So, I get why it has become unacceptable for White people to darken their skin to impersonate Black people (it became impossible to make a somewhat fuzzy distinction between racist and non racist instances of this practice, and there were so many bad faith actors in that space that it was easier to start saying that all instances of skin darkening by white people was racist).
But I think it is unfortunate, for several reasons, not least that it has tended to erase and trivialize what blackface really was and is. Blackface involved not just skin darkening, but doing it in an exaggerated way, often with other exaggerated features, in an explicit attempt to make fun of, demean and dehumanize Black people. It was in the service of maintaining the racist hierarchy and justifying and enforcing racial injustice and violence. Billy Crystal blackening his face to do his Sammy Davis Jr impression is not “Blackface”, indeed it was the opposite, a clearly affectionate and respectful homage. I’m not sure when the last time he did it, but he wouldn’t do it today, not because it is racist, and not just because he would get “canceled” but because as innocent as it is, it gives cover to actual racists who would do blackface and use Billy as an excuse. Racists are why we can’t have nice things. That said, I can easily imagine that a Polish guy in darkened face spitting the N word in a Kendrick Lamar song would actually be more of the toxic blackface variety. Sent from Gmail Mobile On Thu, 14 Sep 2023 at 7:08 AM Mark Jeffries <[email protected]> wrote: > The Polish version of the format "Your Face Sounds Familiar" (claimed as > originating in Spain in 2011, although it sure as hell sounds like the UK's > "Stars in Their Eyes," which goes back further and is owned by the company > owning this show, the French format factory Banijay) recently featured a > white man impersonating rapper Kendrick Lamar in blackface and cornrows and > repeating a "nigga" from the lyrics of Lamar's "Humble" (the video's in the > link) AND a white woman impersonating Beyonce in blackface--controversy > ensued and Banijay's home office in Paris said they would conduct an > investigation: > > > https://www.theguardian.com/music/2023/sep/12/polish-tv-talent-show-contestants-use-blackface-for-kendrick-lamar-beyonce-performances > > HOWEVER, this is not the first time--in 2021 a contestant won with a > blackface impersonation of Kanye West and there have been other instances > of blackface in the Polish version's history (perhaps before Banijay bought > the original format owner Endemol Shine) and the Czech version out-and-out > banned blackface in the same year. > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "TVorNotTV" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to [email protected]. > To view this discussion on the web visit > https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/tvornottv/27c5e7bf-ea3e-4222-a2ae-3cc3ea565397n%40googlegroups.com > <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/tvornottv/27c5e7bf-ea3e-4222-a2ae-3cc3ea565397n%40googlegroups.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> > . > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "TVorNotTV" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/tvornottv/CAKGtkYKu0mb8ewOZ66gwLLXLS7pjWZcHQ_m3ihRT3UOPU3U94A%40mail.gmail.com.
