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Masaryk University Faculty of Arts Department of English and American Studies English Language and Literature Masaryk University Faculty of Arts Department of English and American Studies English Language and Literature Karla Mikulova The Development of Swing and Its Influence on The Inter-War American Society Bachelor's Diploma Thesis Supervisor: Christopher Adam Rance, M.A. 2021 I declare that I have worked on this thesis independently, using only the sources listed in the bibliography. Author's signature I would like to thank my supervisor, Christopher Adam Ranee, M.A., for his help, valuable advice, kindliness, and patience. I would also like to thank my friends for their helpfulness, support, and tolerance. Finally, I would like to thank my family and Hugo for bearing with me, and for cheering me on when I needed it most. Table of contents Abstract 5 Introduction 6 1. Theoretical section 8 1.1 History 8 1.1.1 Understanding the Circumstances 8 1.1.2 The Historical Turning Points for American Society 11 1.1.3 The Advances of Technology 11 1.1.4 Culture 15 1.2 Music 19 1.2.1 Swing in Terms of Music 19 1.2.2 Louis Armstrong 21 1.2.3 Benny Goodman 24 1.3 Dance 27 1.3.1 The Gentleman and The Goddess 27 1.3.2 Whitey' s Lindy Hoppers 29 1.3.3 Lindy Hop and Its Variations 30 2. Empirical Section 34 2.1 Comparing the Legendary and the Successful 34 2.2 The Wild and the Mellow 37 2.3 Swing and the American Society 39 3. Conclusion 41 Bibliography Chyba! Záložka není definována. Abstract The bachelor's diploma thesis focuses on the relationship between swing, music and dance, and the society of inter-war America, providing insight into its development. The aim is to demonstrate how swing culture affected American society and explain why only certain branches of this culture resisted the tides of time. The evidence and comparison are focused on the differences of the white and the African American music icons and dance styles, which are pointed out in the empirical section of the thesis. Key words: Swing, Lindy hop, Louis Armstrong, Benny Goodman, Whitey's Lindy Hoppers, Frankie Manning, Norma Miller, Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers, film, music, dance, American society, exploitation. Abstrakt Tato bakalářská práce zkoumá vztah mezi swingovou kulturou, tj. hudbou a tancem, a meziválečnou americkou společností. Cílem práce je porozumění, jaké faktory zapříčinily, že některé směry swingové kultury postupně vymizely a jiné zůstaly natrvalo v povědomí lidí a ovlivnily tak celou americkou společnost. Empirická část bakalářské práce zkoumá a porovnává vliv swingové kultury na obyvatelstvo jednak afroamerické a jednak bělošské, a zaměřuje se na její hudební reprezentanty a varianty tance swing. Klíčové pojmy: Swing, Lindy hop, Louis Armstrong, Benny Goodman, Whitey's Lindy Hoppers, Frankie Manning, Norma Miller, Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers, film, hudba, tanec, americká společnost, vykořisťování. 5 Introduction The relationship between the white and the African American U.S. citizens have always been precarious at best. Many times, the latter have been suppressed or shunned. There have also been numerous instances of the exploitation of their inventions, be they technological or cultural. Undeniably, the two sides influenced one another in various ways. This thesis is dedicated to studying the interracial interactions during the Swing Era of late 1920s through early 1940s. The reason why the two communities of swing are examined is the notion that, even though they have conflicts, people are willing to tolerate each other more on the dance floor. In general, people go to dance parties to have fun and forget their everyday worries. This also correlates with the period of Great Depression struck in the late 1920s, and continued throughout the following decade, as people were, more than ever, trying to find distractions. The mutual longing to not think about having to survive another day through possible poverty allowed the younger generation to get along for the sake of enjoying their limited carefree time. Swing culture laid foundations for tolerance between African Americans and white Americans. This thesis demonstrates how the swing culture affected the development of modern American society and determines why only one branch of swing is associated with the inter- war America and led to the emergence of new dance styles (Černý). The focus is on finding the reasons why and presenting the evidence how the emergence of swing led to the eventual dissipation of African American variations of the dance and music. The final undertaking is to connect this occurrence to American society's future development. Although not perfect, the contemporary American society undertook a long journey to acceptance and understanding, with the people of inter-war America at its pinnacle The relevant documents supporting the research consist of various journals, articles, books, films, and music recordings. Most notably, Gunter Schuller provides