As I mentioned in yesterday's blog, I've started a new piece about racism and slavery which was originally inspired by an image of a Golliwog. I'd never heard of a Golliwog before and decided if I was going to incorporate that imagery into my work I better do a bit of research on this character. I found a newspaper article from the Daily Mail dated 5 Feb 2009 (link provided below) which offers a brief overview on how the Golliwog was born and how the image, or rather use, of the character evolved over time. To quickly summarize, the Golliwog, whose name was a complete invention, began as a hero in children's literature in the late 1800s.
Because the character was never trademarked, it was fair game and author Enid Blyton used Golliwog in her books, portraying him as something of a villian. By the 1960s the character had become associated with racism.
If you'd like to read more about the history of the Golliwog, here are a few links to follow:
How the Golliwog Went From Innocent Children's Hero to Symbol of Bitter Controversy
Golliwog according to Wikipedia
Noddy Returns Without the Golliwogs
**On a side note, while I was tootling around on the internet doing my research I discovered, to my astonishment and dismay, that the band Creedance Clearwater Revival started out as - you guess it - The Golliwogs.
If you'd like to read more about the history of the Golliwog, here are a few links to follow:
How the Golliwog Went From Innocent Children's Hero to Symbol of Bitter Controversy
Golliwog according to Wikipedia
Noddy Returns Without the Golliwogs
**On a side note, while I was tootling around on the internet doing my research I discovered, to my astonishment and dismay, that the band Creedance Clearwater Revival started out as - you guess it - The Golliwogs.
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