Hanuman Devotees

Devout followers of Hanuman (or Haduman), the monkey god, paint their faces black and dress as monkeys, or langers.

From "Jolie" to Jolie

I always thought Angelina Jolie's name was interesting. Her dad is John Voight, one of my favorite actors as a child. Voight played Pat Conroy in the movie Conrack, based on the novel The Water Is Wide. The movie was filmed in part here in my home area.

But Angelina's name is Jolie. That just happened to be a nickname for The World's Greatest Entertainer, Mr. Al Jolson. This earlier "Jolie" was famous for blackface performances. In fact, most people think almost exclusively of Al Jolson when they think of blackface.

Interestingly enough, Angelina Jolie has taken a part in a movie called A Mighty Heart where she plays the role of some Afro-Cuban chick.

More later. Google it. Whatever.

American Dad

On Sunday, March 25th, 2007, American Dad explicitly used blackface in its humor.

Blackface SNL

So, I was just watching Hammond on SNL in blackface as Jesse Jackson, saying the word "Kramer" is to replace the word "Nigger".

"Mind of Mencia"

Carlos Mencia wore blackface in episode #209.

Cartoon Burglar Masks and Blackface

There is no doubt that soot gags have been used, and indeed currently are used, in cartoons as implicit and explicit blackface. For some time I have had a theory that burglar masks, or ski masks, when used in cartoons, are often a device being used where blackface would have been used in the past.

Finally, I have a good piece of evidence that links the mask to the minstrel. In the movie "Getting Away with Murder," an old lady has seen a man (Dan Akroyd) in a ski mask. As she describes the man to the police she say that she could only see his eyes, and that his face was covered in black. The cop then replies, "Like a minstrel?"

"Tyra Banks" Trading Races

First, Shelly, seen in her natural skin below, was made up in whiteface.




Then, Angela, whose mother is Black, and dad is White, was first made up in whiteface, then in blackface. This may be a first.

General Electric "Cleaner Locomotive" Commercial

In this new commercial a photographer fires his flash just as a couple of smoky locomotives pull up, and the entire crowd is the subject of a blackface soot gag.





Here is the video: