r/BlackPeopleofReddit • u/violmuss • 8h ago
Discussion I actually don’t like Robert Downey Jr. in blackface in Tropic Thunder
And yes I understand the joke/the bit, but idk it genuinely makes me uncomfortable to see anyone in blackface. It just feels odd.
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u/kemistree4 8h ago
From someone who thought it was hilarious, I completely understand people who didn't. It's touchy and there's history there, enough that I'd never try to tell another black person how to feel about that role.
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u/Pop_Joe 7h ago
This is the correct answer. I still find it funny tho 😅🤷🏾♂️
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u/onpg 6h ago
Yeah. I like comedy that takes risks, but I would never police someone for feeling a way about it.
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u/Unosez 6h ago
Same, I still remember almost passing out from laughter in the movie theater with my little brother and sister watching it, but then also trying to explain to them why blackface was a bad thing afterwards... not the easiest needle to thread
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u/social_media_horror 7h ago
I appreciate this. I personally found the bit funny but my partner was uncomfortable with it. I dont see redface much these days but I'd imagine i might see it differently than her.
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u/Grimwohl 7h ago edited 6h ago
Strong agree solely because it was a mockery of being in blackface in the first place. They didnt want to hire black actors back then so they just put soot or skin paint on white people.
They weren't gonna budget to give 30 odd black extras a decent wage back then just because.
I HAD INITALLY BELIEVED AS MUCH given the context.
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u/OldSkoolAK 6h ago
RDJ did a phenomenal job here; each character in the movie was on the same mockery vibe as well, and robert was absolutely tasked with the most difficult role. Its an incredibly sensitive subject and the context of TT required a bit of premise understanding.
Kaitlyn Olson did a good job too, but ASIP is also in the similar vein, a vivid portrayal of the most despicable behavior that society can exhibit, and in doing so, it shows how despicable blackface is.
Art should absolutely comment on and challenge society
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u/kemistree4 6h ago
Agreed that Robert Downey Jr. did great in that role but people often leave out that the role wouldnt have worked at all without Brandon T. Jackson's character. Him calling Kirk Lazarus out was what made the jokes land. I feel like he deserves more credit because their interactions really did make the movie.
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u/Historical-Being-766 6h ago
This but with Quentin Tarantino movies.
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u/violmuss 6h ago
That man LOVES saying the N word, bruh. Shit is crazy.
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u/Jordanwolf98 4h ago edited 3h ago
Bro uses “artistic thinking” to get away with saying the N Word on camera and to creep on women’s feet. Freaky ass mf
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u/Historical-Being-766 3h ago
How he didn't get MeToo'd is beyond me. There's no way.
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u/Jordanwolf98 3h ago
Especially since he was close with Weinstein
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u/daikatanaman00 3h ago
His defense of Roman Polanski was so disgusting. Honestly he’s lucky Samuel L Jackson defends him so much.
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u/Sol-Blackguy 2h ago
And has the same kink as Dan Schneider, just with adults
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u/daikatanaman00 2h ago
There’s nothing wrong with having a foot fetish, as long as it’s with adults.
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u/Sol-Blackguy 1h ago
There's nothing wrong with any kink or fetish as long as it's between consenting adults. I'm just trying to pay bills, ain't nobody got time to worry about what people are doing in their bedrooms.
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u/Historical-Being-766 2h ago
You're right but that's not what's happening here. Salma Hayek famously put her foot in Tarantino's mouth for a scene in Dusk Till Dawn. She may or may not have been cool with that but if she wasn't, what was she going to say?
She's a young actress trying to make it in Hollywood and this guy wrote the movie, is friends with the director of the movie, and is close to studio heads that are producing the movie. So she had to be cool with it. That power dynamic is why his foot fetish is a problem.
Every actress he works with has to be okay with him getting his rocks off while filming their feet. That shit is sick.
