I Am Not a Costume!

[sigmadiva]

Originally Posted by Kevin

I get the whole minstrel show thing and how incredibly offensive all of that was, but don't you think taking a position that ALL makeup to change skin color is problematic?

I mean, apart from the terrible writing and not being funny at all, there's nothing particularly offensive about this:



--is there?

You do realize that Tyler Perry is naturally Black?

His schtick is really no different than Vicky Lawrence who played "Mamma" on Mamma's Family.

[SWTXBelle]

http://www.slate.com/blogs/xx_factor...opriation.html

[Kevin]

Originally Posted by sigmadiva

You do realize that Tyler Perry is naturally Black?

I was responding to someone who said any alteration by makeup to another natural color of the skin was offensive to her.

His schtick is really no different than Vicky Lawrence who played "Mamma" on Mamma's Family.

Okay, so how 'bout this then:


(Arsenio Hall)

[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.

[amIblue?]

Originally Posted by Kevin

I was responding to someone who said any alteration by makeup to another natural color of the skin was offensive to her.



Okay, so how 'bout this then:


(Arsenio Hall)

Thanks for checking in almost two years after my post, but I think you'll see that I said problematic rather than offensive, which are neither denotatively nor connotatively the same.

Now that I reread your response to me, I'm not sure what your point is. My comment was that using makeup to change your skin color is problematic. I made no conditions on that statement other than to throw out primary colors such as one might do to support a team or to be a Smurf. (in other words, colors that don't appear in nature on skin.) I didn't say that it only applied to certain people. There are problems with it. That's all I said.

[DrPhil]

LOL. AmIblue? was talking about makeup used to depict a different racial and ethnic identity than one's own racial and ethnic identiy. That would not apply to the Black men comics and actors throughout history who have worn makeup to depict Black women.

[amIblue?]

Originally Posted by DrPhil

LOL. AmIblue? was talking about makeup used to depict a different racial and ethnic identity than one's own racial and ethnic identiy. That would not apply to the Black men comics and actors throughout history who have worn makeup to depict Black women.

Yeah, I'm cool with drag.

[sigmadiva]

Originally Posted by Kevin

I was responding to someone who said any alteration by makeup to another natural color of the skin was offensive to her.



Okay, so how 'bout this then:


(Arsenio Hall)

You do realize there are Jews of African heritage.

[Kevin]

Originally Posted by sigmadiva

You do realize there are Jews of African heritage.

We're all of African heritage if you want to go back far enough.

[sigmadiva]

Originally Posted by Kevin

We're all of African heritage if you want to go back far enough.

I'm glad to see you (especially) admit this.

[DrPhil]

Originally Posted by sigmadiva

You do realize there are Jews of African heritage.

In this context, ethnic Jews (which is what Arsenio Hall and "Jewish comedy" like Seinfeld are depicting) are predominantly not of the more immediate African diaspora. Ethnic Jews are predominantly of the white diaspora across the world. That is why "Jewish comedies" are not depicting Ethiopian Jews, for instance.

[StealthMode]

Originally Posted by Kevin

We're all of African heritage if you want to go back far enough.

ETA: This is all I can really add to the thread because I may be one of the few Black people who doesn't particularly get my knickers in a twist when someone alters his/her skin color for a costume (if they are dressing as a specific person).