Banana Skirts and Cherry Moons: Utopic French Myths in Prince's Under the Cherry Moon

ABSTRACT:Paisley Park is in your heart, or perhaps in France? Prince's second feature film, Under the Cherry Moon, takes place in the south of France—but the geographic situating of the film reaches far beyond a homegrown Minnesotan's dream of palm trees, sunshine, and balmy Mediterranean weather. The cinematic aesthetics and themes of the film reveal a more acute transcription of a Paisley Park utopia defined by freedom of oppression based on class, race, and gender. The film's visuals echo jazz age entertainment reminiscent of performances by the Nicholas Brothers, the Berry Brothers, and Josephine Baker from the 1920s through the 1940s. The French locale adds yet another layer to the equation: during the interwar years, Paris became a haven for Black entertainers, artists, and intellectuals who discovered an almost utopian experience in comparison to the violent racism in the US. This essay examines class, race, and gender in Under the Cherry Moon through comparative analysis of Black writers and entertainers during the Harlem Renaissance and the French fetishization of Black American expatriates. In addition to Josephine Baker's performances and legacy, this study will consider Claude McKay's Banjo (1929), a narrative reevaluating Blackness and contextualizing the ideals of the Harlem Renaissance in the south of France. Overall, this essay will critically analyze the philosophical and sociocultural underpinnings of Prince's underappreciated Under the Cherry Moon and, in turn, further examine cinema as a medium to communicate social engagement.