The concept of brownfacing

Brownfacing is something I hadn't really heard about until recently. I've been spending a lot of time on Tumblr and everyone knows how rife that site is with social justice blogs and all that, so that's where I was first introduced to the concept. I've mostly seen people use it in reference to cosplays, when white people choose to portray dark-skinned characters by applying brown makeup. Most people do this simply because they want to look more like the character they're dressing up as, but a lot of people consider it to be racist and liken it to wearing blackface.

I'm black, and I personally don't see anything wrong with it. To me, it's just a costume and as long as there are no racist intentions behind it, I don't see any reason to believe that it should be considered a racist act. Still, other people have a problem with it because in their view, it reduces skin color and ethnicity to a mere costume component—something you can put on and then wipe off at the end of the day when you're finished. They feel that it makes a mockery of racial minority groups even if the intention wasn't to hurt anyone.

As I said, I think it's harmless, but I'm interested in seeing what everyone else's thoughts are about it. Is it wrong, or do the individual's intentions matter?

Sorry if there's been a thread on this before, but I don't visit OTC very often. If this has been done I apologize.

I'll have to say that it comes down to the individual's intentions; a case-by-case basis, if you will.

Theatricality and dramaturgy, as disciplines, make extensive use of fabricating identities, and you can use these fabricated identities to communicate a strong political theme or, in this case, to just have fun pretending that you're some whacky shonen character. I don't have a huge problem with it. Having said that, depending on the character and the person playing that character, they ought to tread carefully. For example, I'll admit I'd be a little discomforted by the sight of a white guy doing black face so he can look more like Sazh from Final Fantasy XIII. Then again, I don't really care for Sazh all that much for the whole complainin' and jivin' act he does in the game, but that's besides the point.

Blackface is a sore topic for me because it has made our people look like complete fools, but the average otaku doesn't strike me as being someone on a mission to make an entire ethnic group or a particular skin tone out to be a caricature. As for the dressing and undressing part, it has the potential to degrade the concept of wearing one's skin as an identifier of race. On the other hand, stage makeup that changes the appearance of one's ethnicity can reinforce the argument that racial identities are not as permanently fixed as we sometimes believe. A few modern plays written and directed by African American playwrights have been made to specifically address this subject. Check out a movie called Bamboozled.

Sometimes, it might not matter so much in the case of some characters with pigment and hair features that are either totally impossible or not genetically likely. The protagonist of Outlaw Star is a redhead with copper-toned skin and yellow eyes, so I can see the justification for a pale-skinned person taking spray-on tanner or makeup to match his appearance. Too much of a hassle, if you ask me, but some people are just mental for cosplay.

This reminds me of Robert Downey, Jr.'s character in Tropic Thunder doing black face, expected reaction and all.

edited 16th Aug '12 10:59:10 PM by Aprilla

I don't see any problem with this.

I'm fine with brown face, black face, white face, yellow face, and red face as long as there no racist intent present.

IMO there's a pretty big elementary difference between exploitative minstrel stuff and cosplay. Yeah blackface has had some really awful connotations in the past, and yeah there are places in the country where racism is still a thing. But at this point blowing it out of proportion when it happens in a legitimate context is probably a step backwards.

Really, I'd be more concerned with making sure whoever did it did it right. Believable makeup is more difficult than most of the rest of the costume, and getting it right for all exposed skin is a pretty monumental task. A play I was in a while ago called for a cowboy tan, and I can tell you stage makeup tends to smear at the slightest touch — which means you stain your shirt sleeves and collar, you can't eat, you'd probably sweat off half of it, it looks terrible around the lips, and on and on. Cosplayers already have a tendency to be awful across the board, so doing skin color in good faith but badly and looking ridiculous will inevitably stir up almost as much of a racism shitstorm as doing it douchebag-ly in the first place.

There is something to be said for careless cultural appropriation and stereotyping, but the only thing that makes skin color a sacred cow in this regard is a (very understandable) backlash to it having been the basis for abuse for the better part of four centuries. As far as acting and costuming is concerned it's really just one more aspect of a human being — hair color, sex, personality, accent, dialect, cultural details, build, and yes, skin.

edited 16th Aug '12 11:27:47 PM by Pykrete

Although in cases like the Cloud Atlas movie, there isn't really an excuse. :/

What happened in the Cloud Atlas movie?

Instead of getting Asian actors, they got white actors and made them put on yellowface.

Still better than recasting all the white villains Asian and all the Asian heroes white.

Fucking Shyamalan.

Pyke: Well the Fire Nation was "Asian" so to speak. >.> But yeah, that skin colour flip was just what. :/

How do folks feel about people with skin pigmentation dressing up as albinos?

