Alas, the people who have been in power (in government, industry, etc.) over the last couple of hundred years probably were mostly responsible for a lot of the problems we still face. And the top tiers of government and industry are still heavily white male. But I agree pointing out the race of those responsible is probably less effective than just trying to solve the problems themselves.
Another point – some people complain when we try to widen the scope of culture (e.g., being taught in schools) to include women and minorities. It seems to me that if a person complains about that, then they shouldn’t complain about narrowing the scope of the causes of problem away from women and minorities.
You too? Let me know when you want to go ride bikes and build a clubhouse, because I’m prepared to retcon my life and turn you into my fucking friend since childhood for pointing out what a piece of fucking garbage it is.
If I say they are racist I don’t say anything one way or the other about whether I am or whether other groups are. Just as if I say black lives matter I’m not saying anything one way or the other about the worth of other lives.
As a US citizen, why would I want them to? How would that help me or fellow citizens? How does that serve the interests of our own people, at the end of the day?
It mars an otherwise really watchable performance; Sridevi was and is hugely talented and full of personality. Here she is at an awards show 26 years later, reprising the song but without the dancers in blackface (I think they are supposed to be paniolos).
Somehow this kind of whitewashing doesn’t seem to me as serious an affront as the minstrel blackface thing, but I’ll have to think more about it to see if I can conjure up a reason.
The funny thing is that there are some modern Bollywood actors who seem to be actively emulating Fisher Stevens in the Ben Jahrvi role, for example, Uday Chopra in Pyaar Impossible. And of course even though he’s actually Indian, Ben Kingsley always seems to be playing a white English actor playing an Indian.
Single most important part of the Cracked article:
The rural folk with the Trump signs in their yards say their way of life is dying, and you smirk and say what they really mean is that blacks and gays are finally getting equal rights and they hate it. But I’m telling you, they say their way of life is dying because their way of life is dying.
Racism is a part of this. Classism is a part of this. Not being able to change as fast as the world around them- That’s the crux of the matter.
It has less of a distinct, nasty history as its own bit of racist weird. In this country at least, dunno if “brown face” might have been its equivalent in British India. But black face/minstrelry its its own complicated, separate thing. Representation/white washing and racist stereotyping are a factor. But noone was supposed to think those guys were actually black. And sometimes in the case of black minstrel performances an awful lot of people didn’t.
White washing and brown face of the sort Short Circuit 2 is a bit different. You’ve got a white actor taking the roll of an actual Indian person (poorly drawn or not), and intended to be viewed as actually Indian. Shit for a really long time I though Fisher Stevens was Indian. Or at least partially. As did apparently actual Indian Aziz Ansari
Lacking the specificity and nasty history of black face. That sort of white washing tends to be less viceral. It does less to bring you up short. Because you don’t recognize it instantly as that racist thing we’re all ashamed of. So it tends to come off as more clueless and sad than screamingly offensive. It sort of coasts on depressing, casual and institutionalized racism. Until “wait so that guys not Indian?” brings it all crashing down.
Also at fault is increased education, urbanization, and increased global business/travel/etc… Also a decrease in manpower needed for agriculture.
Nowadays it’s not that common to find people that haven’t roamed too far from their midwestern hometown. I’m going to hazard a guess that 50 years ago, there were a lot of agricultural folks who never left their county.
I can’t imagine I’ll ever be ashamed of suggesting that a Trump supporter is sexist. Serial sexual assaulter Trump is at least as obviously sexist as he is racist, and anyone who is willing to overlook this egregious behavior for any reason at all doesn’t care much for women.
I think a lot of people who advocate for trying to understand Trump supporters can see this worldview as something of a brick wall. I mean, he’s clearly scared as shit about HRC, but for no reason? I mean, what, is she going to intentionally nuke the nation herself because she’s some sort of…cartoon villain?
HRC is a flawed, flawed candidate, and I can’t blame someone for “voting their conscience” and writing in “Some Unicorn” or whatever, but the horror at her possible presidency is baffling.
