Theater Hopper
About Links Store Contact Thorum

Archive for March 7th, 2008

2 items.
Mar07

YOUR BEST FACE FORWARD

March 7th, 2008 | by Tom
  • Comics
1 Star2 Stars3 Stars4 Stars5 Stars6 Stars7 Stars8 Stars9 Stars10 Stars
(11 votes, average: 8.73 out of 10)
YOUR BEST FACE FORWARD

Before I get into today’s blog, I want to make sure everyone is on the same page first.

Be sure to read this article over at EntertainmentWeekly.com. It’s the same article about Ben Stiller’s new movie Tropic Thunder that’s being referenced in the strip.

To save a little time, here’s the photo that’s causing the controversy:

In the movie, Stiller, Robert Downey Jr. and Jack Black play spoiled actors making a Vietnam war film. Downey Jr. plays a method actor so serious about his craft, he surgically alters himself to look African American when he finds out the role he was originally hired to portray was written with a black actor in mind. Stiller and Downey Jr. aren’t making fun of African Americans. They ARE making fun of ridiculous actors. Personally, I think it sounds hilarious, especially if Downey Jr. plays it completely straight.

Of course, there are going to be some people out there who will reduce this down to it’s bare element – a white man in black makeup – and be offended. These people are looking for something to offend them. If you can’t see the potential for satire in this, you don’t see very many movies.

That said, is it bad that when I saw that picture that I thought Robert Downey Jr. looked like Don Cheadle? While we’re at it, I think Jack Black there in the background kind of looks like Philip Seymour Hoffman. If you kind of squint, Ben Stiller sort of looks like Tom Cruise.

Incidentally, I didn’t mean to imply that The Wayan Brothers making White Chicks was in any way equal to the decades of minstrel shows that depicted African American’s as lazy simpletons – reinforcing racist attitudes that still survive to this day. But rather it’s meant to reflect that blackface or minstrelsy is all but a dead art form all but abolished except for use in satire by a society that has is trying to shed the casual racism of our predecessors. The fact that The Wayans Brothers are able to pitch and sell a movie featuring them as white women speaks directly to how far black America has come. I don’t mean to assign to much importance to White Chicks (it was an awful movie, after all), but can you imagine a film like that being made 50 years ago? Even 30 years ago? Probably not.

Don’t forget about actors like Eddie Murphy, who has portrayed white characters in films like Coming to America and on Saturday Night Live. There is a latitude to how race is portrayed and by whom that didn’t exist before. Race baiting used to be a one way street. Look how much we’ve grown! ;-D

I don’t want to get overtly political about it. But when it came down to trying to write a joke about College Road Trip and Tropic Thunder, I went for Tropic Thunder.

What do you guys think about this controversy. Is it that big of a deal? Does it have the potential to blow up in everyone’s faces? Let me know!

Until then, I hope everyone has a great weekend. See you here on Monday!

└ Tags: blackface, controversy, offensive, Robert Downey Jr., Tropic Thunder, Wayans Brothers, White Chicks
[ No Comments ]

HRMMM…

March 7th, 2008 | by Tom
Posted In: Blog

I’m probably going to make this worse, but here it goes.

I got into a pretty intense argument with someone in my LiveJournal feed regarding Friday’s comic and the entire issue of whether or not Tropic Thunder and Robert Downey Jr. in make up is racist.

I guess I can say it’s given me a lot to think about. As a white guy from the Midwest, I’ll fully own up to the fact that I am not the most well-versed person there is in regards to the subtleties and politics of racism. I just try to treat others as I’d want to be treated and go about my daily life.

Looking over Friday’s comic and the blog post, I realize that I may not have made the best case for myself. I already explained that, obviously, White Chicks doesn’t make up for minstrel shows, institutionalized racism and 400 years of oppression. But I was making an exaggeration for comedic effect and sometimes that doesn’t always work out the way you planned it.

So, if anyone was offended, all I can say is that I’m sorry.

It’s probably best if I leave it at that.

└ Tags: blackface, controversy, offensive, Robert Downey Jr., Tropic Thunder, Wayans Brothers, White Chicks
[ No Comments ]

Related Posts ¬

    Aug 23, 2002CONTROVERSY
    Jun 25, 200910 NOMINATIONS

Archives

    Tweets by @tombrazelton
    • The Comic
    • The Author
    • The Cast
    • Supporting
      Theater Hopper
    • Press
    • Ranked Comics
    • Year Three Backers
    Enter your email address:

    Delivered by FeedBurner

    Tag Cloud

    Adam Sandler advertising announcement auction Ben Affleck buzzComix Charlie Christmas costume death dream dress up DVD fire first appearance Guest Strip Halloween help Hollywood Iron Man Iron Man 2 Jimmy Joe and Monkey Joe Dunn Nothing Nice to Say Oscar Oscars Pixar podcast punch review Robert Downey Jr. Shia LaBeouf Spider-Man store theater The Triple Feature Top Web Comics trailer Truman Victor vote voting Wizard World Chicago Zach Miller
    HOME | ABOUT | LINKS | STORE | CONTACT | TOP RATED
    THEATER HOPPER by Tom Brazelton - The internet's longest running movie-themed webcomic. Updating every Monday, Wednesday and Friday since 2002. All content © Tom Brazelton, Theater Hopper Inc. 2002 - 2009 unless otherwise noted. Please seek author's permission before reproduction. // Privacy Policy

    Integrated by Frumph |Powered by WordPress with ComicPress |Subscribe: RSS