BLACK AND WHITE BETTY BOOP MAKEUP CODE

It's a photo of Ukranian model Model Oyla (Модель Оля), in 2008, dressed as Betty Boop. Hidden Figures: Esther Jones (Baby Esther)įirstly, the woman in the photo at right is not Esther Jones.Baby Esther Jones the Original Betty Boop.Esther Jones: The Original Black Betty Boop!.Various videos and websites make the same claim, sometimes with different photos. Another case of a talented black woman exploited by the white entertainment industry. The meme claims Esther Jones spent years unsuccessfully trying to win back her legal rights to the image. The meme typically claims the woman in the photo is Esther Jones, a famous black performer whose image was apparently unethically exploited when cartoonist Max Fleischer invented the cartoon character Betty Boop, based on Jones' image and singing style. But the people behind her creation and popularity exhibited a lack of accountability that nearly resulted in an important figure being muted.For a five minute video version of this post, go here.Ī widely spread meme shows a picture of the 1930s cartoon character Betty Boop, and a photo of a woman looking very similar.

She’s still fun to watch, that can’t be taken away from her. Not to mention, Flapper culture and the Roaring 20s saw white people find enjoyment of Swing and Jazz music, two styles built off the backs of Black people, without considering the Black people who weren’t as famous as Louis Armstrong (at least there was the Harlem Renaissance).Īs it stands, Betty Boop is a symptom of that intrinsic mentality that plagued Pre Civil Rights Movement America. Even if the cartoons did wonders in boosting the profiles of Black performers such as Armstrong, the animosity towards the people still exist, getting in the way of how I enjoy the cartoons today. There’s plenty of coding to be unearthed with them: case in point, the Louis Armstrong featured “I’ll Be Glad When You’re Dead You Rascal You.”īetty gets captured by “African savages” and her companions have to save her. The point of the cartoons is to portray a curious, fashionable white woman interacting with the unknown world. Not to speculate too much, but Betty Boop probably wouldn’t have been the icon she is today if the studio found out about Esther Jones before Helen Kane did. Other than that, she has mostly been lost and forgotten to time.Įven if Esther Jones is the unspoken origin of Betty Boop, Fleischer Studios had no way of knowing that before the court case. Since then, there are pictures and grainy audio that give a sense of how she performed. Helen Kane’s court case revealed that Jones did much of her performing on the New York cabaret scene during the 20s. What of Baby Esther Jones though? Not much is really known about her unfortunately. Fleischer Studios may have been able to keep their riches and continue to grow, but this was the beginning of the end for Helen Kane all because she was reaping the spoils of a Black woman’s hard work. Jury claimed that she couldn’t claim any parts of Betty Boop’s character as her own since she appropriated from Jones. Unfortunately there isn’t any footage of Esther Jones performing, but this information became public knowledge in Helen Kane’s own lawsuit. Only one problem, Helen Kane’s based most of her persona on a Black woman.

An animation studio fronted by a powerful man reaping the spoils of a woman’s hard work? Everybody should’ve been in Helen Kane’s corner. Fleischer Studios even produced a cartoon of Betty performing “I Wanna Be Loved By You,” the song Helen Kane made famous. On paper, this could’ve been an open and shut case: there are dozens of videos of Helen Kane doing the “Boop Boop a Doop” shtick Betty is known for.

As the cartoons got popular, Helen Kane felt entitled to a piece of the pie, suing Max Fleischer and Paramount Studios for $250,000. When Betty Boop first went into production, animator Grim Natwick admitted to finding inspiration in Kane whilst designing the character, admiring her baby voice and nasal singing. She was Paramount’s breadwinner from 1929-1931, making at least seven films under the company at a salary of $8000 a week.

BLACK AND WHITE BETTY BOOP MAKEUP CODE

Before The Hays Code however, was a case of legal controversy surrounding the origins and influence of the character.Įnter: Helen Kane. Thankfully, her run from 1932 to 1939 was seminal enough to establish her as a cultural icon of sorts. Subject to controversy because American society in the 1930s couldn’t fathom a woman being flirtatious, adventurous, and self-determined in any capacity, Betty Boop’s momentum couldn’t make it to the 40s as Fleischer Studios tried to adapt to the standards brought forth by The Hays Code.

Black and white betty boop makeup