Wednesday, November 6, 2013

Halloween Controversial - The Blackface

Hello,

I really like Halloween. It's the one night a year I can put on something I wouldn't wear any other day of the year. It's the night I can be whatever I want to be. Either a slutty girl with some form of animal ears, an austronaut, a gypsy of whatever and it's fun. Until, some people ruin it for everyone.

Every year there is always a "controversial" costume. Remember Prince Harry with Nazi uniform or Chris Brrown's terrorist costume? This year who was "controversial" was Julianne Hough who dressed as "crazy eyes" from "Orange is the New Black"
It was not the character, or the costume itself that was "controversial", it was her makeup. Yes the "blackface" Back in the day (I'm talking at least 2 centuries ago) actors would paint their faces black to mock African Americans. So the blackface became offensive and racist.  
back in the day
I agree that mocking a race is completely wrong. But I'm sure Ms. Hough was only putting on a costume and to make the costume more complete she needed that makeup. She wasn't acting like the stereotypical African American. Yet she received so much hate for it.

If you want to make your costume as close to the character you put on a wig, you put on the right makeup, the right shoes, and even the contact lenses. That's the fun in Halloween transforming yourself into something you are not. If putting on the black face makeup is offensive then I assume also wearing an afro wig is racist as well. But apparently it isn't, because nobody makes a big deal out of the wig.

I'm my opinion, I don't think the blackface makeup is offensive. I might be a minority here. Because it's just makeup with a darker pigment on a person with a much lighter skintone. What makes it offensive is if you mock the race while you have that makeup on. People immediately jump to the conclusion this person is mocking the race when in reality they are just something that complements their costume.   

While some costumes are really tasteless and offensive like the girl on with the Boston marathon costume and the guys dressed as Trayvon Martin and George Zimmerman. Really words can't even describe how stupid those costumes are. These costumes are actually offensive to the family's victims.  No tragedy should be made into a costume.

Not just blackface seems to be offensive. Native Americans think it's offensive to wear native american costumes for halloween. They don't want you to wear their culture just for fun. Yet we don't see much articles from media outlets deeming the costume as offensive. You put on the costume and only the Native American community finds it offensive. 

You can find chinese food take out costumes and geisha costumes and Chinese and Japanese people don't like it. They would find it offensive is you start saying that ching chong kuang nonsense.  Yet again no articles of how racist these costume is.

I'm Mexican, and I don't like you wearing day of the dead makeup. Because you probably don't even know what it means for my culture. I don't like it when you put on the sombrero and zarape and if you pretend to ride a donkey while you are holding a bottle of tequila. Because these are false stereotypes of my culture. Do I find it offensive? Maybe, but I'm tolerant and I'm ok with you wearing it as long as you don't mock my culture and my people.
Mexican stereotype
What my point is, no matter what you dress up as you always seem to piss off someone. You can't simply make everyone happy.  Even Walt Disney would be offended if he saw the Mickeys Mitress Mouse costume. Because Minnie is not a mistress. She is Mickey's girlfriend for God's sake!

But hey it's 2013, by now people should be able to tell apart mockery and racism from a costume. Seriously just move on.

3 comments :

  1. I never heard of the costume Julianne Hough was wearing this halloween but I see nothing wrong in dressing up this way too and I think you're right about that every costume will piss off someone. The best is if you just dress up as devil or angel lol

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  2. I love Halloween too.

    I think Julianne Hough definitely didn't make the wisest decision when she chose her costume but I also don't think that she intended it to be offensive to anyone.

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