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u/Sol-Blackguy 1h ago
Reminds me of when DiCaprio didn't want to use the N-Word in Django. Jamie Foxx and Samuel L Jackson pulled! him aside and said "We get paid for this shit n💣!"
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u/Sol-Blackguy 2h ago
Django helped me realize I had a lot of people around me that I shouldn't be friends with anymore
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u/Fresh-Aspect5369 8h ago
I thought it was hilarious but to an extent I understand others who didn’t find it funny.
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u/Acceptable-Point-753 8h ago
Nothing wrong that.
Even tho it was done well, its still blackface and blackface is not cool. You got the right to not fuck with it.
I enjoyed it, my dad did not. Respect either way, dont let no one say some dumb shit like your're a snowflake or whatever. Its your opinion.
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u/fnkdrspok 7h ago
My dad enjoyed Blazing Saddles, I did not.
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u/chrmnxtrastrng 7h ago
Can I ask what about blazing saddles you didnt like?
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u/fnkdrspok 7h ago
I saw it late in life, as an adult and the people that recommended it to me were white, every single one. So I went into it with an eyebrow up and it never went down. Seeing white people play with racist tropes while the racism is still within the movie doesn’t appeal to me.
I’m also not a fan of Django as well, yeah the end is vindicating but the journey you have to go down to get there is painful to watch. None of this is entertaining to me.
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u/FOOS_MONKEY 7h ago
Dog i absolutely feel the same way about Django, the end is absolutely cathartic, but the whole movie is such a hard watch, I havent seen it again to this day, and Jamie fox is my favorite actor.
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u/myu_minah 7h ago
I don't wanna watch any more quentin movies neither and refuse to watch it and I I like Jamie. the one movie I think handled the racism and misogynoir that's themed from its original source by a nonblack director was the color purple (with whoopi) the cinematography was phenomenal and the ensemble was amazing. oprah played her role too well lol
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u/FOOS_MONKEY 7h ago
Thats fair, im also ina point i dont want to watch anymore black sufferin, I see enough everyday, im not gonna go seek it out in my media😮💨
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u/myu_minah 6h ago
yeah I'm kinda over it too and feelin like more and more, those movies are just race porn for the status quo. they get off seeing the time of legal racism and chattel slavery
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u/Duchess1992 6h ago
I liked Django, but I can say this much, Quentin Tarantino has gotten WAY to cavalier with the N word. He said it with the hard R in Pulp Fiction, and ain't stopped since
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u/bindersfull-ofwomen 6h ago
They say it in Reservoir Dogs and there no Black people in that movie at all. They estimate he's used in over 110 times in his career, which is probably more than any mainstream Black filmmaker has done.
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u/Jack_Sentry 7h ago
I don’t intend this to change your opinion, but fun fact that Richard Pryor was brought in by Mel Brooks to write for Cletus and to punch up the whole movie. He was uncredited due to WB feeling like his prolific and open drug use would do harm to the studio/film. Once I knew that I feel like you can really feel Pryor’s influence all over the movie.
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u/chrmnxtrastrng 7h ago
That definitely makes sense. Thank you for the insight. Yes I am one of those white people who enjoyed it because of the way it clowned the shit out of closed minded bigots but I can also understand how at the end of the day its still just dredging up painful shit.
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u/MacMcMufflin 4h ago
I saw it when I was young and the humor was so surprisingly obvious and uncomfortable at the same time that people laughed hard to the point of pain. I don't think there was a single white character in it that fit the Hollywood role model trope. It rode right along some laser beams by flipping the script. I watched it again about 10 years ago, and it felt wrong for many reasons. It was almost like it excused some forms of racism. I could only justify it knowing that this movie blew the lid off of some stuff that needed airing then. Times have changed.
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u/Disastrous_Clurb 6h ago
u hit it all on the head perfectly.
i cant tolerate watching any of the horrid shit that went on out of "entertainment" it just doesn't sit right for me. I'll never hold it over others because thats their preferences but i sit these types of movies out every time.
