Let's play IS IT RACIST?

Posted: 10/7/13 at 2:14pm

Time for America's favorite gameshow: IS IT RACIST?

This weeks SNL featured one mildly amusing sketch: Imagining various celebrities auditioning for the "50 Shades of Gray" film. Then this happened:

"Yup, that’s comedienne Nasim Pedrad in drag (yay!) and brownface (boo!) dressed up as Aziz Ansari; to her credit, she pulls off a remarkable impersonation of Ansari. But again, brownface? .... If SNL is really that hard-pressed to find some amazing South Asian talent, we recommend they give Lilly Singh a call."

So I ask Nasim Pedrad plays Aziz Ansari.


IS IT RACIST?

Posted: 10/7/13 at 2:15pm

And if it IS racist to lay a member of another race, why isn't it sexist to play a member of another sex?

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 10/7/13 at 2:16pm

The impersonation would have worked fine without the brown make-up. That sort of thing is ALWAYS complicated, politically and culturally. It's also never particularly a necessary component.

[suestorm]

Posted: 10/7/13 at 2:19pm

what about when they had the white dude play obama in black face while jay pharoh who is so much better twiddled his thumbs backstage.

[madbrian]

Posted: 10/7/13 at 2:25pm

Blackface was an exaggerated use of makeup used as part of acts that mocked a minority. Not all use of makeup is equivalent to blackface. So, the answer is 'no'.

[finebydesign]

Posted: 10/7/13 at 2:27pm

The shocking part here is SNLs is nailing impersonations again! It ran a little long (probably their biggest skit issue these days) and who is Kristen Chenoweth?

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 10/7/13 at 2:31pm

She was in WICKED and PROMISES PROMISES, I think.

Posted: 10/7/13 at 2:31pm

I originally thought the KC bit was an odd thing to end with but am starting to realize despite her perfect track record of never ever appearing in a hit film OR TV show she is pretty well-known in the heartland.

I thought that impression was offensive to Aziz Ansari.

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 10/7/13 at 2:46pm

She had her hit sitcom Kristin in which she played a virgin resisting the perfection of Jon Tenney. America fell in love with that good girl.

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 10/7/13 at 2:54pm

She also starred in Geriatric Cherubesque Bitches on ABC.

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 10/7/13 at 2:57pm

I think you're not allow to spell that out as it offends her base.

[Wynbish]

Posted: 10/7/13 at 3:01pm

So, an Iranian actress used blackface to play an American actor of Indian descent?

[SonofRobbieJ]

Posted: 10/7/13 at 3:05pm

Though it would have played fine without the darker make-up, I just can't seem to work up any feelings of outrage over this. And I thought that entire sequence was really quite funny. Who knew ANYONE could do a Seth Rogan impression.

[TheatreDiva90016]

Posted: 10/7/13 at 3:09pm

"And if it IS racist to lay a member of another race, why isn't it sexist to play a member of another sex?"

You can lay any one you want to, Joe.


I thought the spitting sports caster in Weekend Update was more racist than anything else

[suestorm]

Posted: 10/7/13 at 3:32pm

according to my BF, the spitting sportscaster is a real guy and it was sppot on

Posted: 10/7/13 at 4:10pm

I am sort of being facetious but sort of not...We can all agree Blackface (the practice of putting on make up to exaggerate the features of another race) is offensive. What is drag but the application of make up to exaggerate the features of another sex?

[suestorm]

Posted: 10/7/13 at 4:13pm

people are too darn sensitive. richard pryor, don rickles, monty python would probably be protested by a lot of people here on this board if they did their acts today

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 10/7/13 at 4:14pm

Particularly around the dawn of second wave feminism there were plenty of critiques of drag for just that reason. As the years went by, many feminist cultural critics eased up on that, but not all by any means.

I think it's fun to talk about these things and look at them from as many angles as possible. Usually, however, people just react ("Shirley Q Liquor is NOT racist because Charles Knipp says so so people are just being too politically correct!")

[SonofRobbieJ]

Posted: 10/7/13 at 4:33pm

I haven't watched a whole lot of 30 Rock, but the Two Black Swans moment featuring Jane Krakowski in black make-up as Lynn Swann remains one of the biggest laughs I've ever had watching a tv show.

I agree that it's an interesting topic of conversation. It can just devolve so quickly.

[YouWantitWhen????]

Posted: 10/7/13 at 4:34pm

I really did not have a problem with it. It was an impression, not a stepin fetchit sketch.

White actors portrays Kardashians, here, a woman of color played someone of a different color, not a big deal to me.

[SonofRobbieJ]

Posted: 10/7/13 at 4:38pm

And was that Kate McKinnon as both Jane Lynch AND Tilda Swinton?

Cause she was f*cking brilliant.

[Lavieboheme3090]

Posted: 10/7/13 at 4:56pm

It's probably to much too assume that both since both Nasim Pedrad and Aziz Ansari are on comedy shows on the same network that they most likely know each other in some professional capacity, and wouldn't be overly offend by a comedy sketch.

[finebydesign]

Posted: 10/7/13 at 5:11pm

I wonder if a Judy Garland impersonator ever crossed the other bridge...

[PalJoey]

Posted: 10/7/13 at 5:15pm

Judy Garland in blackface.

[Liza's Headband]

Posted: 10/7/13 at 8:01pm

Wow.