Blackface: A Guide For The Average Australian
Are you an average true-blue Aussie keen to comment on a news item regarding last night’s Hey Hey/Red Faces gaffe? Do you, like many average true-blue Aussies, think that “blackface” just means “pretending to be African American, like Robert Downey Jr. in that funny movie about the Vietnam war”?
How fortunate for you, then, that I just stumbled upon this macro from trusty internet comedy-machine eBaumsWorld:
I thought it might prove helpful for a variety of Australians (including Dr Anand Deva, and whoever okayed “The Jackson Jive“), who seem to be having trouble understanding exactly what it was about last night’s Red Faces skit that caused offense.
Just pour yourself a glass of XXXX, sit down on top of your Esky, and study this picture for a few minutes. Let me know if you experience any illumination while doing so.
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Comments
Umm,is that like calling a “Spade a Spade”?
What has happened to a bit of humour – why can’t we tell a joke about different cultures as well as your own – it’s a fact people have different coloured skin. Didn’t Michael change his face to white and have a strange lot of plastic surgery.
Jacquie, this isn’t about “different coloured skin” – it’s about a routine employing blackface, which only ever existed to lampoon and belittle African Americans and “darkies”: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blackface.
Wait wait wait, Downey Jr. wasn’t in blackface? Isn’t that some form of double standards?
I mean, what is the issue here? I’m thoroughly confused. I can’t make out whether the media is outraged by the make-up, or the routine.
If it’s the make-up, well, one of them was painted up as a white man and he was dark skinned. He wasn’t black, per se, but he was dark skinned. And, again, Robert Downey Jr. was in blackface whether this article or Hollywood thinks so or not.
If it’s the routine, well, would people be outraged if they did that without the make-up? As far as I was concerned, they were targetting Michael Jackson and his family in their spoof and *not* an entire racial demographic. If we can’t make fun of a microcosm because suddenly that means we’re making fun of a macrocosm then there is something terribly wrong with the creative medium and the audience viewing it.
And, just have to say, I don’t think this show the world that we’re a country of racist backwater degenerates. I think this shows *us* that the rest of the world (i.e: America) is far too conservative while we’re becoming more liberal.
As I recall, there was some debate about whether or not Downey Jr’s role was offensive, and why/why not.
I’d argue that it wouldn’t be more racist than blackface back in the day – but it’d be more relevant in modern day interpretations of racism simply because the role would have to manifest itself from current racial stereotypes as opposed to those outdated by fifty years.
Having said that, Downey Jr. is actually a considerable actor and probably plays that part as a character rather than a caricature – I can’t really judge either way having not seen the movie nor done the research.
But I still call double standards.
Esoteric, you mustn’t have been watching Tropic Thunder all that closely – you, and most of news.com.au, seem to have missed the key point that RDJ was playing an ignorantass Australian actor who went blackface for a movie role and was oblivious to the constant offense he was causing to all.
And then we go and do it in real life. Australia, you win again.
You mustn’t have been reading my posts too closely; pretty sure that I said that I hadn’t sat down and seen Tropic Thunder.
My argument is that if you can justify one instance of blackface and not another in a modern day context, then that’s double standards. There’s no “but it was satire” or “but the skit was in bad taste.”
There’s “Yes, we accept blackface in a post-modern global society” or there’s “No, we still don’t accept blackface.”
No, no no! Robert Downey Jr.’s character in the film is satirical (of Hollywood casting)! The Jackson Jive are not, morons.
In the words of the great George Carlin, who was himself an American, its the CONTEXT that counts.
In a truly egalitarian and tolerant society, people of all colours and creeds would be able to discriminate between the Stormfront Neo-Nazi and the unsuspecting Indian doctor, poking fun not at a race but rather at a bizarre pop culture figure. When I first heard there was outrage regarding this skit, my first thought went to the old “too soon” winge.
Why should we in Australia have to be subjected to such scathing comments from every corner of the media for a racist theartical practise that was not of our creating and has no place in our history? Perhaps we should call out Americans as racist for their continual portrayl of Australians as convicts and backwards Crocodile Dundee type yokels?
