The Chaser does blackface
November 28, 2007 at 10:10 pm (media, popular culture, race and racism)
So the Chaser guys have outdone themselves and are clearly desperate for laughs, because now they’re not only content to exploit Muslims, they’ve broken out the boot polish and actually gone for full blackface.
Who would’ve thought that some middle class white guys doing sketch comedy could be so unoriginal!?!
I can’t embed the video but it’s here on the ABC’s website, and is this week’s default video. You can also download the whole episode from the ABC site.
shrimpy said,
December 1, 2007 at 2:07 pm
I’ve been quite startled by some Australian ‘humor’. Recently saw an ad on TV selling insurance where a Brit colonialist in topi etc was been stewed for consumption by ‘natives’.
So, is it PC overkill to object to that, or is it condescending to mandate what others should find funny?
Fire Fly said,
December 1, 2007 at 10:12 pm
Yeah, they frequently feature brownface (i.e. people dressed as Indians, with brown makeup) on ‘The Wedge’ — but it’s Channel 10 and doesn’t tack itself onto progressive causes for its audience. The Chaser, however, uses blackface to make a political point, which is hugely disturbing…
I don’t believe in “PC overkill” because usually the people using expressions like that just want to exploit whatever they want for their “humour” regardless of the consequences.