I know this is just a bunch of terrible kids but...

[Gravdigr]

Originally Posted by Undertoad

Phoenix columnist sees blackface photo posted in local restaurant, photo is actually of coal miners, columnist gets angry anyway

I wonder if this person ran home and had their electricity turned off, because electricity is produced in lots of places by coal. And as we all know coal is mined by black-face coal miners...

Way to keep racism alive, Rashaad.

[Undertoad]

What's next? Oh you'll never guess!

Mary Poppins branded racist by US academic in 'blackface' row over scene where she gets covered in soot

I haven't linked to the paywalled NYT article where they back this notion up via vague references from the books.

[Happy Monkey]

Originally Posted by Undertoad

I haven't linked to the paywalled NYT article where they back this notion up via vague references from the books.

It's only paywalled if you've hit your monthly limit.

It does refer to a scene in the original Mary Poppins movie where the soot-covered chimney sweeps are mistaken for hottentots by the Admiral, so the connection between soot-covered faces and blackface is explicitly made in the film. But it is made by the crazy guy who fires cannons from the roof of the house he thinks is a ship, so make of that what you will.

It spends more time on some interesting backstory about the character "Hyacinth Macaw" referred to in the recent Mary Poppins Returns movie. A fairly explicitly (not necessarily intentionally, but at least a strong example of casual racism of the era) racist character (it's early in the month, see the article for details) from the original books was rewritten to be a bird, a hyacinth macaw. A character named Hyacinth Macaw is referred to in the new movie, a human again, nude except for feathers and a leaf, but now a wealthy widow.

It was an interesting article. Not great, but it shines next to most of the articles criticizing it.

[Undertoad]

so the connection between soot-covered faces and blackface is explicitly made

Was the explicit connection made to... "white entertainers appearing as black to make comedy routines funnier because it's common knowledge blacks are buffoons"?

Or is it now actually racist for someone to have soot on their face and be mistaken for a black person?

Does any of this bullshit help race relations? Expanding the definition of blackface to everything darkening, that's going to solve race?

No, it makes white Times readers feel better about themselves. That's all it does.

[xoxoxoBruce]

White people using suntan lotion is racist.

It does refer to a scene in the original Mary Poppins movie where the soot-covered chimney sweeps are mistaken for hottentots by the Admiral,...

The Admiral mistaking the dirty faced sweeps for hottentots, is not blackface, they didn't blacken their faces to look like something else, they didn't even do it intentionally.

The Admiral firing on the sweeps thinking the were hottentots wasn't racism, it's because they had a history of violence against each other, been prior fighting. Granted they probably got to the fighting stage because of racism but it's beyond that point. That's like saying the US marine on Guadalcanal hating Japs is racist.

[Undertoad]

CNN, because journalism, lists all the people who have done "blackface" if, in fact, the meaning of blackface has been expanded to pretending to be black.

The list includes not only actors portraying black people but also -- Robert Downey Jr. in "Tropic Thunder". Downey was not portraying a black man; he was portraying an actor who was portraying a black man. And playing for parody.

[xoxoxoBruce]

All those soldiers sneaking through the jungle at night, and the actors portraying those soldiers in the movies.

[sexobon]

Don't forget about the white people in all of those old B&W film negatives.

[tw]

Medical science is now experimenting with head transplants. Currently only on animals. Is it legal to put a black man's head on a white man's body? Or is that also called black face?

[xoxoxoBruce]

Ray Milland and Rosey Grier.

[fargon]

I saw this at the Miramar Theater in San Clemente Ca with Kimberly Ann.

[Undertoad]

CNN because journalism:

Katy Perry faces criticism over shoe design resembling blackface

source of "criticism" in order to make headline accurate: one single tweet with, at this moment, 20 likes

[sexobon]

Where are the Native American protests? They should be all over this bandwagon:

BLACKFEET or BLACKFOOT INDIANS. "Blackfoot" is the English translation of the word siksika, which means "black foot." It refers to the dark colored moccasins the people wear. Some Blackfoot people are annoyed by the plural "Blackfeet," which is obviously an anglicization.

Katy Perry is obviously appropriating their culture.

[xoxoxoBruce]

Blackfeet is an anglicization. And blackfoot isn't?

Damn whippersnappers are gettin' too damn lazy...

[Spexxvet]

Originally Posted by xoxoxoBruce

Blackfeet is an anglicization. And blackfoot isn't?

Damn whippersnappers are gettin' too damn lazy...

Maybe more of an indication of wealthy inequality