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The idea of that segment of the Hey, Hey It's Saturday show is to go on and make a fool (or buffoon if Harry would prefer) of YOURSELF.
The group, very clearly from the beginning of the act, were not going to be able to dance and sing as well as the Jackson 5 and Michael Jackson but they were quite prepared to make fools of themselves trying.
THAT is the joke people.
To see how far you can get into your routine making a fool of YOURSELF before Red (Symons) bangs the gong and you're off.
Given that the group DIDN'T do anything more than dress in costume (had they been portraying The Spice Girls they'd have all been in frocks and I'm quite sure Harry wouldn't have been screaming misogyny) and attempt to imitate the Jackson 5 & Michael Jackson and given that there is ONE Anglo Australian in the group and the rest are from many different Australian cultural backgrounds (including the Michael Jackson character being of Indian decent) AND given that the whole group are all HUGE Michael Jackson fans I can only assume that Harry thought this would be an excellent opportunity to get himself some notoriety, incorrectly assume the intent and the context of the act and then make a mountain out of a molehill going off on the completely wrong tangent.
He is correct though, it wouldn't have been seen on American television because American television has a whole other set of acceptable and unacceptable stereotypes it likes to portray.
Harry filtered an Australian comedic moment through an American lense and for that I have no issue, however if he truly meant no offense AND he truly understood what was going on then I'd suggest he'd not have made this offensive and racist comment.
“We have spent so much time trying to not make black people look like buffoons that when we see stuff like that we take it really to heart.”
AND he had time to think about what he was going to say.
Nobody here was trying to make black people look like buffoons, Harry.
Nobody here thinks black people are buffoons. They don't need people trying to make them not look like something that they're not in the first place.
I find it offensive that Harry thinks it was ok to imply otherwise.
Now if the group had come out with traditional blackface, mimicked Al Jolson and attempted derogatory stereotypical mannerisms and comments then we'd have some racism on our hands but as far as I can see all we have here is a group of multicultured Australians who are fans of Michael Jackson and the Jackson 5 that wanted to make fools of THEMSELVES dressing up in costume and trying dismally to imitate their idols and what followed was a whole bunch of highly selective pc malarky which has sparked an international incident that seems to have generated quite a bit of publicity for a man who should know better.
Should Harry have said something? Absolutely.
Should it have been the inference that I don't understand what is happening here so I'm just going to label a bad thing and turn it into something it's not? NO!
"I am an Indian, and five of the six of us are from multicultural backgrounds and to be called a racist," he told Fairfax radio network. "I don't think I have ever been called that ever in my life before."
1) Black face is offesive to African AMericans. If you don't like that term, Black people living in America.
2) The Jacksons are ...... African AMerican. Or Black people living in AMerica.
3) Harry Connick is..... American.
He has offended. I would have been offended. He made his sentiments known.... it is offensive. He didn't call them racists or evil people, he gave them a mini history lesson about AMERICANS from his AMERICAN POV.
Now, they know. And next time, let's hope they drop the Black face.
Quote:
Originally Posted by moonshadow
Can we talk about the concept of Red Faces now?
The idea of that segment of the Hey, Hey It's Saturday show is to go on and make a fool (or buffoon if Harry would prefer) of YOURSELF.
The group, very clearly from the beginning of the act, were not going to be able to dance and sing as well as the Jackson 5 and Michael Jackson but they were quite prepared to make fools of themselves trying.
THAT is the joke people.
To see how far you can get into your routine making a fool of YOURSELF before Red (Symons) bangs the gong and you're off.
Given that the group DIDN'T do anything more than dress in costume (had they been portraying The Spice Girls they'd have all been in frocks and I'm quite sure Harry wouldn't have been screaming misogyny) and attempt to imitate the Jackson 5 & Michael Jackson and given that there is ONE Anglo Australian in the group and the rest are from many different Australian cultural backgrounds (including the Michael Jackson character being of Indian decent) AND given that the whole group are all HUGE Michael Jackson fans I can only assume that Harry thought this would be an excellent opportunity to get himself some notoriety, incorrectly assume the intent and the context of the act and then make a mountain out of a molehill going off on the completely wrong tangent.
He is correct though, it wouldn't have been seen on American television because American television has a whole other set of acceptable and unacceptable stereotypes it likes to portray.
Harry filtered an Australian comedic moment through an American lense and for that I have no issue, however if he truly meant no offense AND he truly understood what was going on then I'd suggest he'd not have made this offensive and racist comment.
“We have spent so much time trying to not make black people look like buffoons that when we see stuff like that we take it really to heart.”
AND he had time to think about what he was going to say.
Nobody here was trying to make black people look like buffoons, Harry.
Nobody here thinks black people are buffoons. They don't need people trying to make them not look like something that they're not in the first place.
