Reading more about Josephine Baker.
This (groovy) advertising blog suggested that one might use Mme Baker as muse for more ad campaigns. My initial feeling was, That poor woman has been exploited enough.
My impression of Josephine Baker was of a woman in a self-imposed exile from her segregated, racist homeland, playing out different problematic racial stereotypes en France, dancing naked and in bananas and whatnot.
Whether or not Josephine Baker enjoyed that or felt empowered by it, I know I don’t like it. And it’s one of the last images I would view as a symbol of strength or creative power.
But I realized I only know so much about Josephine Baker, and figured I’d do some research. Turns out the story is significantly more complex than I thought. In a totally interesting and kind of wonderful way.
More on that another time.
For the moment, I’m interested in this little tidbit about her, found over at Wikipedia, heh, where all my research starts:
She performed as the last dancer in a chorus line, a position in which the dancer traditionally performed in a comic manner, as if they were unable to remember the dance, until the encore, at which point they would not only perform it correctly, but with additional complexity.
Did you know?
Last dancer in a chorus line.
That’s an expression that should be in play.
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