Burlesque
Burlesque was originally a form of art that mocked by imitation, referring to everything from comic sketches to dance routines and usually lampooning the social attitudes of the upper classes. It was often ridiculous in that it imitated several styles, and combined imitations of authors and artists with absurd descriptions. In this, the term was often used interchangeably with "pastiche," "parody," and, at the turn of the 18th century, "mock-heroic." Possibly due to historical social tensions between the upper classes and lower classes of society, much of the humor and entertainment focused on lowbrow and ribald subjects.
In literary criticism, burlesque is often used as a generic term to describe any imitative work that derives humor from an incongruous contrast between style and subject. In this usage, forms of satire such as parody and travesty are types of burlesque (Abrams, 1999). High burlesque refers to a burlesque imitation where a serious style is applied to commonplace or comically inappropriate subject matter — as, for example, in the literary parody and the mock-heroic. Low burlesque applies an irreverent, mocking style to a serious subject; an example is Samuel Butler's Hudibras, which describes the misadventures of a Puritan knight in satiric doggerel verse, using a colloquial idiom.
In the 20th and 21st centuries, burlesque has come to be a genre of adult entertainment, focusing on aspects of humor, satire and sexual tantalization.
History
The genre's origins are rooted in the 1840s, early in the Victorian era, a time of culture clashes between the social rules of established aristocracy and a working-class society. The genre often mocked such established entertainment forms as opera, Shakespearean drama, musicals, and ballet. The costuming (or lack thereof) increasingly focused on forms of dress considered inappropriate for polite society.
By the 1880s, the genre had created some rules for defining itself:
- Minimal costuming, often focusing on the female form.
- Sexually suggestive dialog, dance, plotlines and staging.
- Quick-witted humor, lacking complexity.
- Short routines or sketches, with minimal plot cohesion across a show.
In the 1930s, a social crackdown on burlesque shows led to their gradual downfall. The shows had slowly changed from ensemble ribald variety performances, to simple performances focusing mostly on the strip tease. The advent of various forms of pornography gradually replaced titillation.
In the 1990s and 2000s, there has been a large-scale revival of burlesque in the United States and Canada with New Burlesque performers like The Pussycat Dolls, Dita Von Teese, Grotesque Burlesque, Dirty Martini, The World Famous *BOB*, Scotty the Blue Bunny, Tigger, Julie Atlas Muz, Miss Saturn, Miss Indigo Blue, Nasty Canasta, GiO Burlesque Queen of New Orleans, and troupes such as Fluffgirl Burlesque, Red Hots Burlesque, Burning Hearts Burlesque, Starshine Burlesque, Pinchbottom Burlesque, The Cantankerous Lollies, Burlesque As It Was and The Velvet Hammer staging burlesque events. Annual burlesque festivals include the New York Burlesque Festival, Tease-O-Rama, The Vancouver International Burlesque Festival, and Miss Exotic World. New Burlesque evolved out of the exotica/lounge music revival of the 1990s, which generated an interest in lost American pop culture.
Notable burlesque performers
- Abbott & Costello
- Lili St. Cyr
- Milton Berle
- Fanny Brice
- Jimmy Durante
- Leon Errol
- W.C. Fields
- Mara Gaye
- Jackie Gleason
- Bob Hope
- Bert Lahr
- Gypsy Rose Lee
- Bettie Page
- Molly Picon
- Sally Rand
- Red Skelton
- Phil Silvers
- The Three Stooges
- Tempest Storm
- Mae West
See also
- Striptease
- Exotic World Burlesque Museum
- Lydia Thompson
- Little Egypt
- Minsky's Burlesque
- Old Howard Theatre
References
- Abrams, M. H. (1999). A Glossary of Literary Terms. Seventh edition. Fort Worth, TX: Harcourt Brace College Publishers.