Racial brownface

Minstrel shows have been seen within the United States since the formal institution of slavery in the early 1800s.[9] They relied heavily on mocking the minority or the foreign, including race, class, and social standing. Their target audience was the white middle class, anyone who was seen as 'normal' or 'accepted,' and served mainly to reassure them about their own social standings and importance. Brownface, although always an element in these shows, became a much bigger part during the late 1800s and early 1900s, with a reappearance during the Civil Rights Movement during the 1960s. As economic and social factors during this time encouraged nativism and a shunning of the foreign, the increased immigration from Latin America and India led to the success of these types of shows. Immigrants and foreigners became increasingly unpopular and unwelcome, and entertainment and social norms based on degrading them became stronger. Brownface was used in these shows to reinforce stereotypes, portraying brown people as lazy, stubborn, and unable to assimilate into American life.

José Jiménez was the character used by Bill Dana, an American comedian during the 1960s, to mock and humiliate Latino culture.[10] His appearance, and the increased prominence of brownface, can be credited to the Civil Rights Movement in the United States during this time. As blackface and racism against African-Americans became increasingly unpopular, it can be explained that brownface and racism against other foreigners was the next go-to. José Jiménez was portrayed as a Hispanic man incapable of meeting 'American' traditions and values, struggling to learn English, and appearing lazy and untrustworthy. He was based heavily on racial stereotypes which also propelled his success during this decade.

There are several theories that aim to explain why characters like José Jiménez were so successful, even as current as 70 years ago. In the 400s BC, Plato theorized 3 main reasons why laughter occurs, or in other words, why certain things are perceived as humorous.[11] The success of Dana's character and most characters used in minstrel shows are results of the superiority theory. This theory explains that humor comes out of ridicule and degrading or mocking a certain idea or group of people. This type of humor serves to place an inferior object or person as the source of ridicule and laughter, allowing the superior audience to be entertained by it, as well as gaining a new sense of security in their superiority. This is most clearly the form of humor that minstrel shows and characters like José Jiménez stem from. There are two other theories. First, the incongruity theory, which explains how the putting together of two or more things to create a ridiculous scene creates laughter. This was also used in brownface minstrel shows when characters like Jimenez were put into over-sized clothing to make them look more childlike, thus equating them to inferior and less intelligent beings. The second is the relief theory, which also forms a large basis of the success of minstrel shows. This theory is founded on Plato's belief that when controversial topics like racism or sex are allowed to be joked about it takes some relief off of the social and political stress in daily life. Allowing these uncomfortable but present topics to be acknowledged in a humorous way, allows them to be more taboo in serious conversation, further entrapping them. While these three theories are commonly accepted, they are often debated and discussed. They do, however, offer some explanation on why minstrel shows gained so much success and popularity during times of social and political struggle.

Ben Kingsley played Mahatma Gandhi in the 1982 film Gandhi. Although he is of Indian descent on his father's side, he is naturally fairly light-skinned. In order to appear more like Gandhi, Kingsley wore darker makeup. It has been suggested that he used brownface for the film in order to look more Indian than he is.[35]

Another common complaint comes from the way that Kingsley appears to become more white throughout the film, especially as he transforms spiritually and could be described as becoming more Christian. Although it is difficult to prove that his character actually becomes more white, the fact that Kingsley did wear darker makeup for the role gives the claim a basis.

The film is critically acclaimed and beloved, although as intolerance for racism and brownface increases, it has gained more attention and criticism for these reasons.

In 2015, the American cooking television host Paula Deen posted a picture of her son in brownface to her Twitter account.[36] The picture showed her son dressed as Ricky Ricardo from the television show I Love Lucy, with the caption "Lucyyyyyyy! You got a lot of esplainin' to do!" Deen's picture received harsh backlash and sparked controversy as her son was pictured wearing a layer of dark makeup on his face and neck, in an effort to make him look like the Cuban character. She immediately removed the picture from her Twitter and other social media accounts, but still received criticism for uploading the image in the first place. Many believed that this was a clear case of brownface, though not meant to be racist or malicious. Her critics believed it showed ignorance on Deen's part and that attempting to change her son's skin color was unacceptable. This incident is an example of how brownface survives today. Although minstrel shows and clear acts of racism are uncommon, brownface is still shown in this way.

The SNL alum, who has a Filipino grandmother, has been criticized for playing a Middle Eastern delivery man in Big Daddy, an Asian minister in I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry, an Asian waiter in Eight Crazy Nights, a Latino in The Waterboy, a native Hawaiian in 50 First Dates, a Palestinian cab driving terrorist in You Don't Mess With the Zohan and a Saudi Prince in Click.[37]

Aziz Ansari, an Indian American actor and director, along with Alan Yang, wrote and produced a television show called Master of None.[39] The show follows the life of Dev, a thirty-year-old American, played by Ansari, who strives to be an actor in New York City. The show focuses mainly on the struggles of this, as well as the comedic up and downs of life in New York City. Most importantly, however, it shows the struggles of being an Indian American in a predominately white society, even a city as diverse as New York City. Ansari elaborated in an interview that many of the incidents and situations that Dev faces were inspired by his own life in the United States. "Master of None" is worth mentioning because it is one of the first television series where Indian Americans are portrayed in a positive way, and where most of the cast is Indian. Indian Americans have typically been portrayed in media for comedic purposes, such as the character Apu in The Simpsons. Apu fulfills the offensive stereotype of an Indian American owning and running a convenience store and forcing his beliefs on those around him. Apu and other Indian characters in media act as comedic relief and to fulfill racial stereotypes. Produced and directed by Ansari, it gains status and trust by Indian Americans. The episode "Indians on TV" specifically focused on white actors using make up to play dark-skinned characters.