Sign in or register
for additional privileges

Birth of An Industry: Blackface Minstrelsy and the Rise of American Animation

Nicholas Sammond, Author
Conclusion, page 6 of 19
Previous page on path     Next page on path

 

You appear to be using an older verion of Internet Explorer. For the best experience please upgrade your IE version or switch to a another web browser.

Conclusion, Page 275

In Tropic Thunder (2008), Robert Downey Jr. as Kirk Lazarus/Lincoln Osiris tries to calm Ben Stiller as a lost Tugg  Speedman (a la Marlon Brando in Apocalypse Now [1979]), then loses himself in a mirror.

In an earlier scene, Stiller as the failing action star Speedman witness his failure as an actor while playing the mentally disabled Jack in Simple Jack, one of the movies-within-a-movie in Tropic Thunder (2008).

Tropic Thunder plays with notions of racial authenticity in transgressive ways, yet the primary backlash against the film was not for its use of blackface; it came from disability advocacy communities over the repeated use of "retard" and the portrayal of Simple Jack.

Tropic Thunder attempts to deflect criticism of its portrayal of race by mounting an internal self-critique. Brandon T. Jackson's character, Alpa Chino, repeatedly calls out Lazarus for his minstrel performance—what New York Times film critic Manhola Dargis has described as "the filmmakers' way of having their chocolate cake and eating it too."
Comment on this page
  • Local Discussion
    •
  • Popout
    •
 

Discussion of "Conclusion, Page 275"

Add your voice to this discussion.

Checking your signed in status ...

Previous page on path Conclusion, page 6 of 19 Next page on path
2000s    Live Cinema    Moving Image

Related:  Space, Page 141,  Space, Page 165,  Race, Page 239,  Space, Page 191,  Performance, Page 41,  Race, Page 221,  Introduction, Page 30,  Space, Page 197,  Performance, Page 45,  Labor, Page 88,  Introduction, Page 16,  Space, Page 193,  Conclusion, Page 303,  Race, Page 206,  Performance, Page 74,  Space, Page 138,  Race, Page 232,  Performance, Page 50,  Labor, Page 98,  Conclusion, Page 273,  Labor, Page 133,  Conclusion, Page 286,  Race, Page 235,  Introduction, Page 29,  Conclusion, Page 278,  Introduction, Page 14,  Space, Page 172,  Conclusion, Page 284,  Space, Page 188,  Space, Page 189,  Race, Page 213,  Space, Page 178,  Space, Page 163,  Introduction, Page 21,  Performance, Page 46,  Introduction, Page 15,  Labor, Page 109,  Conclusion, Page 291,  Conclusion, Page 289,  Space, Page 170,  Labor, Page 112,  Space, Page 150,  Performance, Page 35,  Performance, Page 34,  Race, Page 261,  Conclusion, Page 271,  Conclusion, Page 292,  Introduction, Page 4,  Race, Page 225,  Race, Page 252,  Space, Page 155,  Introduction, Page 2,  Introduction, Page 6,  Space, Page 177,  Race, Page 254,  Race, Page 248,  Labor, Page 122,  Space, Page 183,  Introduction, Page 23,  Performance, Page 72,  Space, Page 175,  Space, Page 162,  Performance, Page 84,  Space, Page 194,  Labor, Page 132,  Conclusion, Page 298,  Performance, Page 44,  Conclusion, Page 304,  Performance, Page 60,  Labor, Page 123,  Performance, Page 43,  Performance, Page 42,  Performance, Page 52,  Space, Page 143,  Race, Page 231,  Performance, Page 47,  Performance, Page 54,  Labor, Page 110,  Space, Page 190,  Conclusion, Page 302,  Race, Page 258,  Space, Page 187,  Performance, Page 77,  Performance, Page 82,  Conclusion, Page 300,  Race, Page 204,  Conclusion, Page 296,  Space, Page 182,  Conclusion, Page 290,  Introduction, Page 1,  Race, Page 253,  Race, Page 247,  Race, Page 220,  Labor, Page 128,  Race, Page 251,  Space, Page 146,  Labor, Page 113,  Race, Page 230,  Race, Page 224,  Race, Page 229,  Space, Page 181,  Space, Page 148