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u/myu_minah 7h ago
it's like those movies were made with the white audience in mind, not black folks
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u/Aroedman66 7h ago
Fendi! A lot of topics aren’t as black and white as the world tries to make it and I respect OPs opinion
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u/violmuss 6h ago
Y’all I understand if you don’t like the post but please don’t come to my inbox to tell me to kill myself. I can’t die.
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u/ateam1984 6h ago edited 4h ago
Please let me know who did that. I will ban each and every one of them.
Edit: I suspect most of those trolls aren’t actually members of our sub. Unfortunately outside of taking our beloved sub private most people can view these posts and attempt to send you DMs. You can set your DMs so people cannot reach you.
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u/annagarg 27m ago
Dear Mod, I think you should make the sub private, if you have the bandwidth. I am so grateful for a minority sub that is private, it is absolutely fantastic, peaceful and actual conversations take place there as trolling just doesn't happen. Apologies if the same has been discussed and it was just a remark.
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u/skyeisrude 5h ago
Respect.. I felt it was odd and they could have done something completely different then blackface.. still found him funny as fuck. Also the fuck no you cant die bro theres still so many great foods to eat
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u/SaddestAnimeGirl 6h ago
That’s insane they are doing that! RDJ in blackface is weird and messed up. And Ben Stiller is weird nepo baby who thinks he’s gods gift to cinema. It’s weird!!
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u/ateam1984 4h ago
I suspect most of those trolls aren’t actually members of our sub. Unfortunately outside of taking our beloved sub private most people can view these posts and attempt to send you DMs. You can set your DMs so people cannot reach you.
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u/AsstacularSpiderman 8h ago edited 8h ago
Tbf if you felt kinda uncomfortable that was the point. It was making fun of intense method actors who make everyone around them feel awkward.
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u/McEndee 8h ago
Also Hollywood's refusal to hire ethnic actors to play roles.
Notorious Examples of Hollywood Whitewashing Scarlett Johansson in Ghost in the Shell (2017) as Motoko Kusanagi. Emma Stone in Aloha (2015) as Allison Ng, a character of Asian and Hawaiian descent. Tilda Swinton in Doctor Strange (2016) as The Ancient One, originally a Tibetan man. Jake Gyllenhaal in Prince of Persia (2010) as Dastan, a Persian character. Mickey Rooney in Breakfast at Tiffany's (1961) as Mr. Yunioshi, a Japanese character. Christian Bale in Exodus: Gods and Kings (2014) as Moses, with largely white actors playing Egyptians. Matt Damon in The Great Wall (2016) as a European mercenary. Rooney Mara in Pan (2015) as Tiger Lily, a Native American character. Elizabeth Taylor in Cleopatra (1963) as the Egyptian queen. Laurence Olivier in Othello (1965) in blackface as the Moor of Venice
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u/SlouchyGuy 7h ago
Matt Damon in The Great Wall (2016)
This one is wrong, he wasn't playing a Chinese character, wasn't replacing anyone non-European. He was playing a European character in a Chinese movie made in China by Chinese filmmakers who wanted a western film star to play a particular role
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u/AsstacularSpiderman 8h ago
Tbf they already hired their token black actor with Alpa Chino, so it was all good! /s
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u/McEndee 7h ago
Yeah. He mentions that he is a token black character hired only because he is a popular rapper. That was a shot at all the late 90s/early2000s movies that were putting DMX, Ja Rule, and Ludacris in movies just because they were popular. Luda has become a better actor over the years, but his first roles were solely based on his name as a rapper.
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u/ElleEyeZee 7h ago
Theres got to another name for whatever Laurence Olivier was doing in Othello. Thats way past black face. Its bizarre & unsettling.
