Entertainment History

‘Thank god she’s a midget, not a dwarf’: dissociative behaviour of proportional short-statured people constructing a fantasy of normality

by etienne boumans

Submission to Conference on Sensualising Deformity: Communication and Constructions of Monstrous Embodiment @ The University of Edinburgh

In early modern times, dwarfs were considered deformed and, hence, socially discriminated, by average-statured... more In early modern times, dwarfs were considered deformed and, hence, socially discriminated, by average-statured individuals as well as by other little folks we used to call 'midgets', who were conceptualized as “no freaks, no dwarfs but perfectly normal.”
We found that accounts and personal memoirs by hypopituitary little persons suggest that they perceived dwarfs as disproportionate human oddities, monstrosities with grotesque heads, arms and legs, and, therefore, belonging to a different species. Throughout the history of popular entertainment, midgets – who were preferred in show-business - were cast in a way that positively enhanced their status while dwarfs were relegated to the back stage or freak shows.
In search of social acceptance, midgets rejected their impaired self in an attempt to construct a portrayal reinforcing the illusion of normality, fabricated for their audience. This proved somewhat successful, as the public, at least partially, concurred with this fantasy of normality, although the social construction of the midget as (close to) normal rather validated the normality of the audience, eager to rationalize the socio-cultural imagery of marginalized or impaired individuals.
The spectator’s weariness to associate short-statured people to sexual behaviour may stem from a subconscious association of littleness with childishness. Traditionally, achondroplastic dwarfs were depicted as asexual, in line with the aversion of portraying sexual activity of people with disabilities; the more socially accepted midgets were represented as closely resembling the average-statured men and women with their sensuality, sexual desires and activity. In an effort of complaisance to demanding audiences, promoters frequently constructed fallacious midget couples, sometimes accompanied by a narrative involving babies or infants.
In the 1930s, movies challenged the proportional little people’s illusionary world of normality regarding sensuality and sexuality in relation to average-statured people, often portraying a – tragic - love affair between individuals from both sides.

“‘Not that I lov'd Fleas less, but that I lov'd England more.’: Entertainment as Agency in Upper Canada: A Kingston Case Study, 1816-1837.”

by Michel S Beaulieu

Ontario History CII:2 (Autumn 2010): 195-216.

Upper Canadians were avid participants in “entertainment.” They took part as spectators and participants in a wide... more Upper Canadians were avid participants in “entertainment.” They took part as spectators and participants in a wide variety of activities that, on one level, provided a opportunity for leisure and social interaction. However, for a historians, the type and dialogue surrounding them also played another, somewhat more significant, role. As this paper argues, the many forms of public and private amusement available in Kingston, Ontario, between 1815 and 1837 provide a barometer of the social and political atmosphere of the town.

“In Public Demand: Early Theatre in Fort William’s Town Hall, 1892-1903”

by Michel S Beaulieu

Thunder Bay Historical Museum Society Papers and Records 31 (2003): 3-20.

“The Forgotten History of Billiards in Early America,” The Catalog of Antiques and Fine Art 5:1 (January 2004), 280-285.

by Kenneth Cohen

"Istanbul: Paesaggi Musicali" (Istanbul: Landscapes of Music) in Equilibri: Rivista per lo sviluppo sostenibile, Vol. IX No: 3

by Volkan Aytar

Co-authored with Azer Keskin

Pensiamo che sia necessario tracciare il significato
simbolico dello spazio urbano di Istanbul nell’ambito more Pensiamo che sia necessario tracciare il significato
simbolico dello spazio urbano di Istanbul nell’ambito
della sua complessa geografia umana, ripercorrendone
la storia1 ricca di racconti, episodi brevi, rotture,
discontinuità e trasformazioni, e considerando i casi
specifici e quelli imprevisti del panorama umano e sociale
di questa città. Completeremo questo approccio
temporale/spaziale con una discussione sulle maggiori
trasformazioni a livello economico, politico, culturale
e sociale avvenuti sia in Turchia che a Istanbul.

"Constructions of Spaces of Music in Istanbul: Scuffling and Intermingling Sounds in a Fragmented Metropolis"

by Volkan Aytar

Co-authored with Azer Keskin, Published in Geocarrefour, vol 78/2, 2003

ABSTRACT
Superimposed on a highly heterogeneous social texture further shaped by successive waves of... more ABSTRACT
Superimposed on a highly heterogeneous social texture further shaped by successive waves of inmigration, Istanbul’s urban
policy shifted from a statecentered to a more entrepreneurial approach since the mid-1980s. Concurrently, as the contestation of the urban space became more strident, the interplay of the facets of political, economic and cultural/symbolic change
created interesting configurations and constellations. In a parallel
development, since the urban identities in Istanbul turned more fragmented and hybrid from the mid-1980s, the cultural/symbolic
struggle to define the urban space also translated into myriad particular ways in which the urban musical places are thought of,
imagined, and experienced. Various musical styles stemming from (and frequently combining elements of both) rural and
urban backdrops (such as Arabesk, Taverna, Fantezi, and Turkish pop), as well as numerous "engagé" forms of popular music (left-wing, far-nationalist, and Islamist variants of "Özgün Müzik"), and global and localized global forms (rock, blues,
jazz, hip-hop, salsa, techno, and any combination of those thereof) blossomed, creating spaces, locations and establishments where these kinds of music could be heard, and turned Istanbul’s streets into a symbolic battleground. This paper attempts to comprehend the parameters of this cultural-symbolic
contestation from within a historical and spatial perspective, and connect those to a more general discussion on the links
between sounds, social construction of space and the city identities. This way, we strive to move beyond the facile dichotomies of the traditional versus the modern; the local versus
the global, essentializing notions usually deployed
while studying the nonwestern societies such as Turkey. We argue for the existence of more fluid, complex and interconnected
forms such as the localization of modernity (Smith and Bender, 2001) and the localization of the global (or "glocalization" à la
R. Robertson). Also, we argue that the constructions
of spaces of music need to be thought of in relation to
the symbolic acts of inclusion and exclusion.

Finks a play by Joe Gilford

by Joe Gilford

Full length stage play. A chronicle of NY actors in the blacklist of the 1950s. Based on the lives of my parents, Jack and Madeline Gilford.

Entertainment Goes Global: Mass Culture in a Transforming World

by johanna blakley