[DrPhil]

WHERE'S THE SPOON...WHERE'S THE SPOON...EHHH?!

Coming to America has some of the classic scenes of comedic history. The ability of Murphy and Hall to play different characters throughout the movie was the whole point and they did a darn good job from "sexual chocolate", the bar dating scene, and barber shop scene. If they insisted on doing a "Jewish comedy" character in the barber shop scene, getting a Jewish comedian would have ruined the larger point just as getting a Black man to play Robert Downey, Jr.'s character in Tropic Thunder would have ruined the point.

With that said, the dynamics of racial and ethnic minorities playing white characters and playing other minorities (outside of their own minority group) is touchy and inappropriate if people are applying a "just don't do it...one size fits all" approach to this topic. People can feel however they feel about it as long as they know that the history and present day significance of this topic is substantially different for minorities as compared to whites who imitate racial and ethnic minorities. That includes whites in blackface and whites playing Asian and Native American characters.

Tyler Perry is not in blackface. He is a Black man playing a Black woman.