The latter is exactly why we find blackface racist (and it was), the former has no roots in that tradition, has no disrespectful or racially-charged overtones, and shouldn't be problematic when done right.
*blinks*
You're citing Tropic Thunder as a non-problematic example of "blackface?" You might want to, uh, reconsider? If you're right, you're wrong - Downey's "blackface" becomes acceptable because it enables the movie's satirical point about an actor engaging in offensive "blackface." The audience is supposed to accept that Downey's character is doing something offensive and racist (consider also the movie's discussion relating to never going "full retard" - same idea).
It doesn't exist. Unfortunately, when many of us on the American right talk about the race-obsessions of many on the left, this sort of diversion is a great example of it.
You can act all wounded about it if you like, but you just gotta ask yourself one thing: would you do it in mixed racial company? You don't have to be "race-obsessed" to think that maybe it's better to attend a Halloween party with a costume you have to explain a few times than to go with the blackface just so that a few people might catch the Beverly Hills Cop reference. You're not going to stand in the middle of a crowd of people you're trying to get along with, explaining why it's ridiculous for them to shun you and your blackface because nothing about your mimicry of Beverly Hills Cop derives from the history of minstrelsy (other than, uh, donning the stereotypical features and defining mannerisms of a person from another race for the amusement of yourself and others...?)... are you?
The difference between "right" and "left" on this issue is this: you wouldn't do that, but you'll come whine online about how irritating it is to be expected to display some tact every once in a while, whereas the "left" looks at these kinds of intuitions and thinks, "You know why I don't do that? Because I don't want to be an asshole." It's got nothing to do with "race-obsessions." It's about being able to understand that someone else's reaction to your behavior can be a relevant consideration in determining its merit.
no subject
*blinks*
You're citing Tropic Thunder as a non-problematic example of "blackface?" You might want to, uh, reconsider? If you're right, you're wrong - Downey's "blackface" becomes acceptable because it enables the movie's satirical point about an actor engaging in offensive "blackface." The audience is supposed to accept that Downey's character is doing something offensive and racist (consider also the movie's discussion relating to never going "full retard" - same idea).
It doesn't exist. Unfortunately, when many of us on the American right talk about the race-obsessions of many on the left, this sort of diversion is a great example of it.
You can act all wounded about it if you like, but you just gotta ask yourself one thing: would you do it in mixed racial company? You don't have to be "race-obsessed" to think that maybe it's better to attend a Halloween party with a costume you have to explain a few times than to go with the blackface just so that a few people might catch the Beverly Hills Cop reference. You're not going to stand in the middle of a crowd of people you're trying to get along with, explaining why it's ridiculous for them to shun you and your blackface because nothing about your mimicry of Beverly Hills Cop derives from the history of minstrelsy (other than, uh, donning the stereotypical features and defining mannerisms of a person from another race for the amusement of yourself and others...?)... are you?
The difference between "right" and "left" on this issue is this: you wouldn't do that, but you'll come whine online about how irritating it is to be expected to display some tact every once in a while, whereas the "left" looks at these kinds of intuitions and thinks, "You know why I don't do that? Because I don't want to be an asshole." It's got nothing to do with "race-obsessions." It's about being able to understand that someone else's reaction to your behavior can be a relevant consideration in determining its merit.