The fact that so many Australians are doing their best to defend this racist crap would seem to suggest that the characterisation of Australians as “backwards Crocodile Dundee type yokels” is not so much a distasteful slur, but an accurate and fair summation of the national character. Maybe we should get back to old ways and start shipping people to Oz again, but this time we’ll keep the criminals, and you can have the racists.
I think this debate is ridiculous.
The skit was unfunny, but that’s only to be expected on Hey Hey.
The point is, the performers were impersonating The Jackson 5.
How could they do that without using black make-up?
It’s like if you were impersonating Madonna, you would use the defining characteristics of those conical breasts and blond pony-tail.
When your act is to impersonate someone, you pick the characteristics that will assist your audience to recognise who you are pretending to be.
If you impersonated the Bee Gees, you’d have the fake buck teeth and hair.
I actually think the reason people are calling this “black-face” is because the make-up was so poorly applied, leaving those eye and lip lines that are reminiscnet of The Black and White Minstrals etc. But the poor make-up is because those guys were amatuers!
Crap performace, crap idea, lousy make-up, but I don’t think it was racist or intending to be racist.
They were sending up a group who happen to have black skin, but they were not disparaging all people with black skin – any more than doing a Madonna parody is disparaging to all blonds.
@Esoteric. If by ‘more liberal’ you mean ‘happy to broadcast inherently racist rubbish on prime time television’ then yes. Hey Hey was hopelessly out of date when they pulled the plug ten years ago, these days it’s an international embarresment.
Hey, look, a value call that is completely *beside the issue*!
This is not about Hey Hey being canceled ten years ago. This is about the outrage over a blackface skit that just happened to appear on Hey Hey. Keep it relevant.
I used liberal as a blanket term to describe Australian television: nipples, swear words and now a blackface skit. Who gets worked up over these things? It’s not the Australians en masse; it’s everyone else.
Wake the fu@$ up, it was a poor skit on a classic show.
How times have changed, the same guys did the same skit 20 years earlier and won the prize. There was no malice involved. Australian would have some of the more anti-racial laws in the world. Do you think 5 DOCTORS would get on stage on national T.V and preform a racist skit? Wake up and mellow out.
That’s right, ‘TruBlue’ – blackface was both hilarious AND appropriate 20 years ago. It’s just our modern PC rubbish lefty latte sipping liberal brigade censoring ‘good ol fashioned aussie family tv’.
2.3 million viewers cant be wrong. Australia has spoken… and after 20 years, massive racism is still comedy gold.
hey hey was racist sexist rubbish then, and still is now. What bullshit them crying that they were cancelled and nothing every replaced them!!!….The Footy Show is the same racist sexist crap without a fucking pink bird…. dont get me started!!!
I was up in arms 20years ago when they did this skit!!!! I say dump them in Harlem and film what happens….now that wouldnt be funny, it would be justice!!!!!
Here, here Clem! I raise a glass to you!
After a day of arguing about this on Facebook I am tired.
It is wrong. If you don’t think it is wrong you are ignorant and uneduacted. Here, eduacate yourselves:
http://www.experiencefestival.com/a/Blackface_-_Blackface_and_darky_iconography/id/4857036
ps i realise educate is not spelled “eduacate”….perhaps I’m drunk!
One thing i have learned as a 2nd class citizen of Australia, is that this a country in denial. Some do not educate themselves, whilst other have an arrogant philosophy of I can do what ever want. Of course many Australians woulds say its not racist. Firstly because they have never been on the receiving end of racism before. It is a fact the offensive humor has been vehicle to convey prejudicial views, as observed throughout history. Did you know many Germans during world war 2 lived in denial to what is being done towards Jews in their own backyard, they didn’t see their actions as being wrong, only natural.
I wonder how Australians would react if another country made a mockery of Anzac or something important to Australians, would they be laughing? Truth is they think is funny as long is at someone else expense and not theirs.
peter you are an arsehole and nob by trying to compare the murdering Nazi genocide to this Australian skit. WTF?!
