Der Belsnickle

A living history presentation on the PA Dutch tradition of the Belsnicklel. Stoudt's Brewery, Adamstown Pennsylvania.

Amateur Video: I Like Turtles... in Blackface!

Check these people out doing a parody of the "I like turtles" kid. Notice the description reads only "we are not racist."

Black Juggalos

Some of you may ask, "What is a Juggalo?" The simplest explanation is to say a Juggalo is a fan of the band Insane Clown Posse, and other bands of this type.

Is there any such thing as a Black Juggalo? Here's one:


Here's a video feature a band called Twiztid, made in conjunction with ICP. Note the "clown face" of the ICP members in the background. Then, note that the bandmembers of Twiztid wear simple whiteface.


Do Black devotees of Twiztid wear whiteface?

Totò’truffa (1962)

From Under the Neapolitan Son:

"One example: In the film Totò’truffa 62, Neapolitan actor-legend Totò demonstrates how Neapolitans mobilize Africanness. In full blackface and with a giant nose ring, Totò pretends to be the Ambassador of Catongo and says into a telephone: “In casa bubu? In casa bubu? Mbutu? Mbutu? Non buttare niente. E’ peccato! Non buttare... Cosa vola, cosa buole? Ta ta ta bum bum zu, bubu bubu juju.” He then says to the object of his scam of his accomplice, played by Nino Taranto, also in blackface with nose ring, “Questo animalo da che sta in Italia ha imparato parlare in napoletano. Dice pure pommarola in gop. Nel catongo ce ne uno solo [people with the last name Rossi]. Tutti gli altri sono neri. Vedi lui e’ nero, tutto nero. Ci sono anche i gialli ma i gialli sono i peperoni,” In this scene, the juxtaposition of blackness/Africanness with napoletanità functions as a performance of shrewd otherness. When the “real” ambassador arrives with his adjutant (two black men without nose rings), Totò and Taranto escape dressed as Che Guevara and his wife. Totò has played Tarzan, a Turk, a Sheik: all of these representations of Otherness are folded into his Neapolitanness. Totò belongs to Naples—the clever fool who fools everyone."

Incredible Love / Kambakkht Ishq (2009)

Sabbir Khan brings us the first Bollywood movie shot at a Hollywood studio with an appearance by a major US star.

Includes extended cameos by Sylvester Stallone, Denise Richards and Brandon Routh as themselves. The filmmakers also help themselves to red-carpet footage of even bigger American stars.

And of course, the movie includes Akshay Kumar in blackface as stuntman, Viraj.

Running time: 142 minutes. In English and Hindi with English subtitles. Not rated (sexual suggestiveness).

Watermelon Nights - The Meth Minute 39

I noticed that the watermelon tells the eggplant that he wouldn't like it. The Italian-American slang word for "nigger" is "moolie" or "moulinyan," which is derived from an Italian dialect word for "eggplant."

Anybody want to zero in on this as some sort of racial atrocity?

The Actors’ NET of Bucks County, PA production of “Finian’s Rainbow”

(Bucks County, Pennsylvania) Whiteface to be used in The Actors’ NET production of “Finian’s Rainbow”.

This, of course reminds me of the movies Watermelon Man, and to a lesser degree, True Identity. In fact, I spoke with the director Joe Doyle, and he said Watermelon Man was his inspiration.

Doyle says the motivation was not simply to quell potential protests, but to use one actor through the entirity of the production. Bill Thompkins is a wonderful actor, that Joe has wanted to cast in Finian's Rainbow for years.

Disney's "The Princess and the Frog" (2009)

This is proof that Black people are overly sensitive. Furthermore, it leads me to believe that no amount of appeasement will ever be enough for some people.

I quote from Wikipedia"

There was some controversy when media first had details of the film the name of the heroine of the movie (a 19 year old girl of African American heritage) was announced as Maddy (short for the French name Madeleine) with the film set in the French Quarter. The character's name was perceived by some as to be a typical, lower-class, "slave name", mostly for sounding and looking similar to Mammy (a variant of mother) considered a stereotype due to Hattie McDaniel's character in Gone With the Wind. The heroine also had a job as a maid, like Cinderella and Snow White, which received complaints as being racially insensitive.

