The Moulin Rouge is a world-famous cabaret and historical site located in the Montmartre, historically known as the artistic and night club district of Paris, in 1889. The original Moulin Rouge burned in 1915 and the cabaret was rebuilt and reopened in 1921. The name, Moulin Rouge, meaning "Red Mill" in French, is distinct due to a large red windmill which sits above the cabaret. Architecturally, the Moulin Rouge was innovative in creating a system where the scenery and equipment could be changed rapidly and efficiently so that the time between opera scenes or shows would be much shorter than at a typical cabaret.[1] The site is important in the development of several forms of French entertainment including the creation of the can-can, hosting many of the most notable and influential performers from France and around the world, and introducing both French culture to visitors from around the world as well as introduce international cultures to French citizens through various styles of entertainment.[2] The Moulin Rouge was one of the first cabaret venues and featured a wide variety of acts including ballet, opera, comedy acts, and musical performances. The site is unique in that it hosted people from all backgrounds from the average Parisian to visitors from around the world coming to experience French culture, to European Royalty.[3] The Moulin Rouge is one of, if not the most influential entertainment venue in Paris, particularly during the beginning of the 20^th century.

[1] Houchin, John. "The Origins of the "Cabaret Artistique"." The Drama Review: TDR 28, no. 1 (1984): 5-14. doi:10.2307/1145557

[2] Çelik, Zeynep, and Leila Kinney. "Ethnography and Exhibitionism at the Expositions Universelles." Assemblage, no. 13 (1990): 35-59. doi:10.2307/3171106.

[3] Potter, Caroline. Erik Satie: A Parisian Composer and His World. Boydell and Brewer, 2016. http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.7722/j.ctt18gzfkq.

From it's founding in the late 19^th century, through the 20^th century and into the modern day, the Moulin Rouge has been the epicentre of French theatre and culture. The Moulin Rouge and the Montmartre entertainment district was a popular tourist destination for those visiting the City, particularly during the time of the 1900 Exposition Universelle and the interwar period. Though a highly popular location for tourists and locals alike, the Moulin Rouge was not without its controversy. Although the Montmartre area and the Moulin Rouge were considered to be a major centre of French entertainment and culture, the area also had the reputation as a place of crime and immorality. Many of the performances at the Moulin Rouge were pushing the boundaries of cultural ideals and included overtly sexualised burlesque and dancing, political commentary represented through the artwork of Henri Toulouse-Lautrec, and crude humour which was subject to a large number of French citizens who did not approve of such boundaries in French culture being crossed and were opposed to a place that was so frequently visited by foreigners to have these controversial performances representing French culture and society.[1] Another issue surrounding the representation of French culture by cabarets such as the Moulin Rouge was the increased amount of public intoxication and social drinking which critics of the Moulin Rouge and Montmartre claimed increased the amount of crime and violence in the area.[2]

During the 1900 Exhibition Universelle the Moulin Rouge as well as many other cabarets throughout the city organized performances and events that represented various countries and cultures who took part in the exhibition. This allowed countries from around the world to display their daily life and traditions not only to tourists but to average French citizens who may have been encountering many of these foreign cultures for the first time. Unfortunately, as was common for the time, many of these performances at cabarets such as the Moulin Rouge during the early 20^th century were highly based on racial stereotypes with a heavy colonial overtone. [3]Though often much more open and progressive in their activity and performances, the Moulin Rouge was not immune to many of the ideologies of the early 20^th century.

[1] Heller, Reinhold, and Henri De Toulouse-Lautrec. "Rediscovering Henri De Toulouse-Lautrec's "At the Moulin Rouge"." Art Institute of Chicago Museum Studies 12, no. 2 (1986): 115-35. doi:10.2307/4115937.

[2] Marrus, Michael R. "Social Drinking in the "Belle Epoque"." Journal of Social History 7, no. 2 (1974): 115-41. http://www.jstor.org.proxy.library.brocku.ca/stable/3786351.

[3] Rearick, Charles. "Song and Society in Turn-of-the-Century France." Journal of Social History 22, no. 1 (1988): 45-63. http://www.jstor.org.proxy.library.brocku.ca/stable/3787951.

Bibliography

Çelik, Zeynep, and Leila Kinney. "Ethnography and Exhibitionism at the Expositions Universelles." Assemblage, no. 13 (1990): 35-59. doi:10.2307/3171106.

Heller, Reinhold, and Henri De Toulouse-Lautrec. "Rediscovering Henri De Toulouse-Lautrec's "At the Moulin Rouge"." Art Institute of Chicago Museum Studies 12, no. 2 (1986): 115-35. doi:10.2307/4115937.

Houchin, John. "The Origins of the "Cabaret Artistique"." The Drama Review: TDR 28, no. 1 (1984): 5-14. doi:10.2307/1145557.

Marrus, Michael R. "Social Drinking in the "Belle Epoque"." Journal of Social History 7, no. 2 (1974): 115-41. http://www.jstor.org.proxy.library.brocku.ca/stabl....

Potter, Caroline. Erik Satie: A Parisian Composer and His World. Boydell and Brewer, 2016. http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.7722/j.ctt18gzfkq.

Rearick, Charles. "Song and Society in Turn-of-the-Century France." Journal of Social History 22, no. 1 (1988): 45-63. http://www.jstor.org.proxy.library.brocku.ca/stabl....