Did some fool say this? And did it get traction? Obviously if the kid has his/her face painted then it’s a different story. And no Trip, (he’s here somewhere), it’s not the same as blue face for Mr. Freeze or Smurfette or what have you.
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Seeing how you’re unsure, I think you need to counteract that by listening to Whitesnake.
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I heard it again this morning & its the 3rd time I’ve heard it mentioned on either TV or radio so apparently yes its an issue in the US. I think it was part of what Megyn Kelly was discussing when she made the blackface comments.
I’m not very PC. More lap top.
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You mean ‘lap dance’, amirite?!
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It sounds like the “they’re not letting white kids swim unless they wear a burkini” stories that the likes of Rize Up party make up
Blackface is tricky.
It’s interesting that Angry Boys aired in 2011, and that Netflix obviously have no problem at all with it in 2018.
And Robert Downey Jnr is obviously some sort of cultural magician.
Not only can he wear blackface, but that character’s catchphrase is ‘Never go full retard.’
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Fairly obvious he’s taking the ■■■■ out of blackface itself, isn’t it? Ie the fact you can see the white bits around the edges and they spend about 5 mins discussing it.
Not sure the same is true of Chris Lilley.
Fairly certain that level of irony escapes Megyn Kelly.
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Wear blackface and tell people you’re doing it ironically.
I’ll be interested to hear how you get on.
Edit: Now that I think about it, Sarah Silverman did it too.
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Pay Ben Stiller and Ethan Cohen to write my lines, and I will.
Context is kinda important.
Fetishisation, or whatever the opposite of that is - taboo-isation??, of a thing doesn’t help anyone understand why it’s wrong/offensive.
Well written satire can help.
Like I said, it’s tricky.
It sounds to me like you’re saying blackface is more noble if it’s used for satire than an eight year-old wanting to look like their favourite superhero.
Which reminds me of the Indian guys doing the Jackson 5 on Red Faces.
Obviously there was no malice intended there.
But it didn’t matter in that case.
Perhaps if they were mocking other Jackson 5 impersonators, that’d be more okay than just doing a performance that they had clearly put a lot of time and effort in to making as good as they possibly could?
What I took out of the tropic thunder bit was they were taking the ■■■■ out of the white guy doing blackface. The bit about the method acting etc. the co-star staring him down. I don’t think just having the stuff on means they’re saying it’s a good thing, given he was basically a tool.
I don’t think the same context was immediately obvious in the red faces bit. But maybe I’m not giving them enough credit. (Maybe not)
Others may differ.
lol.
There was no context to the Red Faces thing.
That’s the point.
Red Faces was like…wut? No, why would you think that? We’re just…wut?
Tropic Thunder is…we know what we’re doing here but bear with us…it’s for a good reason…
Which makes it…better?
Yes, HAP, you’re very right context is important. In fact it’s essential to interpreting anything, including blackface. But in acknowledging that, any act or piece of art must be located within the broader context of the community from which it comes.
So, satirising the powerful is easier because the rules are clearer: powerful people, those at the top of the heap, have access to resources and can defend themselves. Satirising people nearer the bottom of the pile is far, far riskier. Because that very satire, meant to unmask cant or deflate pomposity may, in the end, only exacerbate the sense of injustice or powerlessness felt by those being satirised.
And for the time being, people of colour are not anywhere near the top of the heap…
Talk about irony escaping someone.
Ehhhh, is it though?
Satire = okay
Genuine tribute = not okay
Child’s hero worship = really not okay
In this current climate satire, irony, wit, post modern device, anything remotely intelligent is as endangered as the Amazon’s original occupants. Tropic Thunder wouldn’t get made today, at least not as a major motion picture. Mind, I’m not saying TT is the height of cleverness.
I got accused of being disrespectful for doing partial blackface at a dress-up party about two years ago. I’ll admit that I did have black face paint on a part of my face, but in my defence I was dressed as a white bull with black spots.
I would have thought that the sock with two tennis balls hanging from my crotch would have been more offensive, but it turned out it was the black spot on the side of my face.
I’m not even joking.
Wrong context, obviously.
There’s just no pleasing some people.