On April 20, 2007, E! reported that the title of the film could possibly be changed from The Frog Princess to The Princess and the Frog, and that the lead character Maddy may be getting a name change as well.[25]

On May 4, 2007, USA Today published an article regarding the film in which they referred to it under the aforementioned title, The Princess and the Frog, and referred to the lead character as "Tiana" rather than Maddy, supporting the earlier reported name change possibilities.[26]

On May 8, 2007, BET and other online sites reported that Disney spokeswoman Heidi Trotta stated that some of the original release information was incorrect, and confirmed the USA Today names "Princess Tiana" and The Princess and the Frog to be correct. Trotta stated "Princess Tiana will be a heroine in the great tradition of Disney’s rich animated fairy tale legacy, and all other characters and aspects of the story will be treated with the greatest respect and sensitivity."[27]

In March 2009, once more information of the film's casting was released, the African-American community had contention with the fact that the Prince isn’t black.[22] Prince Naveen comes from a fictional land named Maldonia, and is voiced by Brazilian actor Bruno Campos. Angela Bronner Helm from Black Voices, a website that focuses on African-American culture, wrote in a March article:
“ ...Disney obviously doesn't think a black man is worthy of the title of prince. I guess Sasha and Malia and all the other little black girls out there should just shut up and be thankful to have something! Little black boys will have to wait another 20 years.[28] ”

William Blackburn, former columnist at The Charlotte Observer, voiced his criticism of another matter. He stated that the "story is set in New Orleans, the setting of one of the most devastating tragedies to beset a black community" and felt the choice of this setting was "insensitive."[28]

[Wiki | IMDB]

In theaters December 11, 2009.

Timothy Ellender Under Fire Once Again

Terrebonne Parish, New Orleans, Louisiana. Judge Timothy Ellender, of the 32nd Judicial District Court is in trouble again.

This time he is not being harassed about wearing blackface to a party, as he was in December of 2004.

In fact, it sounds to me like he did nothing wrong. Sometimes, stupid people need to be told what to do. The honorable judge was simply letting this lady know the real deal.

Here's a biased article.

Vampire Girl vs. Frankenstein Girl / Kyûketsu Shôjo tai Shôjo Furanken (2009)

IMDB

Cyon Black & White

Korean LG subsidary Cyon (싸이언) "Black & White" advertising campaign.

Video on their site.

"White Like Me" (1978)

Lend Me a Tenor

Stanley Tucci will direct on Broadway for the first time with Lend Me a Tenor, a revival of the Ken Ludwig comedy that originally played Broadway in 1989. Set in 1934, the plot revolves around a disastrous performance of Otello by the Cleveland Opera Company in which the star bows out at the last minute and the general manager convinces his assistant to put on blackface and perform the role.

T.R. Knight (Grey’s Anatomy's) will be blacking up as Max.

[Variety]

Black People Carry on the Minstrel Show Tradition

Look. I am making a statement right now. Black people need to go ahead and own up for their shit. No more blaming the White man.

Catch the preview of "My Manny" during the show Spike Lee referred to as "minstrel-like," Tyler Perry's House of Payne.

So, is that anything like "My Mammy?"

But, y'all can celebrate that Vibe Magazine has shut its doors. One down, right? So, that's one less "Shit Hop" magazine poisoning the minds of the youth.

"NYC Prep" (2009)

Two of the girls (Taylor and one other) in this reality show are at a spa, in a hot tub, with some sort of black facial application. More details later.

Blackface and Darky Iconography

I will at some point make a definitive statement about the topics of blackface and darky iconography at this location.

For now I defer to the Wiki understanding of the topic.

Man, My Blog Got Locked.

My blog was locked. What is up with that? Has that ever happened to you?

Really, when I log in, that shit still says it is locked. But I was able to publish this post, then edit it.

Update: it seems fine now. Probably some hater flagging me somehow. Anyone know about that?

This brings something up in my mind, though. You see, my MIND was on lock due to haters. That's why there was such a gap in my postings. All I could think about was the haters. That's what inspired me to begin my other blog, American Gunman.

Ninja Warrior

I am basing this one on the following tweets, for now.

dbmcisaac: There's a guy on Ninja Warrior (Japanese show) in blackface (I'm not kidding) as Obama. The crowd is chanting, in English, "Yes We Can."
2009-06-27

SwanL: Japanese man in blackface makeup, an Obama impersonator in #ninjawarrior. Crowd chants "Yes we can!" as announcer sez "No, you can't"
2009-06-21

Could this clip be what they refer to? Maybe I'll ask.

Mario Martone’s production Verdi’s Un Ballo in Maschera (A Masked Ball) - Review

"...the catalyst is the sorceress Ulrica, sung with goggle-eyed fervour (and in black-face) by the Russian mezzo Elena Manistina."