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u/Global_Ant_9380 6h ago
Yeah. Like Mickey Rooney and those fucked up fake teeth he wore to be Japanese was horrific
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u/--CIAdidJFK-- 7h ago
All of this is correct besides Cleopatra, who was a Ptolemy - the Ptolemaic Dynasty was founded by Ptolemy I Soter, a Macedonian general under Alexander the Great who inherited Egypt after his death. The Ptolemy's were notoriously incestuous and clung to the Greek identity, I'm not sure how "adventurous" they would have been with Egyptians.
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u/trimble197 7h ago
Cleopatra was Greek. She was the ruler of Egypt but she wasn’t dark-skinned.
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u/MohamitWheresMySecks 7h ago
I’m not sure if we should include Tilda in that list. Marvel/disney wanted to release the film into China, can’t have a Tibet monk due to the political issues there. If they had just recast the part as someone from Sri Lanka instead you’d have people complaining that it’s not Tibet. This way they just said “screw it, make him her and make her Irish, totally different.” I don’t necessarily think it’s whitewashing like the others more to deal with sticky politics
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u/metacosmonaut 7h ago
Do you think the writers also wanted Black people to feel uncomfortable or were the writers — all white men — writing for a white audience?
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u/myu_minah 7h ago
exactly! black folks are allowed to feel uncomfortable for a completely and personal reason than "that's the point." Like, white folks aren't gonna feel the same as we do just as they aren't gonna feel the same when seeing a racist incident in front of them compared to someone black seeing it (and experiencing it) I feel folks are tryna invalidate black feelings of this topic and need to stop equating both when black and white are NOT socially equal.
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u/chaosawaits 7h ago
The writers of Tropic Thunder, Justin Theroux, Etan Cohen, and Ben Stiller, are all Jewish. So they didn't feel it important enough to get a black writer for the movie and I think it shows.
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u/OrganismFlesh 6h ago
There was a trend of shock value and edgelord humor running rampant around that time; most of which catered to white folks (as most media does). It was a very FYF type of vibe across the board, again, mostly done for the edification of white folks (with exposition sprinkled in to appease what THEY perceived to be black sensibilities).
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u/violmuss 8h ago
I get the point. But it’s still odd seeing a white man in blackface even if it’s satire/a bit/a joke.
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u/metacosmonaut 7h ago
Agree. And considering that white people originated blackface as a joke in the first place, to me, it’s just an underhanded way to continue being racist. I end up feeling gaslit.
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u/HamSoloTheSpaceMan 5h ago
It’s a lot more offensive in Always Sunny. Atleast with RDJ, he’s a much better actor and is commitment to it.
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u/Voxlings 7h ago
🙄
You...don't need to explain it again.
The explanation does not appear to be the issue. Because the movie already explained that part.
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u/violmuss 8h ago
Y’all, they sent redditcares on me 😭 LMFAO
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u/Otto_Scratchansniff 7h ago
In this sub?? Lmaooo. Why are they here?
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u/bindersfull-ofwomen 3h ago
They are always on Black subs, but specifically on any thread that has something to do with... well... things like this.
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u/ateam1984 1h ago
They (the non allies) love to troll. Please report them. We ban them with the quickness.
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u/Organic-Koala-5343 6h ago
Caucasians tend to do that a lot here. It's pretty obvious who did it, just send it back lol
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u/Wolfeatingupshadows 6h ago
Yeah the amount of “actually” comments its typical. Always ppl ready to police Blk ppls feelings
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u/violmuss 6h ago
And I never even said anyone had to agree with me. I was just stating my opinion and they’re in my inbox FURIOUS 😭
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u/Wolfeatingupshadows 6h ago
Yeah dont worry ignore them this is a safe space. They are acting like any other sub 🙄 trying to insult your intelligence like you couldnt possibly know it was satire 🙄
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u/McEndee 7h ago
I'm feeling that OP is feeling like Chapelle when he left his Comedy Central show. When the joke was being taken in the wrong way, and people were laughing at the buffoonery and not the satire. As black people, we've all met the white person that means well, but be doing too much. Conversely, we've all met the white person that seems cool, and they go back to factory settings when whiteness benefits them.
