(April 19, 2019 at 6:00 am)Der/die AtheistIn Wrote: I won't deny that it has been used in the past to show blacks in a negative light, but was it always intendet to be so? Could it be that in some cases it wasn't actually insulting?
Let's take Tom and Jerry for instance. They did a lot of blackface jokes, but they were ususally short. It was usually one or more characters (which are animals) getting something black on their face(s) and they get the now infamous black face. I was little when I first saw a character from Tom and Jerry getting a black face, that was Jerry. Keep in mind, I didn't know at that time that blackface was a practice. At first I didn't know what he was supposed to be. I asked dad and he told me Jerry looks like a black. I thought the joke was because he got covered in black his race changed, even though he's a mouse, and his lips turned red after being covered black. I thought the result (looking like a black) was supposed to be funny only in this context, NOT ridiculous in it on itself. Now as an adult looking at these jokes I know they reference blackfaces, but my opinion about them hasn't chanced much. Now I see it as "because they got covered in black they have black faces, even though they're animals and their lips would in reality be black as well instead of red or pink". Are those jokes about race, or about blackfacing itself?
There was the episode "His mouse Friday", where they undoubtfully show actual blacks with blackfaces, however, that's it. Those characters appear only at the end and are used for a joke about wanting to cook the main characters. Tribes of blacks who hunt actually existed and they actually hunted. Sure, they didn't hunt cats and mice, but if the joke is about practices, then it's about culture, not about race. They did look ridiculous, but most cartoon characters do. Did the creators draw them this way, beacuse they see blacks as inferior or because they just wished to do some visual humour, like so many cartoon characters designs are supposed to be? Why isn't anyone complaining about Elmer Fudd and Yosemite Sam being offensive to midgets? Or Olive Oil to skinny women?
Another complaint is about the funny, sweet, chocolate mama that is also the owner of Tom. If you think that blackfaces are offensive, don't worry about her, we don't get to see it. The only time it was shown, she looked human. Her lips were red, but probably due to lipstick. She was also the owner of the house, outspoken, strong and had shown a caring side. Of course she had an accent, but there are people in real life who do. They deserve representation as well, and they can be just as funny and serious as other human beings. When I looked at her I saw an interesting, funny and black character, because she was written as such.
Yes.
Nay_Sayer: “Nothing is impossible if you dream big enough, or in this case, nothing is impossible if you use a barrel of KY Jelly and a miniature horse.”
Wiser words were never spoken.
Wiser words were never spoken.
