There I go being reasonable again. The song is of course embarrassingly racist, but Douglas got away with it because it was taken as a sign of clumsy respect - and you can't really expect better from black people, eh? So double racism from the condescension that refuses to call him on it.
Once the song enters the culture as evocative of an era, I suppose an entertainer might no longer notice the problems. And wrongly figure that because people of other races can sing the song, any race could. I should have been clearer that many white people can't do multiculturalism, but some can.
Now a SNL routine where a Chinese person sang the song, with people of any other race doing the gestures in the background - that would be funny.
The "music" area of your brain must be a very strange place.
ReplyDeleteOnly white people? I recall in England a year or so back an Asian took offense at a white guy singing this song.
ReplyDeleteThis song makes me want to travel the world and expand my cultural horizons.
ReplyDeleteSimon Ledger
ReplyDeleteThere I go being reasonable again. The song is of course embarrassingly racist, but Douglas got away with it because it was taken as a sign of clumsy respect - and you can't really expect better from black people, eh? So double racism from the condescension that refuses to call him on it.
ReplyDeleteOnce the song enters the culture as evocative of an era, I suppose an entertainer might no longer notice the problems. And wrongly figure that because people of other races can sing the song, any race could. I should have been clearer that many white people can't do multiculturalism, but some can.
Now a SNL routine where a Chinese person sang the song, with people of any other race doing the gestures in the background - that would be funny.
There should be a "like" button on Texan99's comment.
ReplyDelete