Was the act racist?

[fireheart17]

http://www.news.com.au/adelaidenow/story/0,22606,26181298-5006301,00.html

Basically, Hey Hey is a varety show, sort of vaudeville in a way. They've done two reunion specials.

The act was part of a Red Faces segment, which involves different talent acts.

Basically, my question is....is the act in question too racist? The show itself is mostly unrehearsed, but prerecorded.

[powerboy]

I cannot say that it is racist. Yeah they have black face paint on, but that is not racist itself. Now if they were spewing racist bs, then yes it would be racist.

[fireheart17]

I should probably add a bit more. I did actually watch the whole show (albeit taped as I was working). Harry Connick Jr. wa the guest judge for this one. (usually the lineup is Red Symons, one female guest, one male guest.) During THIS particular act, he looked a bit more shocked of the act-I think he was unaware.

Apparaently the act was done 20 years ago as well....

ETA: (I was in the middle of class when I typed this up)

Regardless of whether the act itself was racist, I feel that the whole act was done fairly poorly. At least compared to some of the other acts.
I can still remember some of the older acts on Red Faces from years ago (the show went off air when I was about 9, but they occasionally showed other Red Faces clips from time to time) and I've sort of noticed a bit of a shift in what's considered a winning act.

-One particular episode I remember was nothing more than a woman doing rhythmic dribbling (the fluid kind, not the ball kind). It was to Barber of Seville IIRC. Only time I can remember that Red gave her a score of 10 (normally, his scores were below 5) She would up winning that night.
-Another act-that was on last night-consisted of a guy called "DJ Burpinator." Basically, beatboxing with burping added. His score was about 12.

[BroomJockey]

I cannot say that it is racist. Yeah they have black face paint on, but that is not racist itself.

I suggest that you look up "black face."

[Peppergirl]

I suggest that you look up "black face."

*shudder*

A fairly mainstream show I watch had a blackface bit on it a while back. It was appalling.

[Nyoibo]

For an American audience, yes it probably would have been seen as racist, for an Australian audience, no I don't think it is.



(the show went off air when I was about 9

Quiet you young'un.

[violetyoshi]

I couldn't believe they were so ignorant as to not know it was offensive. Perhaps Australia should get in touch with the rest of the world, if they're going to invite people from outside their country there. If I were an Australian I'd be ashamed.

[powerboy]

Just because you view something as racist, does not mean that everyone else is going too.

[JuniorMintz]

I couldn't believe they were so ignorant as to not know it was offensive. Perhaps Australia should get in touch with the rest of the world, if they're going to invite people from outside their country there. If I were an Australian I'd be ashamed.

Your typical Australian citizen is no more responsible for this handful of black faced performers than I am for the behavior of the dumb bitches on "The Hills". I certainly hope that the Aussies in my life wouldn't hold the twaty behavior of Heidi and Spencer against me.

[fireheart17]

Your typical Australian citizen is no more responsible for this handful of black faced performers than I am for the behavior of the dumb bitches on "The Hills". I certainly hope that the Aussies in my life wouldn't hold the twaty behavior of Heidi and Spencer against me.

I really don't bother when it comes to trashy celebrities overseas.

and Ny, yes I was quite young when the show went off air, and I was quite sad as well...my whole family loved it, right down to my grandparents. And heck, there were a LOT more things to get upset about in the whole 20 something years of the shows run. There were Irish jokes, various satirical jokes about race, sex or something similar. Some of them were a bit outdated, but even now, who cares? For quite a few people I know, their parents let them watch it because it was a lot more cleaner than stuff like Big Brother.

[Gravekeeper]

Not sure if it deserved international headlines, and I would not say it was racist to be honest ( Not blackface itself, but the performers. )

Ignorant, yes. But not racist. I really don't think they meant any harm, but yeah someone probably should have backed up and went "Hey, wait a sec." before they ever made it to the stage like that.

[suchislife2]

You know I heard about this. Saw the act. And I honestly don't see the racism. I see that maybe they didn't really think it through properly and that it could have been done with a little more tact. But it wasn't done for the purpose of insulting people.

I can't see how this little skit can get international headlines? Really honestly don't! What pisses me off though is that poeple are now labeling Australia as a WHOLE, a racist country. I think that is harsh. Why is it that something so small can taint the feelings towards a whole country? That goes for any country.

[Boozy]

I certainly hope that the Aussies in my life wouldn't hold the twaty behavior of Heidi and Spencer against me.

