Blackface and the (Sometime Not-so) Nuanced Practice of Racial Representation
There have been a couple of recent incidents in Korea that have flared up a discussion of racism in society and I'm hoping to round out what happened with a few posts. It's an interesting time to have one foot in the US and one in Korea as Race in media has become a focal point of concern in both contexts but in very different ways.
For today, we'll talk about this scandal that has gotten world-wide attention -
I know I know I know... super cringy and simply screwed-up. This happened last week when “gag-man” Hyunhee Hwang (황현희) performed a comedy sketch on major television network SBS. I won't go into the entire ordeal, since a picture is worth a bajillion words, but you can read more on the incident here.
Needless to say, there was a social uproar both within the country and around the world. Other Korean media stars condemned it “embarrassing” and “shameful.” But what I really want to focus on in this post is how we label certain things, and other things not so much, as “racist.”
_____-Face (Insert Color/Race of Choice Here)
Last week, my wife and I watched the Korean film “Missing” (미씽), a thriller that follows the dramatic search of a single Korean mother when her child is kidnapped by her Chinese nanny. Nannies and caretakers are a fairly common profession and Korean families often employ immigrants for these roles.
What really stood out to me was the presentation of the Chinese nanny, played by actress Hyojin Gong (공효진). The left picture is her film “costume” and the right her “normally”-
Can you see the difference? Moles. Lots of them. A common and mundane stereotype used by Koreans of Chinese people is the amount of moles they have. So for this movie, the team thought the best way to depict the Chinese antagonist is with... a lot of moles.
I'll let you in on a secret... Koreans have just as many moles. Most just get them laser-removed.
Korea is an interesting context to talk about race. It is one of the most homogenous nations in the world and most citizens can go their entire lives without talking to someone who doesn't look and talk Korean. So is this 'forgivable'? Can we just chalk this up to naïve ignorance? Blackface seems egregiously insensitive and just plain stupid at this point, but what of more nuanced instances like this movie character?
The “Line”
To be honest, I see this fairly often. I almost spit my drink out in the movie theater watching Cloud Atlas when actor Jim Sturgess walked into one later scene like this -
- Anyone have examples of Whiteface?
And the problem isn't just about facial appearances. Racial representation in media has a great deal do with the accents emulated, wardrobe choices, actions and mannerisms, and the list goes on. The Washing 'Redskins' football team is still embroiled in an age-old controversy concerning their blatant name and logo depicting a Native American with a caricatured headdress.
The difficult truth is, there is no science to what we deem as acceptable when it comes to multiculturalism. What is offensive to some may not be to others and those perceptions transform over time.
What do you think? How do we move forward with this conversation?
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You also posted an interesting topic this time.
I want to applaud you for always making a sympathetic posting.
I am also Korean, but we are very exclusive compared to other people.
Perhaps we are attributed to too much emphasis on being a Korean people.
Now that we are becoming globalized,
I think it is time to accept a bit more diversity.
I am always a fan of your article and I will follow you ^^
Thank you sochul-님! I agree that Koreans take nationalism to a whole different level and it will be interesting to see how that develops as society becomes more global and diverse.
Very interesting post, I had no idea about the Chinese 'mole' stereotype in Korea!
The only example of 'white face' i can think of is the movie 'White Chicks'
Hahahaha this completely slipped my mind... White Chicks is buried somewhere in my highschool subconscious...
oy vey with the moles! so funny but I as you say, we all have our stereotypes and none of them are ok. As always, you present an interesting look at Korean culture and I love learning about this foreign and previously unknown (to me) culture.
I'm glad this is interesting! I'd love to hear more of your thoughts on this. The conclusion that I've come to, especially living in the US, is that racial difference is unavoidable. I don't believe we'll ever be able to look at a white, black, or asian person and not see them differently based on ethnicity. Thus, racial representation will always somewhat underline interactions between people of various color. The really interesting question is how we societally designate an appropriate way to deal with this reality
I also just watched GET OUT so these subjects are fresh in mind.... =)
Racial differences are wonderful actually, and pointing out the differences in any way isn't inherently a problem. We could get away with using these differences in humor or in so many other ways if there was an fundamental respect and held each other as equal in value as a human. I know this is a lot to ask and a big leap within any culture I can think of worldwide, but it's where we all need to grow individually and collectively, or so it seems to me anyway. Thoughts?
The biggest challenge is that 'multiculturalism' where ethnicities/nationalities are on an equal playing field within one community has never truly happened before. This was actually one of the main motivations of creating the language Esperanto, so that one speak could be established between people of different backgrounds and appearances. Human history has always erred towards one racial group being dominant over another. The US has always tried very desperately to achieve this but of course it's no easy feat. I agree with you, it's a tremendous and unprecedented feat.
I think humor is a useful tool AS LONG AS like you said, we move away from these "Hurr hurr, look I'm black with all this dark paint on me" type of scenarios. They propagate a hierarchy of relationships.
I do hope/believe that a lot of this will change in this information age. My own efforts with Korean culture are motivated by a desire to showcase a fundamentally different society and create a more meaningful discussion of what a culture is. I think many people default to an idea that languages are equal but with different sounds or traditional clothing is used the same way with different styles.
Yes it's probably impossible to have equality unless human nature as we know it changes! I'd forgotten this intention for Esperanto, and it's a noble one yet as you say each culture with it's tradition and language is unique and beautiful, whereas homogeny isn't. WHen I think about humor, it's tricky and very people can successfully and respectfully use humor when it comes to people who are already systematically oppressed. Anyway, intersting topic that has very few answers, but I'm enjoying the exploration AND really enjoying being exposed to the Korean culture through your posts. Learning and exposure to what's unknown and different makes all the difference.
Super interesting discussion here @hansikhouse... There are so many racially blurry lines in the cultural and political landscape today. The Washington Redskins example is a maddening one that only South Park has found a reasonable response to... and Cloud Atlas? yikes.
South Park definitely blows it out of the water... I should do a post on Korean Mormons next... =P
Excellent post! I like your work My friend
Thanks! I have another post on racial discussion coming up soon so stay tuned