of social control needs to
be expanded. Commonplace items of material culture merit inclusion in such investigations.
I have demonstrated two distinct ways to interpret the meanings encoded within black representations in popular culture as one way to do this. First, I examined the humorous intent of
these mass-produced items, and revealed several hidden layers of reality. Changing attitudes
toward "what's funny" reflect such things as changes in self-image, relative group positions,
and the balance of power in society. Further, the need to use humor in a derogatory way can
indicate how a group perceives its own position over time. In this way, "benign" objects can
disguise unfavorable purposes. I also examined the violence implicit in these material objects.
This symbolic contribution to social control extended beyond other measures that were losing
their effectiveness. This is one way dominant images in popular culture can continue to proscribe behaviors and restrict (or at least retard) change. Further, the repetition of such images
of various minority groups in popular culture indicates the availability of a metaphor which
locates their inferior position and attempts to delimit their collective action for change. Mundane objects can indeed convey powerful messages and be used as "capital" in ways similar to
high-culture items.
Symbolic Slavery
Downloaded from http://socpro.oxfordjournals.org/ by guest on February 19, 2016
Collins, Randall
1979 The Credential Society. New York: Academic.
Coser, Lewis A.
1956 The Functions of Social Conflict. New York: Free Press.
Coser, Rose L.
1959 "Some social functions of laughter." Human Relations 12:171-82.
Csikszentmihalyi, Mihalyi and Eugene Rochberg-Halton
1981 The Meaning of Things: Domestic Symbols and the Self. New York: Cambridge University
Press.
Davies, Christie
1982 "Ethnic jokes, moral values and social boundaries." British Journal of Sociology
33:383^103.
Davies, Robertson
1972 The Manticore. Middlesex, England: Penguin.
1977 World of Wonders. Middlesex, England: Penguin
DeWitt, Karen
1982 "Collectibles: black memorabilia." Black Enterprise 12(February):101.
DiMaggio, Paul
1977 "Market structure, the creative process, and popular culture: toward an organizational
reinterpretation of mass-culture theory." Journal of Popular Culture 11:436-52.
1981 "Cultural capital and school success: the impact of status culture on the grades of U.S. high
school students." American Sociological Review 47:189-201.
Dorfman, Ariel
1983 The Empire's Old Clothes. New York: Pantheon.
Doyle, Bertram
1937 The Etiquette of Race Relations in the South. Chicago: University of Chicago.
Durkheim, Emile
[1912] The Elementary Forms of Religious Life. New York: Free Press.
1954
Erikson, Kai
1966 Wayward Puritans. New York: Wiley
1976 Everything in Its Path. New York: Simon and Schuster.
Farber, Jerry
1970 The Student as Nigger. New York: Pocket Books.
Fox, Stephen
1982 "Sambo's seeks new name and image." Chicago Tribune, July 5(section 4): 10.
Freud, Sigmund
1950 "Humour." Pp. 215-21 in Collected Papers. London: Hogarth.
Friend, David
1979 "Lackeys." Chicago Reader, July 13:9, 28ff.
Genovese, Eugene D.
1974 Roll, Jordan, Roll: The World the Slaves Made. New York: Pantheon.
Goffman, Erving
1959 The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life. Garden City, NY: Doubleday-Anchor.
Gold, Anita
1979 "The dolls that turn rags into riches." Chicago Tribune, August 31(section 4):11.
Gouldner, Alvin
1965 Enter Plato: Classical Greece and the Origins of Social Theory. New York: Basic.
Kris, Ernst
1964 Psychoanalytic Explorations in Art. New York: Schoken.
LaPierre, R.T.
1934 "Attitudes vs. actions." Social Forces 13:230-37.
Laumann, Edward O. and J.S. House
1970 "Living room styles and social attributes: the patterning of material artifacts in a modern
urban community." Sociology and Social Research 54:321-42.
139
DUBIN
Downloaded from http://socpro.oxfordjournals.org/ by guest on February 19, 2016
O'Connor, Flannery
1962 "The artificial nigger." Pp. 249-70 in The Complete Stories. New York: Farrar, Straus and
Giroux.
Orwell, George
1946 "The art of Donald McGill." Pp. 89-99 in Critical Essays. London: Seeker and Warburg.
Park, Robert E.
1964 Race and Culture. New York: Free Press.
Parker, Paula
1980 "Contemptible collectibles." Perspectives: Civil Rights Digest 12(Spring): 19-20, 23.
Peterson, Richard
1976 The Production of Culture. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage.
Rabkin, Judith
1974 "Public attitudes toward mental illness: a review of the literature." Schizophrenia Bulletin
10(Fall):9-33.
Radcliffe-Brown, A.R.
1952 "On joking relationships," and "A further note on joking relationships." Pp. 90-116 in
Structure and Function in Primitive Society. Glencoe, IL: Free Press.
Reif, Rita
1981 "Stereotypes of blacks on everyday objects in Dartmouth display." New York Times (March
3):11.
Rosten, Leo
1968 The Joys of Yiddish. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Scott Publishing Company
1980 Scott Specialized Catalogue of United States Stamps 1981. New York: Scott Publishing.
Scheff, Thomas J.
1966 Being Mentally III. Chicago: Aldine.
Sennett, Richard and Jonathan Cobb
1973 The Hidden Injuries of Class. New York: Vintage.
Spilhaus, Athelstan
1980 "A collector finds toys are not meant for children only." Smithsonian 11 (December): 157-60,
163.
Stix, Harriet
1982 "Black images in the white mind." Americana 10(March/April):22ff.
Touraine, Alain
1977 The Self-Production of Society. Translated by Derek Coltman. Chicago: University of
Chicago.
Veblen, Thorstein
[1899] The Theory of the Leisure Class. New York: Mentor.
1953
Woo, Elaine
1985 "Black 'image' collectibles draw variety of responses." Los Angeles Times, May 6:27.