excellent analysis of the 6 shift from jazz to swing, as well as the core of the successful and influential musicians of the 1920s and 1930s. An autobiography by Frankie Manning, an African American swing dance star, allows a peek at some developments in the Lindy hop and the process of filming musicals with dance scenes. Next, the recordings of Louis Armstrong and Benny Goodman's songs and pieces were found in great quality on Spotify, providing suitable material for examination. Last but not least, the free to watch movie scenes from Swing Time, A Day at the Races, Hellzapoppin', and Buck Privates ensured authentic swing dancing for analysis, capturing the divergence in styles as well. The thesis is separated into two main sections. The theoretical section provides contextual information that led to the rise of swing and its culture. First, the past historical events and current circumstances are addressed, including the contemporary development of technology and culture. Next, the topic of music explains the terminology of swing versus jazz and introduces the two main representatives of both social groups, namely Louis Armstrong and Benny Goodman. Lastly, the Lindy hop icons, Fred Astaire with Ginger Rogers and Frankie Manning with Norma Miller, are presented along with the explanation of what swing dance encompasses. The empirical section is dedicated to providing evidence that support the thesis statement. In the first chapter, a piece and a song by Benny Goodman and Louis Armstrong respectively are compared, discussing why one of them was more successful and reached modern society's ballrooms and social events. The second chapter addresses a similar issue from the viewpoint of dance styles through comparison of four films in total, two of each are dedicated to one of the two main dance communities. The final part explores the thesis's aim of linking the reasons how and why the Swing Era affected the positive development of American interracial relationship. 7 1. Theoretical section This section is dedicated to the prerequisite information to enable the thesis to explain and present the evidence of its goal. There are three main parts consisting of total ten subchapters, dealing with the American history, music, and dance in this order. 1.1 History This chapter deals with the historic events that preceded, and are linked to, the changes in the inter-war American society and its culture. First, the situation of African Americans is addressed, giving a brief survey of the important events affecting their community. Next, the general American history, in close relation to the rise of swing, is discussed, along with the devices which enabled culture to become widespread among the citizens. Lastly, the portion of culture linked to both music and dancing is described to provide context in which they rose in popularity. 1.1.1 Understanding the Circumstances Hot mess would be the best expressive way to describe the historical background leading up to the time period in question due to several reasons; although the Civil War ended over half a century before, promising the freed slaves a new beginning (Hart-Davis et al., Dejiny 314), African Americans were still struggling due to ongoing segregation, the enforcement of Jim Crow Laws, which were not abolished until the 1960s, and the ever-present terror of lynching, to name a few factors ("History"). The strivings of the oppressed for a better tomorrow gave foundation to the cultural and artistic movement known as the Harlem Renaissance, which became prominent in post-World War I America, when people could finally turn away from the trying times of the great conflict to fully enjoy life once more. This chapter is included to provide theoretical background so the situation current in the 1920s and 1930s U.S. is 8 comprehensible for the modern-day reader, firstly explaining the problem of the Jim Crow Laws, next introducing the organization which supported African Americans, and lastly dealing with the aftermath of the First World War. Shortly after the end of the Civil War, the Jim Crow Laws were devised and enacted at the turn of the 20th century. The events that preceded the decision to let them take effect can be found in the Civil Rights Act of 1875, which, "Barred discrimination in public accommodations and on public conveyances on land and water. Prohibited exclusion of African Americans from jury duty" ("Constitutional Amendments"). This act was meant to further stabilize and make equal grounds for African Americans when faced with white citizens; however, due to the prevailing racism, this only intensified the discrimination and hateful behaviour, as is supplied with the evidence from the famous Plessy v. Ferguson case. According to the Oyez website, which specializes in recording the various acts of the Supreme Court of the United States, Plessy, considered black though seven-eighths white, was asked by the Louisiana citizens to challenge the Separate Car Act by boarding a car intended for Caucasian people only.
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