Blackacademic points out yet another case of young whites deciding that putting on the blackface is just, y’know, hilarious. And she also points out that the University President’s letter, which is mainly about saying “it was just a few bad apples, there’s no larger problem to be addressed here!,” manages to avoid ever using the word “racism.” Because using that word would apparently be in bad taste or something.
Look, it’s not that complex: If you’re white, put the blackface down. Whether you’re a frat boy or a liberal blogger, put it down. If you’re not white – well, even then, you should probably put it down. (Ebogjonson has a very fine blackface appropriateness test that bloggers of all colors who considering blackface should consult.)
Because if you happen to be an artist of Spike Lee’s caliber, then maybe you’ll be able to use blackface in a way that is both genuinely interesting and genuinely anti-racist. But you know what? Odds are very very high that you’re not Spike Lee.
Just leave the goddmaned blackface alone, already. It’s not… that… hard.
More reading: Zuky, Wampum, Dark Sun, Prometheus 6, Slant Truth and Pen-Elayne.
UPDATE: Carmen at Racialicious reports on a constructive approach campus administrations can take when students wear blackface.
UPDATE 2: And do check out this post on My Private Casbah:
To ask whether or not this was “Racism or Stupidity” is to create a false dichotomy. Is there some reason why it could only be one or the other? I’m going to go out on a limb here and introduce what might seem like a really far-fetched notion to some. Could it be that it was racist stupidity? I know it’s anecdotal but, in my experience, racism and stupidity are not exactly strange bedfellows.
[Crossposted at Creative Destruction. If your comments aren’t being approved here, try there.]
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Hey thanks for the link! And yes please everyone, step AWAY from the blackface. It’s *never* appropriate.
But it’s so, you know, -edgy!- Smash the oppressive P.C. police! Smash, I say, smash!
plus, how dare you stifle these peoples’ creative expression? I mean, it’s -really- creative. and did i mention about the edgy? Well it is. Edgy edge edge edge. HOO! Boy, is that ever edgy…
*…sorry, I must have dozed off there. Where was I? Oh, yeah, right.
“Blackface Is Cool. And: Fight for your Right to Party. Because you mustn’t let Them tell you what to do, EVER.”
–oh, shit, I think I hear Mom coming, quick, light some incense and open the window…
I don’t know if they did it with racist motives, but it was racist.
I think it’s simply the “frat boy culture” (which I find utterly obnoxious) is constructed — it’s basically one big, neverending competition about who does the most outrageously offensive thing.
I agree, those assholes are making legitimate criticisms of political correctness more difficult. This is something that has bothered me for a long time — that for some (generally right-wing, admittedly) “anti-PC” people, being “politically incorrect” all the time is thought to be required by their political stance.
In essence, for some “Anti-PC” people, “politically incorrect” is politically correct. Which is pretty fucked up.
I think it’s simply the way frat boy culture…
I just think it’s a stupid thing to do.
Unfortunately, I did lots of stupid things in college, but I didn’t do that.
I don’t know if it’s a sign of anything in general … other than college students can be dopey.
Wow. Blackface is not a sign of anything other than stupid college kids?
I’m seriously at a loss for words on that one.
Can we just begin with the idea that MAYBE, just MAYBE 18-22 year olds CAN be smarter, more mature and better informed than we expect them to be and that this notion of “Kids will be kids” is just creating an EASIER atmosphere for ADULTS to act like children? I’m sorry. I don’t buy that anyone over the age of about 10 doesn’t KNOW that this is incredibly offensive and does it anyway. The fact that they get away with it with such minor slaps on the wrist and the fact that people are arguing it doesn’t mean anything is demonstrating just how racist we all really are.
Right on, blackface = unacceptable. Have to say, though, that the “only Spike Lee can do it” standard doesn’t work for me. I think he’s got some major blind spots about gender. Definitely not the last word in progressive film.
I didn’t mean to say that Spike Lee is the be-all and end-all, and I agree about his gender blind spots. But I nonetheless thought Bamboozled was a terrific film.
per “politically correct,” and the “legitness” of it, at minimum of the (increasingly tired) phrase itself, i think zuky has the the best piece on it i’ve ever seen:
http://www.kaichang.net/2006/11/the_sloppy_prop.html
my god, belldame, that was awesome. thanks for linking!
Any thoughts on the propriety of Fred Armisen’s depiction of Obama on Saturday Night Live? Wikipedia says Armisen is of Venezuelan and Japanese ancestry, if that matters.
Leaving aside how appropriate or not Fred Armisen’s depiction of Obama is, it really bugs the shit out of me that they have such a lack of black cast members that it becomes necessary.
—Myca
I actually think there’s a difference between what they’re doing with Armisen, which is a respectful depiction of a specific black celebrity, and blackface. SNL isn’t using either racist tropes or a blackface look for their depiction. But it still has unfortunate historical resonances, which makes it much more questionable than using an Asian actor to depict John McCain.
But I agree with Myca — it’s offensive because it reflects SNL’s tendency to hire a white cast with one or two token nonwhite actors. Hire some fucking black actors already!
Not enough black cast members on SNL? Good point. But kind of a beside-the-point point, right?
So let’s imagine that SNL currently had on staff a hearty Bernie Mac and every other talented-but-not-really-suited-to-the-role-of-depicting-Obama black comedian you can think of. How would that affect your opinion of Armisen’s depiction of Obama?
Actually, if SNL had a large black staff, that would much improve my opinion of it. Then I might believe that Armisen’s was the funniest Obama anyone could do, not just the funniest that they could find without having to hire a new black person.
Having just watched the SNL sketch of the debate from this weekend, which was tepid and unfunny, I’m more convinced that it’s a bad idea. Plus, contrary to what I said before, they are using a racist trope (at least in this sketch) — the “race card.” Which makes the whole thing much worse.
There’s something about watching a white actor do that sketch that made me wonder — was there a single black person (writer, producer, director) involved in creating this sketch?
The more you make something into a taboo, the more fun young people will have with it.
You think that gamers throw around jokes about watermelon and the n-word because they’re racists? That the “never go full re****” in Tropic Thunder keeps getting parroted because people think it was a fantastic movie?
Sacred cows make the tastiest hamburgers. We’ve done a damned fine job of making some nasty things that were tacitly accepted into unspeakable taboos, but taboos are also an instant mine for “edgy” humour – and so we get stuff like the “40 lb box of rape” and the “falcon punch” jokes.
You’re never going to be able to get rid of blackface, or Auschwitz jokes, or any of that other stuff, because there will always be people who giggle at sheer audacity.