Category: satire

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People Are Just Now Realizing Robert Downey Jr Played a Blackface Character in 2008

The comedy Tropic Thunder came out over a decade ago in 2008, which makes me feel very old because I distinctly remember seeing in theatres like it was last week. By any reasonable measure, it was a decent success. It wasn’t a box office smash, but, it made a profit. The critical consensus wasn’t glowing, but it was positive, with an overall Metacritic score of 71 and a Rotten Tomatoes score of 82.

The movie is a rough-edged, over-the-top, wild, R-rated comedy. It wasn’t HUGE, but it did have enough of an influence to spawn little catchphrases and conversation pieces that continue to this day. One of those topics? RDJ blackface. Because oh, did I mention? Robert Downey Jr spends almost the entire movie in blackface. And there are a bunch of people who are just now realizing that.

There’s a lot to unpack here. Today, most of us know RDJ primarily as Iron Man. And in fact, the first Iron Man installment came out the same year as Tropic Thunder, long before anybody could have anticipated what a cultural phenomenon the MCU would end up becoming. And it seems like some are feeling betrayed that their beloved Mr. Stark would have done something as heinous as a full-on blackface performance, and still have a career.

Over the decades, the practice of blackface has come under greater and greater cultural scrutiny with many public figures having their careers derailed over it. This has occurred as more people recognize and take seriously its horribly racist roots and implications, which is a whole article of its own.

So, what’s the deal with Tropic Thunder? How was this considered OK? Well … it’s a little complicated.

The thing is (and anyone who has actually seen the movie will know this), it’s not as simple as RDJ doing a typical blackface performance. Blackface has its roots in appropriating/mocking African American culture, where a racial minority is essentially the target of the joke. Tropic Thunder takes aim at a very different target: Hollywood, albeit through a route that was pretty startling, even in 2008.

Without getting into the nitty gritty of the plot, suffice it to say that the script is a satire of the greed, foolishness, insensitivity, shallowness, and unrestrained ego of the Hollywood system. In this context, Roberty Downey Jr plays an actor named Kirk Lazurus, who, in a wildly-misguided and insensitive attempt to show off his acting chops, plays a rather cartoonish black soldier in the movie within the movie. Or as he puts it in one scene where his sense of self is challenged, “I know who I am. I’m the dude playin’ the dude, disguised as another dude!”

So in answer to the question, “Didn’t anyone notice?” the response is “Of course they did.” It got brought up in just about every single review at the time. Like in this one from African American film critic Jeffrey Lyles (who rated the movie 8/10):

“Kirk’s decision to make his character a black man complete with dark makeup would have been more than a tad controversial if not for Chino continually calling Kirk out for trying to act “black.”

While Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson won’t be leading Thunder boycotts, the film has garnered a significant backlash from mental disability advocates”

– Jeffrey Lyles, film critic

And yes, he got nominated for an Oscar in this role.

And as the previous review quote notes, his character is far from the only one some found problematic. Director Ben Stiller also performs in Tropic Thunder, playing actor Tugg Speedman, who is known in-universe for playing a character named “Simple Jack,” an absolutely insulting caricature of a man with a mental disorder. It’s pretty clear from the context of the movie that the goal is to mock the gross Oscar-bating Hollywood tendency to exploit adversity and disability in an attempt to seem important. Again, the target of the joke is Hollywood, but the execution nevertheless left a bad taste in the mouths of many.

The long and short of it is, context is important, and art ages quickly, especially comedy. Many have said that Tropic Thunder simply wouldn’t fly if it were made today, and that’s probably true. Personally, I gave it a rewatch this year and found myself cringing more and laughing less than I had all those years ago in the theater. And maybe that’s not inherently a good or a bad thing, it’s just the reality of how culture has continued to evolve. As another African American film critic, Wesley Morris (who rated it 3/4), put it when the movie premiered:

“In some future time we may look back on ‘Tropic Thunder’ and ask, ‘What were we thinking?’ But a movie that asks Cruise to slap the air as part of a horse-riding dance popularized by the R&B singer Ginuwine takes some time to recover from. So does one in which Downey appears to be playing Jude Law playing Kirk Douglas playing the late Bernie Mac. “

– Wesley Morris, The Boston Globe

Have you seen Tropic Thunder? Do you think it holds up at all today?

