Why is blackface present in Japanese media and such?

[piloting]

Personally I'm HIGHLY skeptical about that it's b/c there not used to seeing black people and therefore are ignorant.I'm also keeping in mind of how historically speaking Japan doesn't exactly have a good track record for cultural sensitivity... to say the least.

I mean really in 2012 Tokyo got ranked as #4 on a list of global cities (global economic powerhouses with loads of cultural instituitions,money,politics and infrastructure to back it up),Japanese pop culture and technology is very much recognized and globally lucrative with many people fawning over Japanese culture yet are they sincerely sssoooo oblivious as to not understand that,that blackface *stuff is extremely offensive !?!?!.

I mean wouldn't they get just as beserk if people in the US still practised yellowface a la Mickey Rooney in Breakfast at Tiffany's?!?.I've heard some say that this is done as a tribute to black culture but doing yellowface is definately no tribute to Asian culture now is it ?!?.Like WTFlip is this !?!.

http://japansociology.com/2011/08/21...-it-ever-left/
http://www.thomasawilson.com/global-...ese-blackface/
http://www.collegehumor.com/video/38...ese-black-face (of Louis Armstrong of all ppl!,a guy who actually lived when that blackface discriminatory garbage was common!)

I mean they're obviously just as capable of depicting black people in a positive way (at least try to do it in the physical aspect) like with some of the Gotei captains from Bleach along with Matthieu,Hild,Gidget and Linck from Eureka 7.What is more flipping flippant is when people who are very much aware of this espouse this even further(I'm looking at you TeamFourStar's DBZA version of Mr.Popo!).

I'm also aware that a bit of this stuff stems from the Ganguro subculture(which little translates as "black face") were ppl go with bleached hair and tanned skin.The Pokemon Jynx is supposedly inspired from this.But I mean come on HONESTLY BLACKFACE?!?!.It's like Japanese ppl aren't aware that there is VERY much a thing such as a dark-skinned Asian person.

I'm sorry if this seems like an overly angry posting but I'd really think that a society who has sucessfully had their material and abstract products internationally recognized could be aware of this.It's just one of those things that get in my craw about Jpop as much as I like lots of stuff in it.

*infamously Mr.Popo and some other Toriyama stuff,the Lord of Terror's bottle in "Ah!My goddess" and the infamous Japanese version of Jynx and Oilman from the Megaman series

[Hazard]

I spend nearly the first two decades of my life not knowing a blackface was supposed to be offensive. It wasn't until I came to the States that I learned the fact, and even now I can't really feel offended at the stuff. I only know people do. This despite the fact that my country has a black population, one significantly bigger than the one in Japan.

So you would be surprised to learn that what can be considered offensive in one part of the world is not necessarily considered to be so in another.

[Siriel]

It's more that it isn't considered offensive by most of the world, as Hazard said. I never really saw the problem with them.


Also, I'd advise you to remove the part about the nuclear bombs because that is just asking for a flamewar if someone feels like correcting you.

[Len Ikari145]

It's more that it isn't considered offensive by most of the world, as Hazard said. I never really saw the problem with them.

Hell, I *am* black and I never found it remotely offensive.

[Fast]

Blackface itself isn't the offensive part. It was where it came from that pissed people off so much. I don't even think its that big a deal in America anymore since Tropic Thunder had very little outcry.

[Alex]

Blackface itself isn't the offensive part. It was where it came from that pissed people off so much. I don't even think its that big a deal in America anymore since Tropic Thunder had very little outcry.

Since the invention of the internet, if something is capable of offending people, people will be offended.

[Fast]

Since the invention of the internet, if something is capable of offending people, people will be offended.

Of course. I meant comparatively though. TT certainly had some backlash but compared to other internet hate and in national news media, etc it was minimal IIRC.

[Holy Spirit]

Personally I'm HIGHLY skeptical about that it's b/c there not used to seeing black people and therefore are ignorant.I'm also keeping in mind of how historically speaking Japan doesn't exactly have a good track record for cultural sensitivity... to say the least.

I mean really in 2012 Tokyo got ranked as #4 on a list of global cities (global economic powerhouses with loads of cultural instituitions,money,politics and infrastructure to back it up),Japanese pop culture and technology is very much recognized and globally lucrative with many people fawning over Japanese culture yet are they sincerely sssoooo oblivious as to not understand that,that blackface *stuff is extremely offensive !?!?!.

I mean wouldn't they get just as beserk if people in the US still practised yellowface a la Mickey Rooney in Breakfast at Tiffany's?!?.I've heard some say that this is done as a tribute to black culture but doing yellowface is definately no tribute to Asian culture now is it ?!?.Like WTFlip is this !?!.

http://japansociology.com/2011/08/21...-it-ever-left/
http://www.thomasawilson.com/global-...ese-blackface/
http://www.collegehumor.com/video/38...ese-black-face (of Louis Armstrong of all ppl!,a guy who actually lived when that blackface discriminatory garbage was common!)

I mean they're obviously just as capable of depicting black people in a positive way (at least try to do it in the physical aspect) like with some of the Gotei captains from Bleach along with Matthieu,Hild,Gidget and Linck from Eureka 7.What is more flipping flippant is when people who are very much aware of this espouse this even further(I'm looking at you TeamFourStar's DBZA version of Mr.Popo!).

