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"Black face" skit on Australian variety show
- Thread starter lionking
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Foolmewunz
Grammar Resistance Leader, TLA Dictator
Alex,
They're all actually rather clever. Tracy's bits are fairly awesome as she does incredible character bits and accents. I remember the first time I saw her doing an American accent, I was impressed. And the American black woman. It's spot on - and the character doesn't work unless she's black - plus, she's in brown makeup which is damned realistic.
The Little England Minstrels bit is priceless. It's lampooning a British version of Pauline Hanson and the joke, of course, is playing up on their blackness done in black face. They could have used, say, "mimes", but since they're lampooning a racist campaigner, it works just fine as humor.
The "Linda" bits are playing on the fact that she's a thick-skinned insensitive idiot. She offends everyone, whether it's racial or stature or looks.
In short, they all work as humor - humor by my tastes, at any rate, and I accept that that's a subjective thing. I'm politically left, but I'm a dedicated fan of satire, sendups, lampooning, what have you.
They're all actually rather clever. Tracy's bits are fairly awesome as she does incredible character bits and accents. I remember the first time I saw her doing an American accent, I was impressed. And the American black woman. It's spot on - and the character doesn't work unless she's black - plus, she's in brown makeup which is damned realistic.
The Little England Minstrels bit is priceless. It's lampooning a British version of Pauline Hanson and the joke, of course, is playing up on their blackness done in black face. They could have used, say, "mimes", but since they're lampooning a racist campaigner, it works just fine as humor.
The "Linda" bits are playing on the fact that she's a thick-skinned insensitive idiot. She offends everyone, whether it's racial or stature or looks.
In short, they all work as humor - humor by my tastes, at any rate, and I accept that that's a subjective thing. I'm politically left, but I'm a dedicated fan of satire, sendups, lampooning, what have you.
EeneyMinnieMoe
Philosopher
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- Feb 11, 2007
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Well, I concede you a point, Alex.
You are correct. Despite black face being considered inherently offensive- crazy offensive- it actually has aired in America with no controversy.
I can only think of two explanations:
a) Comics like Miss Ullman are actually funny. The five or six doctors dressing up as the Jackson Five were not funny. You can get away with anything if it's funny. Anything. It's impossible to get angry at someone making you laugh.
b) These sketches had a point besides race. They did something with the concept. They had a sketch built around it. The black face or brown face was only part of it. Take the Indian woman one; the point of that wasn't race, it was sex. On the other hand, someone who just shows up with a fake tan and fake braids, thinking that that is amusing in and of itself, is being cheap and making a big miscalculation.
You show up dressed as an Indian, you obviously think Indians are funny just for being brown and having accents. This is saying that the act of being Indian in and of itself is funny or strange, which it isn't. You do something like parody Bollywood movies, however, now that's actually funny. There's something going on there.
You are correct. Despite black face being considered inherently offensive- crazy offensive- it actually has aired in America with no controversy.
I can only think of two explanations:
a) Comics like Miss Ullman are actually funny. The five or six doctors dressing up as the Jackson Five were not funny. You can get away with anything if it's funny. Anything. It's impossible to get angry at someone making you laugh.
b) These sketches had a point besides race. They did something with the concept. They had a sketch built around it. The black face or brown face was only part of it. Take the Indian woman one; the point of that wasn't race, it was sex. On the other hand, someone who just shows up with a fake tan and fake braids, thinking that that is amusing in and of itself, is being cheap and making a big miscalculation.
You show up dressed as an Indian, you obviously think Indians are funny just for being brown and having accents. This is saying that the act of being Indian in and of itself is funny or strange, which it isn't. You do something like parody Bollywood movies, however, now that's actually funny. There's something going on there.
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The Fool
Penultimate Amazing
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BTMO
Overlord of the Underthings
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Please don't take this as a personal criticism, as I don't intend it to be, but I find that type attitude somewhat hypocritical.
Essentially what you are saying is "I find this material racist and offensive... unless it is well done and funny".
Ok - the amateurs did a bad job. They were crap. BUT they *were* amateurs. That is what you get from amateurs.
They'd also performed on the show 20 years ago (I vaguely remember them from then) - and they were popular. Some people like home made comedy. I am one of them. I do amateur standup (and I suck at it), and amateur improv (and I am marginally better at that than I am at stand up) - it is bloody hard to create something all by yourself and put it on stage, so sometimes you take short cuts.
So you go for the easy laugh, or the stereotype - because you aren't a professional - you don't have a team of writers, make up artists, years at drama school and years of experience in the industry and committees to tell you what works and what doesn't. You have no one but yourself and the guts to get up on stage and make a jackass of your self for complete strangers...
Sorry... what was the question again?
Ok, I've been reading through this thread but I've refrained from responding to the posts that I wanted to respond to because I think that I should make my position clear.
I can see how it's considered racist in the US. I was well aware of what "blackface" was before this sketch aired.
However I see the Australian side of it as well. Minstrel shows were not really common here, and even then they didn't carry the same connotations as they would have in the US. As far as I can tell the closest thing that we've had is when Sam Newman pretended to be AFL player Nicky Winmar (who is an Aborigine).
Most of the people who watched that sketch probably didn't think of it in terms of race, but more as a joke about the Jackson family.
What I haven't really liked about this incident is some of the commentary coming from the US. It's as if we were deliberately making a show for an American audience.
I also think that it's become a tempest in a teacup.
I can see how it's considered racist in the US. I was well aware of what "blackface" was before this sketch aired.
However I see the Australian side of it as well. Minstrel shows were not really common here, and even then they didn't carry the same connotations as they would have in the US. As far as I can tell the closest thing that we've had is when Sam Newman pretended to be AFL player Nicky Winmar (who is an Aborigine).
Most of the people who watched that sketch probably didn't think of it in terms of race, but more as a joke about the Jackson family.
What I haven't really liked about this incident is some of the commentary coming from the US. It's as if we were deliberately making a show for an American audience.
I also think that it's become a tempest in a teacup.
Jeff Corey
New York Skeptic
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And a related story from France. http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2009/oct/13/french-vogue-photographs-outrage