[interesting trope]Jokes about blackface that avoid actually doing blackface

[u/DifficultHat]

1. In Zoolander when Hansel and Derek are in disguise, they are played by other actors. Derek removes his face makeup off screen so Ben Stiller is never seen in blackface except for his neck and ears

2. In The Neighbors the Weaver family is picking a Halloween costume. During the montage of them trying on options the parents and both daughters are wearing semi formal clothing (business suit, pantsuits etc) looking in the mirror looking disappointed, while Max is dressed as a dog. After a beat one of them says “No one is going to be able to tell we’re the Obamas”. The youngest daughter innocently suggests painting their faces and the parents immediately tell her no. (I hate that I couldn’t find a clip or a picture of this)

3. One episode of Ellsbeth included a plot point about a model being blackmailed with the negatives from a “cultures around the world” photoshoot where she was in makeup to portray multiple races. The photos are discussed but never seen.

4. In an episode of the Dick Van Dyke show, Rob and Laura accidentally dye their hands black the morning before attending a gala for “The Committee for Interracial Understanding”. They wear fancy gloves to hide it but then reveal their predicament when Rob is giving a speech.

5. Similar to Zoolander, in Master of Disguise when Fabbrizzio is disguised as Michael Johnson, he is played by Michael Johnson & his exit from the disguise is covered in a camera flash as he holds up the constitution he just stole.

[u/justputsomenamehere]

Thank goodness we avoided seeing Ben stiller in black face in Zoolander

[u/DifficultHat → u/justputsomenamehere]

I mean he is covered in coal dust at one point but so is everyone, they’re in a coal mine

[u/justputsomenamehere → u/DifficultHat]

I can tell youre lying to yourself

[u/DifficultHat → u/justputsomenamehere]

Nope, I just misremembered the scene. I was thinking of the gag where you see him taking off coal dust with a massive amount of cotton balls.

I saw the comment that u/unicorntrees posted and I thought that by that point all the miners were covered in coal and Derek was just goofing around.

Wasn’t till I looked it up and saw the full clip where you see his dad’s reaction and the level of dirtiness the other miners are at that I realized Derek painted himself black to hide in shadow.

It’s been awhile since I saw it last but I don’t remember this moment. Maybe it was deleted on the TV edit? Idk.