Does this offend just me?

Question

Tropic Thunder or whatever it is...that s**t Robert Downey Jr. is doing is basically modern-day blackface...anybody agree/disagree?

As a white man, I find it offensive.

Answer 1

not it is not,

it would be if he was playing a black character, but he isnt

just like in the movie white chicks they have a person that is playing a person acting like he is something else...

he is a white guy in real life and in the movie he is a white guy pretending to be black, this is not making fun of  black people its making fun of   way black feel white poel think we act

its making fun of a stereotype about stereotyping and also how they get actos in hollywood to play roles that do not fit them at all

Answer 2

I don't think it's black face on the same level as Al Jolson.

I think the mexican 'sambo' character is blackface.

Tropic Thunder is the equivalent of the Wayans' brothers in 'White Chicks' or Eddy Murphy portraying an old white man in one of his movies.

Answer 3

Have you not seen it?  His performance is brilliant.  It's not about making fun of black people at all; as a matter of fact it's an awesome satire about how actors supposedly lose themselves in roles.  It is absolutely hilarious when, in one scene, the actual black actor, annoyed with him, calls him the N word.  Downey's character slaps him and says seriously, "That word has been keeping us down for 400 years."  I was cracking up!  His performance did more to examine how black and white people view the relationship between our races than any other I can think of in recent cinematic history.  If you can't see beyond the "blackface" down to the nuance and subtext, I feel a little sorry for you.

Answer 4

No, im not offended as a black person. i mean the Waynan bros did White Chicks and was basically mocking....so I think everyone should stop being so sensitive...

Answer 5

I'm black and I'm  not offended

Answer 6

Are you really offended, or are you trying to play the role of White Hero? I think you are being way too PC and that you totally missed the point. Ever heard of irony or satire?

www.dictionary.com  

Answer 7

Movies don't normally offend me.  I'm an adult.

Answer 8

I am not offended because it is retarded to get offended at things like this. This is the type of cancer killing the world. GTFO.

Answer 9

As a black woman, I think it is funny as h**l.  This guy is an actor, portraying an actor, portraying a black man.  If it was 50-60 years ago, maybe I'd be offended because the sentiment was different.  If Eddie Murphy can disguise himself as a Jewish man (Coming to America) and people not be offended, why be offended at Robert Downey Jr., who happens to be one of my favorite actors?  

Answer 10

Were you offended when Eddie Murphy did "white face " on SNL? Or at the movie White Chicks? No, I didn't find it offensive.  

Answer 11

Relax.

They're just trying to be funny.

Answer 12

Yeah, but isn't that the point, the fact that it IS offensive? It's called satire, and it's drawing attention to the fact that someone would be so ridiculous as to undergo an operation to make themselves Black, and I don't think (I haven't seen it and don't plan to) that it's in any way condoning or promoting the ideology behind blackface. What it is doing is poking fun at someone who would be so foolish as to behave the way the character is behaving, and be so "committed" to playing the role of a Black man that he'd actually become Black literally, instead of pretending to be.

Answer 13

I understand where you're coming from, but the point of it all was that he's such a method actor, instead of casting a black actor, he took it so seriously he dyed his skin to play the part thinking he could do it just as good or better than a real black guy, which is funny in itself. I thought he did a brilliant job.  

Answer 14

I think they're just trying to do anything to be seen as "outrageous", some people like to push things just for the shock value.  To be honest I think the makers of the movie would prefer people were offended if it gets them talking about it.

Answer 15

Honestly, i think way too many people in this country are hyper-sensitive when it comes to race issues. There are many other things in the world right now that truly are offensive; true oppression, too many poor in this country, crime, etc.......

Answer 16

i'll have to watch it before i can judge. i prob wont see it for months if its just come out in america

Answer 17

I'm black and I think it's funny. He's not being offenseive at all. He's doing what should be done more often. Ignoring all this politically correct BS. I think it's more offensive when I'm watching a movie and see the only black people in the movie acting a fool and dressed like clowns satisfying the stereotype that we are placed under.  

Answer 18

I disagree. You're really cheapening terms like 'offensive' and 'racist' when you try to use them in this way.

Blackface was incredibly demeaning and insulting.

Tropic Thunder is a movie that mocks the absurdity of actors. If you had actually seen the movie, which I doubt you have, you would know that nothing about the film actually suggests than anyone involved in it thinks blackface is good. In fact there's another character who spends the entire film telling his character that what he's doing is offensive.

Answer 19

as a fellow white guy, I am likewise offended.  it is blackface and minstrelsy at its best and that is why the studio has targeted it towards young people who don't understand what they are watching or have the balls to be in an uproar.  then of course, you get people like tyra banks claiming it to be the "funniest movie" she's ever seen, as if she is the height of cultural awareness...