Friday, October 7, 2011

Save Me…… from off-colour humour

This blog gives me an opportunity to have a rant now and again, but my rants are generally light-hearted and well meaning. God, the last thing we all need is another angry man spouting off.

However, there is one thing here in Spain – well, actually there´s more than one, but that´s for another time – that I do have some considerable difficulty finding any humour in.

When I explain what it is, you might think it´s a cultural thing, a perception based on background and history. And yes, I would agree to a certain extent. But nevertheless, it´s still something that makes me very uncomfortable. And it´s this.

Here in Spain, it is still acceptable to “black up” on mainstream TV and in society. What I mean is, white people covering their faces in black make-up to portray a stereotypical image, often derogatory, of a black person.

There are a number of examples of this, the most recent of which was on TV this week. On Wednesday nights national TV channel Antena 3 - a bit like ITV in the UK - has a talent show called “Tu Cara Me Suena” (“Your Face Rings A Bell”) in which famous people dress up as a famous singer and perform one of their well-known hits before a studio audience and a panel of judges.

This week´s show featured Spanish actor and comedian Santiago Segura dressed up as Stevie Wonder, singing “I Just Called To Say I Love You.” The fact that this bloke, who’s white, came out “blacked up” was bad enough, but what was worse was at the end of the skit when he removed his dark glasses to reveal two pasty white patches around his eyes where he hadn´t bothered to put the boot polish.

Cue much hilarity, laughter and black gags between him, the judges and the audience! Ha ha ha.

No such reaction from myself, however. My mouth was so wide open in astonishment, you could have driven a bus through it, off-loaded the passengers and driven back out without me noticing.

A few months ago, on the extremely popular chat and comedy show “El Hormiguero” (“The Anthill”), also on Antena 3, there was a skit featuring the presenter and his gang doing a piss-take of the Jackson Five, all of them blacked-up and doing an embarrassing dance routine on Segways (those little two-wheeled scooter things). It was so incredibly hysterical, I nearly laughed.

Unfortunately, the “blackface” also turns up again every January 6 at the annual religious Three Kings processions, which take place in virtually every city, town and village in Spain. It’s an event which celebrates the arrival of the Three Wise Men – and as luck would have it, one of them is “blacked up”.

Now, don´t get me wrong. The UK has had plenty of questionable TV shows based on racial stereotypes – “The Black and White Minstrels”, “Love Thy Neighbour, “Til Death Do Us Part”, “Curry And Chips” – but they were washed up and excruciatingly embarrassing 35 years ago!

I´m not saying I think Spain or Spanish culture is inherently racist. In fact I don’t think that at all. And I´m certainly not saying that the UK doesn´t have its fair share of vile little ignorant racists – take some of the knuckle-dragging Neanderthals who make up the English Defence League as a fitting, yet thankfully minority example.

But I do think Spain disappointingly lags decades behind other nations, when it comes to its acceptance in the mainstream media of outdated, outmoded and generally embarrassing stereotypes. I get it, it’s a cultural thing. Spain isn’t as multi-cultural as some other nations, that’s a fact. And as I said, I don’t believe the issue is specifically racist, but I do think it’s ignorant. And that isn’t much better.

If you want to sing a Stevie Wonder song or a Jackson Five song on the telly, fine. But is it really necessary in this day and age to “black up” for it? Stevie Wonder and the Jackson Five are not famous because they´re black. They’re famous because they were and are extremely talented singers and songwriters. When you “black up”, the focus and the gag automatically shifts to the skin colour, not the brilliant songs they wrote.

And as for the Three Kings? Well, Jesus wasn’t a white man, but for some reason he’s not blacked-up? Why the inconsistency?

Now, if you think I’m getting on my soap box and having a rant, you’re probably right.

But if you think I’m being far too politically correct, making a fuss out of nothing because after all it’s just a joke and a laugh isn’t it, may I respectfully suggest that you pick up your copy of the Daily Mail and stick it where the sun don’t shine.

1 comment:

  1. In my opinion it's normal to black up your face if you want to imitate a black man. I don’t think if you do that you will be racist.
    What would happen if a black man (for example Will Smith) wants to imitate Rafael Nadal in an American show and he paints his face with white color? It would be racist?
    In my opinion this kind of jokes aren’t racist.

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