I don't remember anyone complaining about it for Powder.

I mean they complained about the movie being mediocre and the director being a sex offender, but not about the white-guy-plays-albino thing.

The problem usually comes more from albinos being written as evil or something, not from being portrayed by the actor.

edited 17th Aug '12 12:49:02 AM by Pykrete

Plus, there aren't many Albino actors out there.

@Pykrete: I was going to say. Fire Nation was also Asian. If they could even be called such given the world of ATLA.

They're at least mostly based off of Imperial Japan in any case, so yeah.

Anyway, off-topic. >.>

The act of applying make-up to try and look like you have black skin isn't really indicative of anything on its own. There's a world of difference between, say, a minstrel act and doing Othello.

Just what I was thinking.

Speaking of yellow face, does any one think a charlie chan modernisation could work?

I've never seen someone pull it off convincingly, so I think it just looks idiotic.

I've worn black makeup before and I'm so white a sunlamp makes me burn. I was playing Harriet Tubman for a school play.

Totally agree it's a case by case basis.

The Last Airbender is it's own mess up. I don't think this counts, especially since there was no attempt on behalf of the production to have the actors physically resemble their cartoon counterparts...at all.

^You know Gabrael I always thought you were black for some reason.

The race of cartoon characters is always a arguable but Avatar definitely came across as Asiany.

edited 19th Aug '12 12:53:27 AM by joeyjojo

nope, I'm a naturalized Irish American. :) It's flattering though!

Let's see:

Cartoon Water Tribe: Inuit, Native North American Tribes, something like that.

Movie: Bunch of random cornbread white people, including the two leads

Cartoon Fire Tribe: possibly Chinese, Southeast Asian, depends. Prince Zuko was very light skinned with a massive scar covering half his face, Uncle is a fat, happy man (who later rips out) who is very old and very Eastern Asian looking.

Movie: Leads are Indian, Zuko is Indian with a scar that is able to be hidden, underlings are weird, Zuko's Uncle is a late 40's chistled Western lookin solider

What bothered me with Avatar's ethnic makeup is they didn't even try. Katara has black hair, brown skin, and blue eyes. It looks really awesome! But even if they couldn't find a Native actress, well they could have gotten an Indonesian, Malaysian, Indian, African actress to play the part. I had no problems with a Chinese woman playing a Japanese Geisha because at least their ethnic groups are similar. But they didn't even try with Katara. They got a blonde, pale obviously western girl.

I don't mind Zuko being played by an Indian per se; I do mind how they toned down his scar. The magnitude of how visable that scar was a big development for his character. I minded immensly Uncle was white while all the other "bad" Fire Tribe leaders were Indian. First it didn't make biological sense, two it bothered me because I don't need anymore whitemen saviors.

Just like how all the "good" Germans in Valkirye had obvious British accents...*shudders*

Now Thor is where I think they got an ethnically diverse cast right. It's not in your face. It keeps to the mythology, and it is believable because the characters aren't token.

I understand if a low budget theatre, tv show, or other acting troop cannot always hire/find a specific ethnicity for that role, so they have to invent it with makeup on a different ethnicity. That's fine as long as it's with dignity, class, and the desire to give the role as much substance and sincerity as possible.

What bothers me is when productions do have the means to hire a talented actor close if not the exact ethnic group the character really is, and they fail to even try.

Dressing up a very talented Chinese actress to faithfully recreate a Japanese character and having Liam Neeson play Fidel Castro (god they look alike!), are good examples of where "brownfacing" tactics can be applied well.

Prince of Persia and Last Airbender are examples of where there wasn't a need or a thought given to consequenses of not attempting to give a character ethnic honesty.

Brownfacing? Hah, here in the Philippines, we have whitefacing: the inordinate application of make-up, powder, or any form of whitening medication (especially topical glutathione). It's been done in an opera version of [1] to portray the Spanish characters, similar to how blackface was once used in America.

edited 20th Aug '12 12:44:02 AM by ArgentumUranium

I heard that the Water Tribe ended up being white because the actress who played Katara was friends with Shyamalan's daughters.

This is a preemptive request. Please don't turn this thread into a discussion of the Avatar movie, specifically. That's pretty much been hashed out multiple times and it's not really about brownface at all — it either was or wasn't Racelifting, depending on which side of the issue you're on.

Let's keep it to the general concept of "brownface" (or whiteface, or blackface) as stated in the OP, as much as possible.

Thanks.

^Yeah good ponit, there is a big difference between hiring a white man to play a role originally writen for a black or asian character, and a actually trying to pass him off as one.

@Gabrael: hey me too! welll i'm not american but you know what I mean

edited 19th Aug '12 11:08:42 PM by joeyjojo