Mae West: An Icon in Black and White

Rating:
Summary: Amazon Reviewers Can't Read
Review: Amazon customers' reviews of this book are as fascinating as the book itself. I'm amazed at how many people appear unable to understand what they read. Contrary to several reviewers' indignant claims, Jill Watts does *not* argue that Mae West was part black. Her meticulously-researched book carefully separates speculation from fact, and she states early and clearly that there is simply not enough information to settle the question of West's racial background. She then asserts that it doesn't matter whether West did or did not have African-American ancestry. What *does* matter is how West handled issues of racial identity in her writing and in her personal and professional performances. Watts' analysis reveals a woman who was, for her time, a strong champion of African-Americans and who was also deeply ambivalent about racial roles and identities. This book is more than a biography; it is also study of the social constructions of race, class, and gender in general and of the persona of "Mae West" in particular.

I suspect that the readers who are so outraged at the idea that West may have been part-black find issues of race personally disturbing. (As one reviewer asked, why does it matter so intensely to these people that Mae be all-white?) The dismissive readers probably also came to the book expecting a standard Hollywood-style star story rather than an academic analysis. Perhaps because the book took a different approach than they expected, they didn't read very carefully.

In terms of the book itself, it has the strengths I've already noted: it's carefully researched, thoughtful, and does a great deal more than simply detail a star's life. However, in exploring her thesis, Watts is often repetitive and is sometimes guilty of trying far too hard to make her case. Also, because she wants to portray West as a positive force in subverting traditional definitions of gender and class, Watts often downplays or excuses West's sometimes demanding, hurtful, temperamental behavior. It would have been more intellectually honest to acknowledge West's flaws more fully.

One final (minor) point: where the heck were the editors? I expect more from Oxford UP than usage errors ("a myriad of") and typos ("or" for "of," etc.)

Overall, an informative, interesting book.

Rating:
Summary: Amazon Reviewers Can't Read
Review: Amazon customers' reviews of this book are as fascinating as the book itself. I'm amazed at how many people appear unable to understand what they read. Contrary to several reviewers' indignant claims, Jill Watts does *not* argue that Mae West was part black. Her meticulously-researched book carefully separates speculation from fact, and she states early and clearly that there is simply not enough information to settle the question of West's racial background. She then asserts that it doesn't matter whether West did or did not have African-American ancestry. What *does* matter is how West handled issues of racial identity in her writing and in her personal and professional performances. Watts' analysis reveals a woman who was, for her time, a strong champion of African-Americans and who was also deeply ambivalent about racial roles and identities. This book is more than a biography; it is also study of the social constructions of race, class, and gender in general and of the persona of "Mae West" in particular.

I suspect that the readers who are so outraged at the idea that West may have been part-black find issues of race personally disturbing. (As one reviewer asked, why does it matter so intensely to these people that Mae be all-white?) The dismissive readers probably also came to the book expecting a standard Hollywood-style star story rather than an academic analysis. Perhaps because the book took a different approach than they expected, they didn't read very carefully.

In terms of the book itself, it has the strengths I've already noted: it's carefully researched, thoughtful, and does a great deal more than simply detail a star's life. However, in exploring her thesis, Watts is often repetitive and is sometimes guilty of trying far too hard to make her case. Also, because she wants to portray West as a positive force in subverting traditional definitions of gender and class, Watts often downplays or excuses West's sometimes demanding, hurtful, temperamental behavior. It would have been more intellectually honest to acknowledge West's flaws more fully.

One final (minor) point: where the heck were the editors? I expect more from Oxford UP than usage errors ("a myriad of") and typos ("or" for "of," etc.)

Overall, an informative, interesting book.

Rating:
Summary: Not a Good Example of Biography
Review: Brava! This book is one of the most facsinating biographical works I have read in years. Ms. Watts's discussion on Mae West's life, her times, and heritage is a significant contribution to 20th century historical and cultural analysis. I am a fan of Mae, and appreciated how this book opened up a discussion on how fluid race is in American society.