I find it offensive that Harry thinks it was ok to imply otherwise.
Now if the group had come out with traditional blackface, mimicked Al Jolson and attempted derogatory stereotypical mannerisms and comments then we'd have some racism on our hands but as far as I can see all we have here is a group of multicultured Australians who are fans of Michael Jackson and the Jackson 5 that wanted to make fools of THEMSELVES dressing up in costume and trying dismally to imitate their idols and what followed was a whole bunch of highly selective pc malarky which has sparked an international incident that seems to have generated quite a bit of publicity for a man who should know better.
Should Harry have said something? Absolutely.
Should it have been the inference that I don't understand what is happening here so I'm just going to label a bad thing and turn it into something it's not? NO!
"I am an Indian, and five of the six of us are from multicultural backgrounds and to be called a racist," he told Fairfax radio network. "I don't think I have ever been called that ever in my life before."
it was in Australia, I'm not sure how the people of color down under feel about it, but in America it wouldn't have flown (few people even attempt it here, even in jest)... I'm glad HJC said how he felt about it, I would have LOVED to see native Australians reactions, as I'm not at all hip to their culture.
Someone on this thread is from Australia and has given there opinion already and felt that it was inappropriate and was embarrassed.
In an interview given today one of the men in the skits said he would have never done the skit in America as the joke would have been viewed as being offensive. He knew this and did the skit anyways.
Hopefully, this brings about some conversations amongst their Aberingist (I know I spelled that so wrong) people.
Someone on this thread is from Australia and has given there opinion already and felt that it was inappropriate and was embarrassed.
In an interview given today one of the men in the skits said he would have never done the skit in America as the joke would have been viewed as being offensive. He knew this and did the skit anyways.
Hopefully, this brings about some conversations amongst their Aberingist (I know I spelled that so wrong) people.
Perhaps you should educate yourself on a subject before you comment on it. Yes there are issues in this country with the indigenous people but the solution is not an easy one. The original occupants of this land were displaced by the invading British culture. They had their land stolen from them and of course they are bitter about that. This happened in the late 1700's though and we can't all just pack up and leave them to it now. Would you do that for your indigenous nations? I don't think so.
There are a lot of social issues that have arisen out of the various actions taken in regard to our indigenous population, but we keep on trying to find a solution. It's just not easy to find one that makes everyone happy. Our Prime Minister made a formal apology to the Aboriginal people for the things that have been done to their culture. There are a lot of inequalities still ingrained in my country's culture but at least we are willing to talk about it and try to find solutions.
I think the big mistake here is equating African Americans with Indigenous Australians. A more accurate comparison would be with your indigenous people, the native Americans.
Someone on this thread is from Australia and has given there opinion already and felt that it was inappropriate and was embarrassed.
In an interview given today one of the men in the skits said he would have never done the skit in America as the joke would have been viewed as being offensive. He knew this and did the skit anyways.
Hopefully, this brings about some conversations amongst their Aberingist (I know I spelled that so wrong) people.
Because he is in Australia and we are NOT Americans. Or do your views on Freedom Of Speech only extend to people of any nation only being able to be free to speak as long as it is in line with some American thinking?
Perhaps you should educate yourself on a subject before you comment on it. Yes there are issues in this country with the indigenous people but the solution is not an easy one. The original occupants of this land were displaced by the invading British culture. They had their land stolen from them and of course they are bitter about that. This happened in the late 1700's though and we can't all just pack up and leave them to it now. Would you do that for your indigenous nations? I don't think so.
There are a lot of social issues that have arisen out of the various actions taken in regard to our indigenous population, but we keep on trying to find a solution. It's just not easy to find one that makes everyone happy. Our Prime Minister made a formal apology to the Aboriginal people for the things that have been done to their culture. There are a lot of inequalities still ingrained in my country's culture but at least we are willing to talk about it and try to find solutions.
I think the big mistake here is equating African Americans with Indigenous Australians. A more accurate comparison would be with your indigenous people, the native Americans.
People need to get a life and NOT react to some parady that may be on TV.
As an American would watch "All in the family" and loved Archies bantering on different Races.
Also watched Englands "Benny Hill" for a good laugh. Some of the things he did were strange to me but the audience laughed so it must have been a local joke of some kind that only the English would recognize.
Nothing wrong with laughing at ourselves. It is a sign of recognition by others who really see what we do in our daily lives without realizing how funny some things are. Would be like seeing yourself in the mirror with food on your chin or smeared makeup on a woman. A laugh is a laugh and good for the soul.
I did see a part of the Black face skit...smiled a little but did not laugh at it.
As a former Canuck can understand a Canadian viewpoint and also that from those down under.
We need a little laugh in life to keep ourselves sane at times.
Steve
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