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
Moving Image    2000s    Live Cinema

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