Tell us in the comments.

The post People Are Just Now Realizing Robert Downey Jr Played a Blackface Character in 2008 appeared first on UberFacts.

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Reductress Is a Funny Instagram Account You Should be Following

Satire can be very hard to get right. Many try to do it, but very few do it well.

That’s why the Instagram page Reductress is so good.

You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, and then you’ll laugh some more.

Here’s a small taste of what the page offers. Now go follow them!

1. Does this look familiar?

2. A total psycho.

3. Hahahaha. Hey o!

4. You know you’ve seen a million headlines like this.

5. It’s all Brian’s fault.

6. This is a tricky one.

7. Could it be love?

8. Damn! Did it again!

9. That’s impossible!

View this post on Instagram

#tbt

A post shared by Reductress (@reductress) on

10. A good use of time.

Funny stuff!

Do you have any other suggestions for funny and interesting Instagram accounts we should follow?

Share them in the comments!

The post Reductress Is a Funny Instagram Account You Should be Following appeared first on UberFacts.

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5 Facts You Should Know About the Great ‘Mad Magazine’ to Honor Its Legacy

I never thought this day would come, but MAD magazine is coming to an end (more or less). After 67 years of publishing, it will now only be releasing new material once per year. Otherwise, MAD magazine will be reprinting old material.

MAD magazine has a special place in the hearts of many. It’s irreverent and unapologetically political, calling out everything and everyone. Here are five facts you should really know about Mad magazine:

1. “Weird” Al was a guest editor

MAD named “Weird” Al Yankovic as their very first guest editor, which seems like a match made in heaven. He brought in several celebrity contributors, including Patton Oswalt and Seth Green. According to Entertainment Weekly, MAD is responsible for setting him on the “dark, twisted path to becoming who I am today.”

2. Fred Astaire danced as Alfred E. Neuman

Yep, this actually happened. Fred Astaire decided to do a dance number on a 1959 TV special made up as Alfred E. Neuman. There are really no words. I’ll just leave the video here:

3. The unknown origin of Alfred E. Neuman

No one really knows where Alfred came from. He was an advertising mascot for several brands in the early 1900s, and he may have his roots in comics as far back as the 1890s. Harvey Kurtzman, founder of MAD, claims he spotted Alfred on a postcard and named him after composer Alfred Neuman.

4. The creator of “Spy vs. Spy” was accused of being a spy

Antonio Prohias, the creator of “Spy vs. Spy,” was born in Cuba and started his cartooning career there. He was an award-winning journalist in Cuba, and once Fidel Castro came to power, his cartoons began criticizing Castro’s policies. This lead the government of Cuba to accuse him of working for the CIA. Prohias resigned from his newspaper job and eventually immigrated to the U.S. He spoke no English, but his daughter helped to translate, and he walked into the MAD magazine offices, showed his work, and was hired on the spot.

5. MAD didn’t run ads for four decades

One of MAD’s best features was its hilarious satire ads. They took on cigarette makers, shampoo ads and more. To be able to truly skewer advertisers, they decided not to run real ads, making the magazine an expensive proposition (most magazines make their money from ad revenue). MAD finally had to start running ads in 2001, but its satirical ads continued.

What’s your favorite MAD magazine memory?

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Satirical Article from ‘The Onion’ Inspires Chef to Create This Easy-to-Make Treat for Kids

The Onion has been entertaining internet audiences with their satirical news stories for years (and also faking some people out). But their headlines are usually along the lines of something like this:

Photo Credit: Facebook,The Onion

And we all have a good laugh at that person’s expense. But this example of a person falling for a headline from The Onion is actually really nice and heartwarming, so we just had to share it with you.

An Australian fella named Adam Liaw noticed an Onion story on Twitter, and he decided to reply to it.

Liaw is a chef – take a look at what he decided to do next.

How nice!

The next day Liaw came back and shared his creation. Follow the directions closely…

Photo Credit: Twitter

Good idea from the chef! And simple to make, too!

And finally, you’ll be able to use the leftover chocolate for other recipes.

Liaw was seriously praised for his efforts.

On behalf of all the parents out there, thanks, Mr. Liaw!

The post Satirical Article from ‘The Onion’ Inspires Chef to Create This Easy-to-Make Treat for Kids appeared first on UberFacts.