Blackface

Blackface was a form of theatrical makeup in which a white person would paint their face in order to play the role of someone who is African American. It was started and popularized in the 1800's and took off in America and some other countries as well. However, before it came to America it was practiced in Europe in Shakespeare's Othello theater. It was formerly known as Minstrel and at one time was the most popular form of entertainment. Nowadays blackface is extremely frowned up and pictures of people wearing blackface at parties in their college years seem to pop up and spark outrage against certain individuals. Rarely it is still used today. Robert Downey Jr’s role in the movie “Tropic Thunder” has him wearing blackface.

While this was not really a big deal at the time given the fact that most people overlooked it because of the comedical theme of the movie, since the riots and all the turmoil going on in america, people on social media have brought the movie to light and have been voicing their opinions on the topic. Robert Downey Jr has also recently came out saying he has no regrets over the movie. Personally I do not believe that blackface ever should have been a thing. However social media tends to throw heavy terms around lightly. for example, Kim K was wearing a tan shade of makeup and people tried to come at her and say that she was wearing blackface and how racist she was. Social media is also very toxic though. People need to learn to not just throw around terms with deep emotional meaning around and the littlest clue of it. Do not get me wrong though, the majority of blackface is blatantly racist and offensive.