Dandridge As Carmen Jones: Interracial Advertising

The issue of Dandridge as Carmen Jones was subject to commentary also from the African-American population as she was fair skinned which conveyed ideas related to whitewashing. In correspondence to Dandridge’s interracial appeal as both inescapable and taboo, films specifically label these desires as tragically self destructive to both desirer and the desired. This was a similar issue many black actresses faced during the period, as Hollywood movie studios preferred fair skinned black actresses who could pass for white. This corresponded with the backlash faced by actress Lena Horne and the cosmetic company Max Factor Cosmetics who created a cosmetic line specifically for Horne and women of color to sufficiently mask or overstate their blackness.

Another option for African-American women included the purchases of skin lightening products to allure to an “interracial” appeal of acting that boomed in the late 1950s into the early 1960s (fig. 17). The film was also heavily assessed for its frequent sexualized scenes. Sexuality in the “Classic Hollywood” era especially in the 1950s was suggestive through various innuendos given the various production codes. But in Carmen Jones, Carmen’s sexuality is blatant and pointedly represented when she unabashedly throws herself at Joe in a way that no white actress would have. This follows the “Jezebel” archetype, in association with impureness, shamelessness or being a morally unrestrained woman, which throughout history was synonymous with certain stereotypes of black women. Examples of this can be seen in a scene when Joe begins blowing on Carmen’s toes after she paints them (fig. 18). She is dressed in a dark satin blue and white polka dot robe, which conveys youthfulness and playfulness until the viewer realizes that Joe has a clear view down her robe. In this scene, she shows as