Josephine Baker:
In 1925, American Cabaret
performer, Josephine Baker, from Paris, brought her show ‘La Revue Negre’ to
Berlin’s Theatre De Westens. From this time, it was said that “the women of
Berlin were never the same again”.
Josephine Baker, with her dark
exotic skin “became an almost overnight phenomenon” with her most famously know
dance, ‘Dance of the Savages’, where her costume involved “wearing a skirt
composed of just bananas” and often had the rest of her body bare.
Cabaret Berlin – Brendan, 2010,
Josephine Baker in Berlin, Available at: http://www.cabaret-berlin.com/?p=440
From this image, we can see just how different she looked from other Berlin cabaret performers. Her dark skin is warm and glowing, which contrasts from the usual pale and dull skin of a German woman. Her hair looks very artificial in the sense it is covered in gel and gloss to create the high shine and structure. The style contrasts with her feminine physique, which is openly displayed in the highly jewelled costume. Her costume looks massively different from Berlin cabaret dancers, as it shows exactly that she was the highest earning cabaret dancer of her time. Her appearance toys with the fact her naked body is purposely on display to show her sexuality, yet her hair styling and behaviour is very bold and androgynous.
This behaviour very much reminds me of Sally Bowles in 'Goodbye to Berlin'. Her behaviour is wild but charming and her ways often shock others around her. She has a very boyish style, yet has a strong female sexuality and is very casual with her approach to sex.
It strikes me that all these jewels and glam that Josephine Baker is wearing may be a front. Behind all the glam she may be a very sad, lonely, and vulnerable person, like Sally, and tries to escape this with her partying and show life. I feel that these two women may have a lot in common and I would like to portray some of these characteristics in futures character designs.
This behaviour very much reminds me of Sally Bowles in 'Goodbye to Berlin'. Her behaviour is wild but charming and her ways often shock others around her. She has a very boyish style, yet has a strong female sexuality and is very casual with her approach to sex.
It strikes me that all these jewels and glam that Josephine Baker is wearing may be a front. Behind all the glam she may be a very sad, lonely, and vulnerable person, like Sally, and tries to escape this with her partying and show life. I feel that these two women may have a lot in common and I would like to portray some of these characteristics in futures character designs.
Cabaret Berlin – Brendan, 2010,
Josephine Baker in Berlin, Available at: http://www.cabaret-berlin.com/?p=440
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