Jazz and Postwar French Identity

Improvising the Nation

Nonfiction, Entertainment, Music, Music Styles, Jazz & Blues, Jazz, Social & Cultural Studies, Social Science, Cultural Studies, Popular Culture
Cover of the book Jazz and Postwar French Identity by Elizabeth Vihlen McGregor, Lexington Books
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Elizabeth Vihlen McGregor ISBN: 9781498528771
Publisher: Lexington Books Publication: June 23, 2016
Imprint: Lexington Books Language: English
Author: Elizabeth Vihlen McGregor
ISBN: 9781498528771
Publisher: Lexington Books
Publication: June 23, 2016
Imprint: Lexington Books
Language: English

In the context of a shifting domestic and international status quo that was evolving in the decades following World War II, French audiences used jazz as a means of negotiating a wide range of issues that were pressing to them and to their fellow citizens. Despite the fact that jazz was fundamentally linked to the multicultural through its origins in the hands of African-American musicians, happenings within the French jazz public reflected much about France’s postwar society. In the minds of many, jazz was connected to youth culture, but instead of challenging traditional gender expectations, the music tended to reinforce long-held stereotypes. French critics, musicians, and fans contended with the reality of American superpower strength and often strove to elevate their own country’s stature in relation to the United States by finding fault with American consumer society and foreign policy aims. Jazz audiences used this music to condemn American racism and to support the American civil rights movement, expressing strong reservations about the American way of life. French musicians lobbied to create professional opportunities for themselves, and some went so far as to create a union that endorsed preferential treatment for French nationals.
As France became more ethnically and religiously diverse due immigration from Africa, Asia, and the Caribbean, French jazz critics and fans noted the insidious appearance of racism in their own country and had to contend with how their own citizens would address the changing demographics of the nation, even if they continued to insist that racism was more prevalent in the United States. As independence movements brought an end to the French empire, jazz enthusiasts from both former colonies and France had to reenvision their relationship to jazz and to the music’s international audiences. In these postwar decades, the French were working to preserve a distinct national identity in the face of weakened global authority, most forcefully represented by decolonization and American hegemony. Through this originally African American music, French listeners, commentators, and musicians participated in a process that both challenged and reinforced ideas about their own culture and nation.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

In the context of a shifting domestic and international status quo that was evolving in the decades following World War II, French audiences used jazz as a means of negotiating a wide range of issues that were pressing to them and to their fellow citizens. Despite the fact that jazz was fundamentally linked to the multicultural through its origins in the hands of African-American musicians, happenings within the French jazz public reflected much about France’s postwar society. In the minds of many, jazz was connected to youth culture, but instead of challenging traditional gender expectations, the music tended to reinforce long-held stereotypes. French critics, musicians, and fans contended with the reality of American superpower strength and often strove to elevate their own country’s stature in relation to the United States by finding fault with American consumer society and foreign policy aims. Jazz audiences used this music to condemn American racism and to support the American civil rights movement, expressing strong reservations about the American way of life. French musicians lobbied to create professional opportunities for themselves, and some went so far as to create a union that endorsed preferential treatment for French nationals.
As France became more ethnically and religiously diverse due immigration from Africa, Asia, and the Caribbean, French jazz critics and fans noted the insidious appearance of racism in their own country and had to contend with how their own citizens would address the changing demographics of the nation, even if they continued to insist that racism was more prevalent in the United States. As independence movements brought an end to the French empire, jazz enthusiasts from both former colonies and France had to reenvision their relationship to jazz and to the music’s international audiences. In these postwar decades, the French were working to preserve a distinct national identity in the face of weakened global authority, most forcefully represented by decolonization and American hegemony. Through this originally African American music, French listeners, commentators, and musicians participated in a process that both challenged and reinforced ideas about their own culture and nation.

More books from Lexington Books

Cover of the book Performance on Behalf of the Environment by Elizabeth Vihlen McGregor
Cover of the book Dialogues across Diasporas by Elizabeth Vihlen McGregor
Cover of the book Professing Feminism by Elizabeth Vihlen McGregor
Cover of the book Disability and the Environment in American Literature by Elizabeth Vihlen McGregor
Cover of the book Identity, Morality, and Threat by Elizabeth Vihlen McGregor
Cover of the book Is Tax Amnesty a Good Tax Policy? by Elizabeth Vihlen McGregor
Cover of the book Anthropology of Childhood and Youth by Elizabeth Vihlen McGregor
Cover of the book The Great Recession in Fiction, Film, and Television by Elizabeth Vihlen McGregor
Cover of the book Mediterranean Encounters in the City by Elizabeth Vihlen McGregor
Cover of the book China and New Left Visions by Elizabeth Vihlen McGregor
Cover of the book Stateness and Sovereign Debt by Elizabeth Vihlen McGregor
Cover of the book A History of the Handel Choir of Baltimore (1935–2013) by Elizabeth Vihlen McGregor
Cover of the book In Response to the Religious Other by Elizabeth Vihlen McGregor
Cover of the book Religion in the Post-Yugoslav Context by Elizabeth Vihlen McGregor
Cover of the book Missionary Impositions by Elizabeth Vihlen McGregor
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy