The movie 'Tropic Thunder' came up briefly in class, but I wanted to revisit it; particularly Robert Downey Jr.'s character, Kirk Lazarus who spends most of the movie in blackface. If you haven't seen the movie, Downey Jr. plays a serious method actor who is known for getting really into character with the roles he plays. In this case, Lazarus (a white man) has undergone "a controversial pigmentation procedure" in order to play the role of African-American Sgt. Lincoln Osiris.
It feels like an obvious thing to blog about for the week on minstrelsy, but it seems to me like the movie taps into this huge tradition without acknowledging the history that is affecting this character. His character is continually questioned about his decision, but he never addresses the racial aspect of it, and there is no explanation as to why the characters making the movie decided a white man in the role.
It is hard to say whether many of the features we discussed regarding minstrelsy are present in Downey Jr.'s performance, and I continue to struggle with deciding whether or not I find the portrayal offensive. However, I did find the movie very funny, which reminds me of the clip we saw about the making of 'Bamboozled' and the complexity of something being funny and entertaining, as well as racist and offensive. I guess my question is whether or not we think it is even possible for a representation like this not to tap into the conversations about power and authority that are part of the history of blackface. As I think someone said in class, "how long does it take before something is no longer bound by its history?"
(This is a link to an interview with RDJ talking about his character. He mentions at one point that the "potentially hazardous" consqeunces of his character are offset by the fact that the (one) other black character in the movie gives his character "a lot of guff". Those of you who have seen the movie - what do you think? Does it work?)
4 comments:
I think there’s more to be uncovered from Robert Downey Jr.’s comment about the success of being coupled with Brandon Jackson’s character, Alpa Chino. While it is true Alpa Chino does offset the precariousness of the character’s portrayal by mediating between Osiris and the audience through his “giving guff” or whatever, this answer eclipses Alpa Chino’s other function. I would say that both characters are examples of how to employ the usefulness of stereotypes for satire. In an attempt to dislodge these representations from the public consciousness, television, film, and other media now arrange stereotypes in painfully obvious ways in order to force the public to reconsider them. While there is the blatant misrepresentation on the part of Robert Downey Jr., Alpa Chino demonstrates how African Americans also share in the responsibility of self-representation. Alpa Chino is a parody of the mainstream hip-hop and rap artist-turned entrepenuer who turns to a movie career. His lifestyle of excess and disrespect for women carries another representation that is also relevant to Black culture. Robert Downey Jr.’s performance hearkens back to a history of minstrelsy and blaxploitation films, but Jackson’s demystifies whatever claims we have against Robert Downey Jr. by reminding us of the perceptions of race we construct today. Satire can be a double-edged sword because the meaning might be lost on some; in order to fully understand you should look beyond the humor and process the characters in a holistic sense.
You really can't critique his performance without taking a look at Alpa Chino's character. While he does represent treating women poorly, he's really a closeted homosexual who puts up a facade of masculinity to hide a truth he's worried will ruin his career. Would people still buy his albums if they knew Booty Sweat was about a guy named Lance? Alpa Chino criticizing RDJ's character for not being authentic creates a really well written build to the reveal that Alpa's projection of himself is in fact not authentic. It's also worth nothing blackface isn't what caused any controversy for this film, it was the use of the word "retard" that got serious protest.
The history of minstrelsy need not be covered within every movie that uses blackface. Blackface is a perfectly legitimate writing/acting tool that has been with us since before moving images ever existed.
I maintain a list of movies and TV shows which have used blackface. Here is what I have found:
Blackface has always been in use without complaint, but it had nearly dwindled away entirely. That is until Spike Lee made his movie Bamboozled.
He bitched and bitched about something no one was thinking about (blackface) for a couple of hours and showed a bunch of clips. He ended up bringing it back. He has created a spike in its usage.
Was it an accident? Well, let's see. In the movie, a character named DeLacroix creates a TV show that the network feels to be "too Cosby," and not Black enough. So, DeLacroix (D. Wayans) rewrites the show into a modern minstrel show. Inadvertently creating a massive wave of blackface popularity. Hmmm.
Anyway, fuck people who are crying about this shit. Enjoy blackface - we Whites are 76% of the population, let's act like it.
Visit the list of nearly 500 blackface incidents at Bambizzoozled!com.
Were they discussing blackface in the class you are taking prior to 2000? I doubt it. It was Spike Lee's Bamboozled that made the professor even think about it.
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