Piss off…
Would like to mention that Robert Downey Jr.’s character in Tropic Thunder – who thought it a good idea against everyone else’s racial sensibilities to get a permanent blackface – was Australian.
Why is everyone talking about Robert Downey Jr.????
Harry Connick Jr was on Hey Hey not Robert Downey Jr. I know he did the tropic thunder thing, but are we confusing the two people in this example???
Wow, Wiz, I don’t really see what the big fuss is about the skit, and I am actually extremely well educated and not at all ignorant. I have *even* gone to anti-racism protests. Way to generalise!! There might not be a name for what people like yourself and Clem are doing by assuming everyone who is not offended by it “drink XXXX on our eskies”, but it is every bit as offensive and hurtful as racism. Good for you!
Really Lisa? You seriously think being told to drink XXXX on an esky is as offensive as perpetuating a racist stereotype of a former slave people and currently disadvantaged minority? I would like to believe you know you’re exaggerating there – or perhaps you’re not as well educated as you think.
Also – seeking to become the injured party here does nothing to advance your argument.
Hang on, so its only bad to mock aspects of a person’s cultural stereotype if they are a currently disadvantaged minority? That was my point. How can you vilify someone for a certain behaviour, and then apply that same behaviour in your argument against it? Its certainly not on the same scale, but it is still the same behaviour. And THAT was my point, not “becoming the injured party”. Ridiculous!
I just find it hard to understand how people who understand the history of blackface and what it means can defend it.
Nothing happens in a vacuum…..
The point is that it was offensive to many Americans for a range of (quite valid) reasons. To insist we have nothing to be ashamed of here, and that it was a harmless, funny joke with no bad intentions isn’t going to cut it.
It’s much like swearing at someone in another language and then claiming it’s ok, as that word has no meaning in Australia. You can’t claim complete ignorance, since you chose the swearword.
Who Cares! “Harry the Has Been” should check out a few South Park episodes, he’d probably have a seizure.
Spot on Rob.And maybe junior shouldn’t have been on the show anyway,as it was way past his bedtime.
The fact is, the group should not have been allowed to perform in the first place, as it was obviously going to attract criticism (that and it wasn’t funny). All it’s given us is yet another chance to hate on ourselves and question our sense of worth in the world. If the skit never aired this whole embarassing debacle would never have occurred, and we could all get on with talking about how much of a tosser Darryl is until the next idiot does something to make us all feel guilty. The only people we should be hanging out to dry here are the producers of Hey Hey/Red Faces for being bad at their jobs.
Yes Rob’s comment is the best one here. Harry would be shocked more at the skits on South Park. Even the Simpson’s portrayal of Apu could be taken the wrong way. Yes it was a dumb skit but the producers probably saw it as retro, the return of the medical students 20 years later performing the same skit, just as bike boy returned. I’m sure a lot of us cringed when they walked on the set, but that’s what Red Faces was, it did make us cringe.
This has taken some days of puzzling for me to get a handle on my thoughts. Initially when I saw the skit live all I could think was that it was a bit boring. When HCJ gave his zero – I was stunned and then understood why he was upset after his comments.
Firstly, blackface is not a typical Australian form of racism which is why I belive there was ignorance regarding the skit. I had to do some research to understand what the underlying implications were about blackface and can now understand why the US found it so awful.
Secondly, I think that the meaning of ‘redface’ has also lost its meaning here as isn’t ‘red face’ about doing something completely embarrasing to see if you can win a prize? Well I think this could be the ‘red faces’ crowing glory.
Finally, I think the planet needs to understand that it was a mistake. Plain and simple. Not all humour has the desired effect and on this occassion it didn’t.
What I am peeved about is that we are now being called racist and there have been comments about how behind we are in our ‘civil rights’. What the? Enough everyone. Mistakes are mistakes and we learn our hardest/best lessons this way.
Let’s get over it and on with it people.
Cheers and all the best.