Some people are so easily offended that merely suggesting that a child is okay with wearing a costume and makeup of a celebrity of another race can get you fired that I wonder if getting a nice tan in the summer will be the next racist offense. Putting on "blackface" to deliberately mock African Americans is probably seen as unacceptable by most people. Not so far down this path would be using darkening makeup to look more like a black famous person as part of a costume for a holiday. But the way things are going I will not be surprised that soon a white person that goes into a tanning booth, or stays out in the sun too long on a summer day and is noticeably darker the next day will be seen as racist or guilty of "ethnic appropriation" of some other nonsense offense.
What is really annoying is that this sensitivity to color only goes in one direction. Having black actors play all the roles (or almost all the roles) in the Broadway show "Hamilton" is almost universally applauded. No one is up in arms over black actors portraying Alexander Hamilton, Aaron Burr or George Washington. I just wonder what would happen if a movie were made of MLK Jr.'s life, using a white actor with black makeup? Actually I don't wonder at all. Think of the great portrayal by Robert Downey Jr. as an actor playing a black man, but then again, that was comedy and part of the gag was that the white actor was acting as if he were really black, and a real black actor was constantly criticizing him for doing so. (In fact, if you haven't seen the movie "Tropic Thunder" it is well worth watching just for this part of the movie. Robert Downey Jr. steals the show with his portrayal, truly hilarious.)
So think about what you might face at work, or on the street, or elsewhere if you get a tan that is just a shade too dark. Crazy world we live in.
What is really annoying is that this sensitivity to color only goes in one direction. Having black actors play all the roles (or almost all the roles) in the Broadway show "Hamilton" is almost universally applauded. No one is up in arms over black actors portraying Alexander Hamilton, Aaron Burr or George Washington. I just wonder what would happen if a movie were made of MLK Jr.'s life, using a white actor with black makeup? Actually I don't wonder at all. Think of the great portrayal by Robert Downey Jr. as an actor playing a black man, but then again, that was comedy and part of the gag was that the white actor was acting as if he were really black, and a real black actor was constantly criticizing him for doing so. (In fact, if you haven't seen the movie "Tropic Thunder" it is well worth watching just for this part of the movie. Robert Downey Jr. steals the show with his portrayal, truly hilarious.)
So think about what you might face at work, or on the street, or elsewhere if you get a tan that is just a shade too dark. Crazy world we live in.