I'm also aware that a bit of this stuff stems from the Ganguro subculture(which little translates as "black face") were ppl go with bleached hair and tanned skin.The Pokemon Jynx is supposedly inspired from this.But I mean come on HONESTLY BLACKFACE?!?!.It's like Japanese ppl aren't aware that there is VERY much a thing such as a dark-skinned Asian person.

I'm sorry if this seems like an overly angry posting but I'd really think that a society that once had such extreme nationalism that one of the deadliest weapons invented was used on them twice so they could stop fighting and who has sucessfully had their material and abstract products internationally recognized could be aware of this.It's just one of those things that get in my craw about Jpop as much as I like lots of stuff in it.

*infamously Mr.Popo and some other Toriyama stuff,the Lord of Terror's bottle in "Ah!My goddess" and the infamous Japanese version of Jynx and Oilman from the Megaman series

*shrug*


It doesn't bother me.

[Libaax]

Of course Blackface is offending but it depends on the culture, where it is in the world. It should be more offensive in countries where there is dark skinned population.


The only reason the black face in Tropic Thunder wasnt offensive is because it was comedy, fiction. Like Dave Chappelle type comic jokes about race, use N word and others because it can be made funny. You cant go stereotype people like they do in stand up or use N word to black people....

[DeadXMan]

Of course Blackface is offending but it depends on the culture, where it is in the world. It should be more offensive in countries where there is dark skinned population.


The only reason the black face in Tropic Thunder wasnt offensive is because it was comedy, fiction. Like Dave Chappelle type comic jokes about race, use N word and others because it can be made funny. You cant go stereotype people like they do in stand up or use N word to black people....

I call Bullshit on it was comdey on TT. Since Minsteral shows were mostly comedy acts yet people cal the orginal Amois and andy radio show racist

[The Black Guardian]

Blackface itself isn't the offensive part. It was where it came from that pissed people off so much. I don't even think its that big a deal in America anymore since Tropic Thunder had very little outcry.

Yet there's outcry when Ashton Kutcher pretends to be an Indian guy.

[Nik Hasta]

Man, I sure can't imagine why a country with a long, long history of isolationism and fierce national pride that resulted in them not really encountering black people until very late on in their cultural development and even now not having a really stable and strong black community like the United States would have a really weird/under developed approach to portraying black people in their media.

I literally cannot imagine why that would be. ¬_¬

Seriously, you say that you don't believe it's because they don't see black people that much but that actually kind of is the case. Japan doesn't have a strong black presence outside of the major metropolises and the community that exists there is nowhere near as closely knit and as organised as the African-American community. They don't have much of a cultural presence which leads to Japanese media to indulge stereotypes because that's what seems appropriate to them.

Plus, Japan is kind of a racist place in general, not just to black people. I have a bunch of friends who work and teach out there and have done so for years and they are still not really accepted as people who live there because they are different. See this article here for examples of how foreigners are kind of shut out from having a real cultural influence. Combine that with an intense sense of national pride and the importance of "being Japanese," and much stronger emphasis on national heritage than almost anywhere in the West and you have a place that will seem pretty backward and outdated in it's portrayal of other cultures.

In short, there are some countries which are cultural melting pots and there are some that aren't.

Japan isn't. It's not a good thing that it's like that but it genuinely is borne of lack of cultural reference points and lack of exposure that makes this stuff happen. It's acceptable in Japan because there isn't as vocal a black community as there is in the West.

[KnockBlock]

In short, there are some countries which are cultural melting pots and there are some that aren't.

Japan isn't. It's not a good thing that it's like that but it genuinely is borne of lack of cultural reference points and lack of exposure that makes this stuff happen. It's acceptable in Japan because there isn't as vocal a black community as there is in the West.

It isn't just Japan that is like that. It's this way with the other Asian countries too. You'd probably be surprised at how racist it can be with the Asian countries.

[Sound Silence]

Blackface itself isn't the offensive part. It was where it came from that pissed people off so much. I don't even think its that big a deal in America anymore since Tropic Thunder had very little outcry.

Well, it helps that Tropic Thunder was rather satirical with its portrayal of a white guy legitly trying to play black because he's that good of an actor.

As opposed to having a white person done up as a black character actually presented as an actual black character.

And even then, the blackface issue isn't about portraying a role, it's about exaggerated racial stereotypes presented specifically to be mocked. Hence the literal soot-colored skin and ridiculous red lips.



Now, I wouldn't at all defend what's going on in Japan in terms of views on race, but it can be a boon to understand why these things happen and realize that sentiment isn't precisely the same as in America or elsewhere so you know how to handle it.

It isn't just Japan that is like that. It's this way with the other Asian countries too. You'd probably be surprised at how racist it can be with the Asian countries.

I wouldn't. I mean, to us, they're all just "Asians" with maybe a country of origin. But there's issues like Koreans being treated poorly in Japan, minorities in China being mistreated, etc.

[DeadXMan]

I think it has more to do with Ashton Kutcher then being a race thing...