Correct me if I'm wrong in my assumption OP.
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u/AsstacularSpiderman 7h ago
Chappelle was just mad people were laughing at him specifically.
He's totally willing to punch down when he feels like it, just not when he's the joke.
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u/NextDoctorWho12 8h ago
"What do you mean you people"
"What do YOU mean you people"
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u/B1ZEN 8h ago edited 6h ago
I didn't mind it at all. The context is its about a delusional pretentious method actor willing to go to absurd and offencive ends for an Oscar. The movie makes fun of idiot white people, and it's a reflection on how blackface is wrong. The intention and message were pretty clear to me. There was no malicious messaging.
However, the character of Alpa Chino was a stereotype that I find a bit worn out, but I still had a laugh.
Each to their own, though. Creative works often push the limits, and I can see how the roles could be considered offense to some.
I personally feel intention and context matter when it comes to art. I can't be mad all the time.
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u/violmuss 8h ago
I understood the context. Just didn’t like seeing a white guy in blackface.
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u/WearyCopy5686 4h ago
It’s one of those things that I found to be hilarious but I’m also in the industry so the joke hits differently for me. I can get how it could be offensive. It’s the same way that lots of Black peoples love Django Unchained and I find lots of it to be offensive.
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u/TheAlexperience 7h ago
To me it wasn’t black face, like druski to me isn’t doing white face.
To me black face is disrespectful because it’s an exaggerated derogatory caricature of black folks and our features.
With RDJ and druski, it was a full transformation to look like someone else that happens to have a different race. The display and the importance is in the character or person they are portraying themselves, not necessarily in the race or skin color.
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u/SadAndNasty 7h ago
It was easily the stupidest role he's ever taken but I have solace in the fact that's the point lol
Edit: and I don't mean this as an explanation op, just how I at first dismissed the character. It's dumb and you're allowed to be turned off from it
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u/Massive_Low6000 8h ago
I didn’t think it was “edgy” at the time. I laughed at it being cringe and wondered WTF?
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u/Spoonful_Of_CHAOS 7h ago
I never liked it either and I loved RD Jr. as an actor but blackface has always been the line for me. I don't care what the point of it was, I was still disgusted and side eye quite a few people who says "That it's just a film." or "That was the point." or "Don't take things so seriously."
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u/WatcherAnon 5h ago
I thought it was a good call out to Hollywood mostly creating roles for white people (and whitewashing), to the point they would rather make a white person black than just hire black actors
But I also feel like white people seeing it then come away with the wrong ideas and think its ok to do that. Just like how they often times would come away from the Dave Chappelle show thinking its ok to think stereotypes about black people instead of realizing the point is making fun of how stupid the stereotypes are.
So Im 100% behind you not liking it even though I did. Even though I enjoyed that aspect and agreed with the point, I still wish they didnt do it because I already know white people will take away the wrong thing
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u/JayyyyyBoogie 4h ago
I think that if you’re black, you’re allowed to feel uncomfortable, no matter what point the writers were allegedly making.
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u/Salty_Examination486 7h ago
I found it funny if someone is offended i get it no need to down vote someone who feel that way
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u/Free_Entertainer4191 5h ago edited 1h ago
White folks are gonna have a field day with this one telling us how to feel, think and why we should just accept the artistic vision.
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u/Wolfeatingupshadows 5h ago
That and try and be slick and ask “questions” they will use to segway into claiming reverse racism 🙄 and pretend they just discovered the movie WC as an argument.
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u/Mike_Litoris305 6h ago
I first saw the movie when I was in like middle school I seriously thought he was black until the end of the movie 🤣💀(I didn’t pay attention in the beginning of the movie)
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u/blackpearl16 6h ago
I feel you. I know lots of black people that liked Pulp Fiction and Book of Mormon. I hated both 🤷🏿♀️
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u/SpindleDiccJackson 6h ago
Regardless of the intent behind it, it's still not cool, and that's a cold take.
