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Spain, Daphne. “Race Relations and Residential Segregation in New Orleans: Two Centuries of Paradox.” Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 441 (Jan. 1979): 82-96. Sage Publications, Inc. University of Pennsylvania Library, Philadelphia. 7 April 2008. <http://hdl.library.upenn.edu/1017/6965/2>.
In this article, Spain explains the history of New Orleans, and recounts the racial and residential segregation that has always seemed to exist there. Known as “the city that care forgot,” New Orleans was founded by the French in 1718, handed over to the Spanish in 1763, and given back the French in 1800, who then came into conflict with the Native Americans there. All of this laid the foundation for many of the identity crises New Orleans was to experience later on. There were multiple layers of race and ethnicity, with the Spaniards and French constituting the majority of the white population, while slave blacks and free blacks made up the black population. This severe divide in the black community contributed to many of the class distinctions that New Orleans experienced well into the twentieth century. Once the Americans arrived in 1808, yet another group of people was added to the already-tense city, leading to intense apathy toward Americans in general. New Orleans became the biggest supplier of slaves once the importation of slaves was banned, is the place of origin for the phrase “separate but equal,” and heavily exercised Jim Crow laws. Though integration began to emerge in the 1940s due to housing projects, it still remained one of America’s poorest cities.
Such is the setting for A Streetcar Named Desire. Though New Orleans was filled with “real” people with a strong work ethic and the American dream, it was also a place associated with alcoholism, prostitution, and crime. Thus, it is no surprise that Blanche was so horrified at her sister’s new residence: compared to a Mississippi plantation, New Orleans was completely devoid of physical space, yet social distance was vast. The fact that Stella and Stanley live in the French Quarter, a highly romanticized area, yet still experience such emotional strife further contributes to Williams’ play with New Orleans’ contradictions. Spain notes that New Orleans is known as the “birthplace of jazz,” but is also where “being sold down the river” came about. This internal conflict is the perfect backdrop for the characters of Streetcar, as each struggled with internal conflicts of their own.
Berg, Charles Merrell. “Cinema Sings the Blues.” Cinema Journal, 17.2 (Spring 1978): 1-12. University of Texas Press. University of Pennsylvania Library, Philadelphia. 7 April 2008. .
In this article, Berg discusses the relationship between jazz and film—two four-letter words that have experienced criticism, praise, and evolution. Beginning with the similarities between the two, Berg recounts how the origins of jazz and film both begin on the outskirts of society, without much popular support and created through the use of experimentation. Both have experienced problems with the development of technology, both have represented political and social issues, and both have unquestionably transformed American culture, Berg claims. From jazz’s impact on World War I to ragtime, the blues, and the consequent Jazz Age, Berg notes that the highpoint of jazz and the Golden Age of Hollywood were rather simultaneous. Jazz was particularly important once sound was introduced to film, and became a rather commercial commodity once Hollywood began to utilize it (leading to Hollywood’s attempt to “jazz up jazz”). It breathed life into animation, shed light on the significance of black culture in America, vividly portrayed the urban landscapes from which is was born, and soon became a viable alternative to traditional film scores provided by orchestras and symphonies.
Jazz happened to become “officially legitimized” in Hollywood during the early 1950s—exactly when A Streetcar Named Desire was made. Why the 1950s? By this time, Berg states, jazz had experienced its own renaissance, and had become much more sophisticated in sound. Varied and a “sound of surprise,” jazz became a dramatic element in narrative film score, and Streetcar’s soundtrack is no exception. Due to the more realistic content of 1950s film, along with its increased attention toward “misfits and deviants” (Blanche DuBois being a prime example), jazz seemed the most appropriate music to underscore the mood, tension, and storylines of feature films. Just as Tennessee Williams believed there were no rules as to what content he was allowed to comment on, jazz’s use of improvisation and spontaneity complements his forward thinking style in an age where tradition and conformity were still strongly adhered to.