That may be true of the Aussies, but we Canadians are a spiteful and unreasonable lot. Every time I see another public spat between Jon and Kate, I think to myself "That Junior Mintz should be ashamed of herself. She really needs to get this under control." :D

[Nyoibo]

I can't see how this little skit can get international headlines? Really honestly don't!

If it wasn't for Harry Conick Jr. it wouldn't have.

[BroomJockey]

Okay, I've finally formulated how to phrase my opinion on this.

Blackface, in and of itself is racist in my opinion. It's like n***er. The connotations are just too firmly ingrained. Maybe one day it'll be okay again, or it'll be repurposed in use just like kids who say "guido" don't mean Italian guys, but those over-gelled, fake-tanned "frat-looking" douches. But for now, blackface is racist.

However! That doesn't make the people doing it racist. They could just be deeply socially tone-deaf. Or any of a dozen other explanations. So I wouldn't hold it against them unless there was some real malice behind the act.

[JuniorMintz]

That may be true of the Aussies, but we Canadians are a spiteful and unreasonable lot. Every time I see another public spat between Jon and Kate, I think to myself "That Junior Mintz should be ashamed of herself. She really needs to get this under control." :D

You're so right, and I apologize for my failure to set them on fire. I'll try to remedy that over the weekend. :p

[Nyoibo]

Blackface, in and of itself is racist in my opinion. It's like n***er. The connotations are just too firmly ingrained.

In the US yes, not here it isn't though, blackface, even the word nigger doesn't have the same conotation here as in the US, simply because it doesn't have the same history behind it.

[BroomJockey]

not here it isn't though

Er, it might not have been as abused, but it was still the practise of putting a white person in black make-up, and acting in a stereotypical manner, yes? Thus, racist, and while not as ingrained, same connotations.

[Kalli]

I couldn't believe they were so ignorant as to not know it was offensive. Perhaps Australia should get in touch with the rest of the world, if they're going to invite people from outside their country there. If I were an Australian I'd be ashamed.

There are so many things wrong with this statement, I don't even know where to start.

1) You are calling Australians ignorant, yet you have the ignorance to demand we "get in touch with the rest of the world" (read: America). Australia has a different culture to America. We are far more laid back, you don't have to like it, but you don't have to tell us how to be, either.

2) Since when is the average Australian responsible for being ashamed when someone on television (who 99.9% of us have never even crossed paths with) does something that offends people? That's just a completely absurd insinuation.

3) Suggesting that a country should conform to the culture of another country (again, read: America) in order to invite people to visit? I believe the whole point of visiting another country is to experience a different culture. The entire planet isn't striving to be just like America, nor should they be.

4) You are saying that ignorance is something to be deeply ashamed and embarrassed of. Do you actually know the meaning of the word ignorance? Australians honestly don't know that an act like that would be offensive, because we do not have the history that America does. We don't have that knowledge. How can we know the ins and outs of a very complex issue in a foreign country? Ignorance =/= arrogance.

[Nyoibo]

I couldn't believe they were so ignorant as to not know it was offensive. Perhaps Australia should get in touch with the rest of the world, if they're going to invite people from outside their country there. If I were an Australian I'd be ashamed.

1) I'd like to turn that around and replace Australia with USA.

2) I'd like to point out the irony of someone from the USA telling another country to "get in touch with the rest of the world"

3) The majority of Australians don't consider it offensive, but then again, we don't have such a huge history of slavery, segregation, oppression and racism that the US has. (that's not to say we don't have our own dark patches)

[fireheart17]

However! That doesn't make the people doing it racist. They could just be deeply socially tone-deaf. Or any of a dozen other explanations. So I wouldn't hold it against them unless there was some real malice behind the act.

I think they were trying to redo the act that they did about 20 years ago (and they dressed up exactly the same way, except with purple suits instead of white suits-right down to the shoe polish/tar/black facepaint)

But yeah, I don't think they had any real malice behind the act in the first place. They might've been aware that HCJ was a judge, but not too sure if he'd be offended or not (and vice-versa, I don't think HCJ was even aware of the act).

As for violetyoshi's comment, I'm with Nyoibo and Kalli. Not to get into an argument over whether Australians should be conforming to the US, but because Australia doesn't have the same history that the US does, why should they be treated like the US? (I'm thinking mostly anime examples here, but it's understandable in that case since I think most Australian anime is imported from the US or from Japan and distributed by Madman/Funimation)

[BroomJockey]

Australians should be conforming to the US, but because Australia doesn't have the same history that the US does, why should they be treated like the US?