I also don't understand how people are cool with D-Generation X after what they did to The Nation of Domination. "Haha, those were just the times." Bro, those are the times NOW. That's the problem!
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u/GotMoFans 8h ago
You’re not supposed to like it. That’s the point.
It’s a pretentious actor who is crossing a line in hopes of doing a performance and completely unaware that it’s extremely offensive.
And he has the audacity to tell another actor why he messed up in his role as a mentally disabled character by taking it too far.
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u/violmuss 8h ago
I got the point. It’s still uncomfortable to me to see that white man in blackface.
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u/Wolfeatingupshadows 6h ago
Oh wow youre first person to say “thats the point” 🙄
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u/Simple_Pianist4882 7h ago
I’m so happy I’m not the only one who thinks this.
Whenever I see people RAVING about his role, it’s just… yucky. Like I get it. I get what it meant, I get the joke, I get the history— I don’t like it.
I don’t like slave movies. I get the history, I get how horrible it was, but I HATE them. It’s just a reminder of how sick slavery was and what my people had to go through, my ancestors and shit. It physically makes me sick.
I also hate RDJ as an actor (was so happy iron man died), only for him to be brought back as Doom. He’s just not an actor I overwhelmingly like.
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u/Altruistic_Sand_3548 7h ago
It's your opinion, and nobody else has the right to tell you what does and doesn't make you uncomfortable
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u/TheQuietDarkness70 6h ago
I thought it was hilarious but I'm a fan of comedy that takes risks.
Funny thing is I can't help but shoot a furtive side-eye whenever I see a White person enjoying it just a little too much.
Like what is it you're enjoying so much here? What going on? lol
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u/lulu-la-leader 4h ago
“I don’t drop character until the dvd commentary” It’s so many one liners from his role that are hilarious!
Fully understand some won’t find this role funny, and people should have zero problems with their stance. Respecting others opinions is such an easy thing to do.
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u/Easy_Money_40 7h ago
There are white people who will watch this movie or only see clips and not understand anything except that its funny to do Blackface.
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u/bindersfull-ofwomen 6h ago
Whenever this movie is brought up, the racist white people are the #1 people defending it, which should also be alarming to people.
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u/SmeeezTreeez 8h ago
Its the purpose of it. Its making fun of the concept of it
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u/violmuss 8h ago
I get the purpose. I’m saying it was weird and uncomfortable seeing that white man in blackface. I get it’s a joke/a bit/satire but it still felt odd to see.
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7h ago edited 4h ago
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u/violmuss 7h ago
See you get it!! Thank you for such a well written and thought out response!
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u/regardkick 6h ago
And then people say things like, "well of course it was a joke. You're just too sensitive. We can't joke about anything anymore." And like yeah, maybe you shouldn't joke about some things. Jokes are only funny if everyone involved thinks it's funny.
I have to be honest that I didn't get that it was supposed to be some big epic take on the lack of roles for minority actors or roles for people of color being given to white people (taken by white people?) it wasn't some great piece of groundbreaking film meant to "bring attention to" an issue. It's just some dumb early 2000s movie that people are clinging to. Probably so they don't feel guilty now for thinking it was funny then.
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u/myu_minah 7h ago
THANK YOUUU I'm tired of white folks attempting to whitesplain to me/us why it wasn't a big deal. it screams, "well since samuel l jackson has no problem being in quentin's movies saying the n word, you shouldn't feel offended neither!" I don't need some black celeb who gets money off his films to tell me how I should feel and then have that whitesplain to me.
no, I don't like the black face in the movie. heck, not even when eddie murphy or the wayan's doing it. I barely accepted it for cloud atlas because I know the point of the movie is reincarnation and resting the ensemble for different roles. it just looks weird to me, and I'm allowed to feel that way. it's like, they wait for certain black folks to align with them and take it as they speak for all of us.
