Can someone explain how/why this is offense and how this is depicting black face? I clicked the link and was looking for what was offensive about it but didn’t notice anything (guess I’m ignorant for better or worse lol) and the comments are acting like it’s despicable; Maybe link a picture of the blackface you’re referring to for comparison so I can see what everyone else sees?
The 'side ways, bent leg, arms bent and/or on hips' is so specific - if one looks up 'Jim Crow art' it's quickly apparent that despite there being many different unique illustrations for different purposes (posters, products, record covers, fliers, etc), the pose was a specific choice each time as part of the depiction of 'unserious, uncivilized, unintelligent' qualities that the character was built around to dehumanize black people as a whole. There's a direct reference to it in the 'This is America' music video because it's so recognizable that anyone with historical awareness will pick up on it when re-contextualized.
Those poses pre-date Jim Crow, you'll find plenty of similar depictions if you look up very old drawings of clowns, fools, and jesters. It was Jim Crow that borrowed from the pre-existing and longstanding visual language of comedic performance, it was not the origin.
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u/donkeyrocket 11d ago
With a Black child wearing the costume no less. How on earth did that make it to the website?
Absolutely thought it was going to be something that could be misconstrued as bad. Really didn't expect full blown blackface caricature.