For the full article, read Thrills from the pit in Un Ballo in Maschera at the London Evening Standard.

The Minstrel Show (2009)

"Anna Niesterowicz’s & Łukasz Gutt’s film The Minstrel Show (2009) engages with a form in American entertainment that appeared in the 1830s and included white people performing burlesque or music acts in blackface. Although it lost its original popularity towards the end of the 19th century, the minstrels played a role in shaping stereotypes about blacks well into the 20th century, as the white, blackfaced performers continued to appear on TV shows and other forms of popular entertainment. Niesterowicz & Gutt staged a blackfaced big band performance of Frank Sinatra’s song at the S1 Studio of the Polish Radio, where many outstanding recordings of classical and experimental music have taken place since the studio was established in 1991." (1)

1. Artdaily.org - The First Art Newspaper on the Net

Chantry Primary School in Gravesend, UK Bans Morris - Endangers Free Thought Everywhere

I am Todd Gwynn, host of Bambizzoozled. My surname, Gwynn, is Welsh, and is translated into the English word "white."

At the Welsh borders there is a tradition known as Border Morris, which involves dancing and the blackening of faces with makeup, or a burnt cork concoction. Here we have an incident of a school banning the practice.

I believe this to be a combination of Black appeasement, as well as White guilt. It's bullshit.

Read an article here:
School bans black-face Morris Men

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (2009)

Tom Kenney, better known as Spongebob Squarepants, does some anthropomorphic blackface. This is when a White actor voices a Black character. Examples are the crow named Jim Crow in Dumbo, or Cleveland Brown of Family Guy.

Boston.com said the following:
"...what are we to make of Mudflap and Skids (both Kenny) [sic], a pair of shuck-and-jive Autobots who talk in ridiculous gangsta-speak. The insultingly unfunny comic relief of “Transformers,’’ they’re Jar Jar Binks times two and the first known example of robot blackface." (1)

Now, see, this article isn't just comparing something to blackface. This is an actual form of blackface. The voice that comes out is the actor's, but the face is not. The culture of the character is discernible. In this case the character is culturally Black.

But here's where they fucked up: Tom Kenney doesn't do both voices. A Black actor, named Reno Wilson voices Mudflap. So what we have here, is not only a case where blackface is used, we have another case of a Black individual perpetuating what is known as darky iconography.

So is there anything wrong with that? No. It is called comedy. Black people need to lighten up (get it?). They are way too sensitive and vocal about little non-issues. You have to let that small shit go if you want to be taken seriously on the actual issues. Especially when the real percentage count is less than fourteen, not eighty. Are you up for the downstroke CC?

It's all about how sensitive one chooses to be.

How about the name Mudflap? Why a brother gotta be MUD-flap? What's up with that.

1. Boston.com article.

Comparing Things to Blackface: Bruno

Now people are out there comparing Bruno to blackface.

Well, people are always raising hell about things being "like blackface." I am sick of it - I've been sick of it.

These same people were screaming about "blackface" regarding the non-homosexual actors in Brokeback Mountain playing gay roles. This same thing was happening over Sean Penn in Milk.

People have said the same thing about fat suits.

Also, people were tripping on Angelie Jolie for A Mighty Heart , as well as Jolene Blalock for Slow Burn. If any of the things people compare to blackface, or call the "new" blackface, comes even close, it is this. These women are playing roles that involve race. With jolie, she is playing an actual woman, who is Afro-Cuban. With Blalock, she is a White women - I guess - that acts Black to get in with gangs for some undercover shit. I forget exactly. It was somewhat confusing at the time even.

So anyway, why does this disgust me so much? Well, search the news at Google for the word "blackface" and you will find several things. First, individual citizens being harassed over their choice to use blackface at some point. These may be officials of some sort, or often college students. Journalists write about the incident with an assumption that blackface is bad, and these people are guilty of some sort of racial bigotry, etc.

At the same time, you will find Robert Downey Jr. being praised for his role in Tropic Thunder. So what the fuck?

Society is completely hypocritical so it can just suck my motherfucking balls. You need to leave them damn college kids alone with their fucking "thug" parties, and shit. The NAACP coming up in there talking shit. Take your ass to the movie Dance Flick, then go bitch at the Black family known as the Wayans if you don't like it.

I already wrote an article called "Blackface is the New Blackface" about this. So read that.

Year One (2009)

Year One features Bill Hader as a Shaman in blackface.

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