Was the act racist?

[fireheart17]

http://www.news.com.au/adelaidenow/s...006301,00.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."

[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.