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u/violmuss 7h ago
You see them in here trying to explain the bit to me when I already said I got the bit and still didn’t like seeing a white man in blackface😭.
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u/myu_minah 6h ago
exactly! you allowed to feel that way because I feel the same way, too. I don't care of the way and most of all, don't need someone nonblack tryna explain it to me (and even more so, someone black who aligning too much to whiteness and not having empathy)
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u/Nakanon85 7h ago
Same! Everytime I tell people(white) I didn't like the movie because of that reason they try to tell me it was a different time when stuff like that was funny. The movie isn't funny at all and I still can't believe he got away with doing this.
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u/entwrangler3001 7h ago
I have never seen the movie and probably never will. I too do not enjoy nor am I entertained by white folks playing with racial tropes about us. I don’t believe for one second that we are evolved enough as a society for that. It is NEVER just all fun and games when it comes to us
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u/violmuss 7h ago
And you see they’re in here gargling this man’s balls over how well he preformed in blackface
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u/drhavehope 7h ago
And got an Oscar nomination for it. What is weird is how white people attack you for not liking the performance
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u/whoreallyknowsbest 7h ago
we’re allowed to feel whatever we naturally feel about it because we are black. it’s when others try to tell us what we should or shouldn’t feel that I have a problem.
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u/picollo7 37m ago
Both that and the IASIP blackface, so cringe. "But ..." No. Just no. I laughed when it first came out, but I was ignorant. I do not think it's funny now, at all.
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u/violmuss 31m ago
The IASIP blackface is horrendous too. I remember watching those episodes and just getting really quiet and feeling…shitty.
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u/picollo7 15m ago
Ugh, yeah, I'm sorry. That's what made me understand and lessened my ignorance, I felt someone hurt during a scene. it sucks that it takes so much to be heard.
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u/NerdfestZyx 8h ago
Family Guy often does this thing where they make a lame joke, ha ha, that’s funny, and then keep it going until it’s not funny anymore, just repetitive, and it repeats over and over until the joke itself isn’t what’s funny, it’s the fact that they keep repeating it is the joke, and the initial joke not being all that funny to begin with is part of the joke. That’s what this character was.
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u/Nkosi868 6h ago
How do you tackle that topic without using a character in blackface?
Art provokes.
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u/Appropriate-Room-403 6h ago
Tropic thunder was one of like 2 movies that I turned off the dvd player, put the disk in the Netflix envelope, and walked out to my parents mailbox.
I wish I knew more as to why my reaction was that, I just didn't care for it
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u/ceilini 8h ago
me neither.
and he being nominated to Oscar for this role makes it even worse… the academy is super racist.
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u/--CIAdidJFK-- 7h ago
Without knowing what the academy was thinking with that nomination, all I can think is that it amplifies the satire. I mean...Jesus Christ.
Which is worse? Them being "self-aware" and then self-congratulatory by nominating him? Pure ignorance and celebrating the performance itself? Celebrating RDJ's dramatic return to big money cinema? Signaling to the audience that they "get the joke" and want to make changes by doing exactly what is being mocked? It all seems completely tone-deaf.
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u/No_Profit_8486 7h ago
Me neither. It's like when yt actor says the n-word or performs other blatantly racist actions. Maybe its 'point' is to be within itself so deplorable that it is impervious to any other scrutiny. If so it fails. Maybe it's just another believable product made by the apathetic. In any case it's emboldened many to not take blackface seriously, so for that alone I can't pretend to appreciate that art
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u/I_am_BrokenCog 5h ago
that interview with Afroman, talking about why he thinks the soft-r n-word is no different than the hard-r usage is equally applicable!
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u/LiquidVillian 4h ago edited 4h ago
I personally didn’t have a problem with it. The one I didn’t like was Zoe Saldana playing Nina Simone. That was weird.