You know, through-out this thread, I've been trying not to mind, but I just can't take it anymore.

I'M CANADIAN! I AM NOT USING A UNITED STATES PERSPECTIVE. I AM NOT HOLDING YOU TO THEIR STANDARD. FOR THE LAST TIME. I AM CANADIAN. /rant.

[fireheart17]

You know, through-out this thread, I've been trying not to mind, but I just can't take it anymore.

I'M CANADIAN! I AM NOT USING A UNITED STATES PERSPECTIVE. I AM NOT HOLDING YOU TO THEIR STANDARD. FOR THE LAST TIME. I AM CANADIAN. /rant.

My apologies Broom. I wasn't referring to you about the US comment, I was more or less referring to the fact that you were right about the fact that there was no real malice behind the act in the first place.

I was referring to violetyoshi's comment (and Ny's and Kalli's).

Apologies if I offended you.

[kiwi]

2) I'd like to point out the irony of someone from the USA telling another country to "get in touch with the rest of the world"

I'm glad I'm not the only one who thought of that :rolleyes:

Was the act racists, I don't believe that was the intent of the performers.

However it was highly insensitive and ignorant of them especially with an American as a judge. Harry looked like he was about to vomit with disgust.

We live in a global community now and there is no excuse to be culturally ignorant anymore.

[Slytovhand]

I know I'm coming late here (nothing new about that), but firstly:

I'M CANADIAN! I AM NOT USING A UNITED STATES PERSPECTIVE. I AM NOT HOLDING YOU TO THEIR STANDARD. FOR THE LAST TIME. I AM CANADIAN. /rant.
What, there's a difference??

( :p sorry - just kidding!)

As to the main point... no, it was not racist! Not by any normal definition of the term. Why? Because they were taking the piss/mickey/making fun of MICHAEL JACKSON and his lot - not the whole of a race of people! It would be no more racist than a white person choosing to look like Barak Obama and doing a take-off of him.. what's racist about that? Nothing! It's having a go at a person, not a whole group of people! Massive difference there!

Secondly, IIRC, HCJ has been on the show before, he knows how it works, so he shouldn't have been too surprised!

As for how he looked on the show... well, let's face it, it was a pretty crappy act! I was grimacing a bit too....

Hey Hey and Red Faces... for those who recall it (I being one), the winners weren't often the best (and, let'sface it, it was more like the least of the worst most times), so some pretty ... 'unusual' stuff got to win! Especially some of the really off-beat stuff (hence your examples, FH). Red was (is) weird like that!

And lastly, humour! Isn't that one thing that is supposed to go beyond all boundaries? Is it offensive? Almost certainly - but isn't it supposed to be? Isn't that what we laugh at? When a plane crashes and 500 people die, don't we make jokes about it? When an earthquake kills thousands of people, don't we make jokes? Aren't there jokes about every single little thing that can go wrong in our lives?? And isn't that the point? That we, as humans, can laugh at the world around us - and (hopefully) ourselves???

[fireheart17]

Well, I can think of a nice way to sum up this thread.

Despite this, Hey Hey is coming back for some more reunion specials next year :D

It'll be 10 episodes though, not a full year run like shows such as Neighbours etc.

[BroomJockey]

What, there's a difference??


I will murder you. :p Twice. I will kill you once, bring you back to life, and kill you again. Horribly! Lots of pain! Paper cuts! MANY paper cuts.

[lordlundar]

I will murder you. :p Twice. I will kill you once, bring you back to life, and kill you again. Horribly! Lots of pain! Paper cuts! MANY paper cuts.

Can I join in?:p

[Slytovhand]

Can I join in?:p

So... you want to be killed, brought back to life, and then killed again?? Slowly???

Ok - masochism.. fine!

[DesignFox]

Slyt, that last exchange between you, Lordlunder and Broomjockey is full of win.

Also, I agree with your point. I think it was just a crappy act. I don't think it was meant to be racist.

Or if it was...Well.... What isn't considered racist by somebody's standards, these days?

[jackfaire]

. What isn't considered racist by somebody's standards, these days?

It is considered by some racist that I currently have no friends that aren't Caucasian. It's not on purpose either it's just the way it is right now.