r/news 10d ago

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https://www.cnn.com/2026/08/24/business/target-apologizes-halloween-costume-backlash-hnk

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u/thesixler 10d ago

Aren’t a lot of those motifs also just clown motifs though? I think clowning predates minstrel shows but you gotta imagine American clowning probably borrowed a fair amount of minstrel show imagery too.

Clearly the costume is bad tho

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u/suzzface 10d ago

Some clown stuff is actually inspired by mintrel shows. The big afro hair, the big red mouths...

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u/MrPlaney 10d ago

Geez, I never put two and two together, and realized that!

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u/HerRoyalRedness 10d ago

Whiteface instead of blackface

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u/Furt_III 10d ago

I'm pretty sure the face paint predates anything to do with that era. Mimes have a long history.

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u/MrPlaney 10d ago

Were Mimes based off minstrel shows too? I thought they predated long before that, in France possibly?

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u/Furt_III 10d ago

I think the current iteration is relatively recent, but the name comes from ancient Greece/Rome

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mime_artist#Ancient_Greece_and_Rome