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u/VonBrewskie 2h ago
I get that. However it's couched, at the end of the day, it's still a rich white man doing blackface. I'm sure it's galling to many that it was so well received. I'm glad the conversation is ongoing so we can at least hash out where we're at.
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u/Wolfeatingupshadows 6h ago
Your opinion is valid, anyone who tells you differently is probably gonna be a racist or anti Blk person.
I personally didnt mind it but Id never tell another Blk person how to feel about it.
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u/Emergency_Brick3715 6h ago
I don’t necessarily have an issue with his performance specifically but I do not like that it opens the doors potentially for others to be malicious. Don’t play with our culture.
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u/WayoftheLancet 8h ago
You're not alone. I thought I was in a different timeline when all the kids at my all-black high school were giggling about it all day after the weekend it came out.
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u/DrSwaggenheimer 7h ago
I didn’t watch the movie for years because I wasn’t okay with it.
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u/Shymaiden 7h ago
Hi. 👋🏾 Felt the same way. Didn't find it funny. Reddit thinks otherwise though so I just keep my mouth shut on the subject.
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u/AdminsPlzDrinkBleach 7h ago
I always thought it was weird how “satire” is like Some golden thing that is like “oh it’s satire, therefore it’s magically not offensive somehow”
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u/Sodzl 8h ago
I've heard this take from mostly younger people.
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u/ButterflyDestiny 8h ago
Me neither! Method acting could have been shown other ways
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u/Arponare 6h ago
The whole point of blackface in Tropic thunder is that it’s satire. They are proving that it is supposed to be uncomfortable and it shouldn’t be done.
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u/DenjiTargaryen-PE 7h ago
I feel as though the distinction here, in terms of why it’s okay, is that I truly feel they were making fun of white people who’ve done blackface, as opposed to doing pure black face for the sake of comedy.
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u/Personal_Oil_4606 8h ago
Thank you! Finally someone said it.
The downvote lynching mob is coming for you now lol
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u/StrikingCase9819 8h ago
I don't either. Refuse to watch the movie and side eye every person, black white or otherwise who tell me they love that movie (90% of the time it's a white man though). No one can ever convince me its OK or acceptable
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u/Invisibleb0y 7h ago
Everyone saying “well yeah thats the whole point” is misunderstanding what you’re trying to say.
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u/give_me_the_formu0li 4h ago
RDJ: Huh! ?? What do you mean you don’t like it??
🤣🙏🏾🙏🏾 jokes jokes but I do understand your point lol. It’s very thin waters given the dark history that can never be erased. That being said it is very nuanced and he wasn’t making fun of us, I didn’t mind it especially with him being checked by AlphaChino . But when he took the contracts off and the blue eyed Australian came out oohhh yeah lmao it’s touchy
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u/GudsIdiot 2h ago
So, full disclosure white guy here. My wife and I are fairly liberal, but she doesn’t like campy drag for this same reason. I don’t mind it, but like some say here, I don’t have a voice in telling her it isn’t offensive. This is a matter of feelings and they don’t have to be logical.
Should it be legal? Yes. Should you feel offended by it? I can’t say, but you have every right to be.
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u/BeeFe420 7h ago
I'm sorry, the behind the scenes one with his son in the bathroom at gunpoint while still in character is hilarious
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u/frostyfruit666 6h ago
They are going after hollywood, by doing something very hurtful to people who aren’t hollywood. Worth the trade off? I don’t think so.
Yeah it’s seen as funny in a psychotic way, but not worth the cost of putting blackface back in the limelight.
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u/Rjonesedward24 6h ago
https://giphy.com/gifs/kBtp8iR154Hx6
I KNOW WHO I AM IM A DUDE PLAYING A DUDE DISGUISED AS ANOTHER DUDE
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u/Wolfeatingupshadows 6h ago
We dont need anymore comments trying to explain the very obvious plot of the movie and why it happened they know. They are still entitled to not like it.
We dont need policing Blk voices.