Rating:
Summary: Does It Hurt that Mae Could of Had A Little Negro Blood!
Review: I can tell some of these reviews are from white people. My Grandmother was a Enterainer in The Harlem Years in the 20s and 30s, she remembered when Mae West would come up and watch them, even pay some Blacks too show her how to do some of the dances and sing like them, and teach her how to come up with those wisecracks. She had a lot of Black Friends, she even put some in her movies, she even had them pose as a maid, so people wouldn't be supicious. My Grandmother she frequently she would visited Black clubs and have black friends and date black men openly, my grandmother asked her once, White folks will detest of this, then she said Mae West said, Awww don't worry I'm one of you(she didn't know if she was playing or not). They just can't believe Mae West could have a little black in her, you never know. I never seen a white woman imitate a black woman so good, I don't care how much you listen to the Blues or watch Blacks. I've seen many imitations, but fall by a long shot. I know Mae West was too sexy for a white woman, I always looked at her as a image of a black woman onscreen, if you look at Black actresses of the time, Blacks did those things, not white women, even they couldn't imitate Mae. Nina Mae McKinney the first Black actress onscreen who made her debut in Hallelujah, was the first to put her hands on her hips and have sexy wisecracks before Mae West. Most Blacks did at that time, even the maid parts. Look at some of the Black independent movies. Nothing Mae did was new to Black people, maybe to whites. She could of had some "Negro" blood in her from the past. Don't have a stroke whie people. Remember in that time, there were a lot of Blacks who looked white, even passed. Knowing Mae West she probably wanted best of both worlds. Had white skin, but a Black image, she played on it. Mae West is a clever woman, she never said anything about it, because she couldn't have become a big star, but she's showing us in her films that she may got a little "Black soul" in her. White people didn't pay it no mind, because they looked at her as a funny comedian. If Mae West would of acted "white", I would of still seen the Blackness in her. She sure doesn't have any of the white features, whites are known for. I see a few black features on Mae West. She acknowledged Blacks image onscreen, talk like Blacks, acted like Blacks, walked like Blacks, sung like Blacks. She even brought Blacks on the screen, got Blacks jobs on her movies. They seemed to be the only one who understood her at the time. Mae West was good at hiding her private life, even though she had a public life, no one really knew the true her. This was a image she made up and enjoyed.

Rating:
Summary: Not What It's Cracked Up To Be
Review: I have read a lot of Mae West books. Obviously, that means I am a Mae West fan--and a big one. I found this book difficult to read, what I mean is-difficult to finish. It is boring, long-winded and the author seems to feel Mae had black roots. This is the writer's whole theme, and it is just groundless. On and on and on...enough already. This bio of Mae adds nothing to earlier works.

Rating:
Summary: Author is trying to make money off of lies
Review: No White woman could get as sexy as Mae West. A white actress got as sexy as Clara Bow, Joan Blondell, Tallulah Bankhead or Jean Harlow. So its easy for me to tell she inherited it some Blackness, not learned. I hear Mae West really wasn't as sex-crazed as she is onscreen, men were even disappointed later when they found out she wasn't behind closed doors. It easy to pretend to something your not. I'm sure she was full of sex, but people fail to realize she had a little prude and decency. But she gave the public what they wanted to see. A lot of people say she was before her time, but really she wouldn't do half the stuff people do today, she was sexy but left something to the imagination, she left an illusion. So she was right for her time. Women weren't as free as we like to think or because what we see on screen especially in those pre-code Hollywood moveis when women were considered overly sexy. Because women weren't as free to expose their sexuality in the real world, so they gave out on screen and stage, they showed their racy, risque, naught, sexy image that they had in them. Women today don't even come close.

Rating:
Summary: an icon still white
Review: The very slant of this book is it's only problem. It more than hints that Mae West's entire career and even her actual race was attributed to African American origin. Having read every book ever written on Mae West, I will say this one offers a few new and interesting tidbits and some good photos. But clearly Mae West was not black, and her "black roots" stemmed from nothing more than a love of blues music, a few black lovers and respect for the African American community when it was not considered the thing to do. Still it is an interesting read, if you can overlook the desperate attempts to make racial connections to even the most minor situations in West's life, music and films.

Rating:
Summary: Well-Done!
Review: This book is, perhaps, one of the best researched books about the life of Mae West. Yes, some readers (fans of Mae) may be offended by the author alluding to West's black heritage. But, as Mae West showed us, her ethnic identity was more complex than who her parents or grandparents were. The important thing is not that West was white or black, but that she personally identified with the culture of black people in America. What matters is that the author has intelligently revealed this aspect about Mae West, whose life time achievement was tricking us all.