Turkish TV reporter dons blackface during report about President Obama

[Amerigo Vespucci]

Run time: 04:35 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4crN7SL5pZE   Posted on YouTube: April 07, 2009 By YouTube Member: Views on YouTube: 0   Posted on DU: April 08, 2009 By DU Member: Amerigo Vespucci Views on DU: 2378

 

[tomm2thumbs]

1. I didn't know FOX had a Turkish affiliate

call me surprised

[Karenina]

12. Y'ALL ARE OFF AND RUNNING ROUND THE WRONG TRACK!!!

As soon as I saw the post, I ran around the corner to Ahmed's Internet shop and demanded he look IMMEDIATELY! It was fun watching his reaction. The blackface has to do with an old Turkish saying. It is an entreaty to ethical behaviour and not derogatory. We agreed the guy looked pretty good! :rofl:

I'll gather more commentary from my circle of native speakers.

[noiretextatique]

13. thanks for the information, K

knees continue to jerk...

[marshall]

15. Either way it's an insult

There is a discussion about it here:

http://jonathanturley.org/2009/04/08/lost-in-translation-turkish-anchor-appears-in-blackface-on-air-in-coverage-of-president-obama/

I have no idea who this guy is--somebody who seems to understand Turkish has posted a translation and opinion.

[burning rain]

28. Fox News is too sophisticated, has too good of taste,....

to pull something like this. And that's saying something.

[Bankhead_ATL]

2. I am at a lost for words.......smh

[MercutioATC]

3. Hard to figure out the intent without speaking Turkish.

Maybe it's just a cultural thing...they don't see it as offensive?

[marshall]

5. We didn't see it as offensive either--fifty years ago......

The rest of the world will catch up one day.

[MercutioATC]

7. I was trying to give them the benefit of the doubt...

[terisan]

9. I would like to point out that in 1959 many Americans did see blackface as being offensive. I agree

that many -likely a majority did not-but the issue was being raised here in the 1950s.

[Karenina]

14. TURKEY!!! This is about a TURKISH REPORT!!!

Can you ask some questions rather than projecting your movies??? PLEASE??? :hi:

[Karenina]

19. Let's not rush to judgement and let the takes of native speakers

inform our discussion.

[YOY]

4. Cok Cok tasteless.

Jerak...

[Karenina]

6. Before passing judgement it might be wise

to have SOUND! Do you speak Turkish?

[YOY]

8. A few words actually. I do speak the languages of two of it's neighbors.

I already sent the link to my homefry in Ankara.

I think I picked up the words for "the Same America."

[Karenina]

23. Yup! In relation to promises made since 1975.

"You must stand behind what you say." Still searching... Bitte haben Sie etwas Geduld.

[YOY]

27. Anything more? My pal Onur prolly won't write back til Friday if I know him.

n.t.

[Karenina]

30. Manyana, manyana*... So ist es.

I've lit up the hood with the link and will have myself a good ol' time in the coming week collecting the commentary. No need to have it yesterday. I asked A. to take her time and show it to friends. We'll do Kaffee und Kuchen or something. Group discussion. I want to get beyond the surface appearance viewed through my own cultural lens.

*I don't know where to find that diacritical mark but know you get my drift!

[MADem]

10. The Japanese have used a blackfaced magician playing Obama

Obama, the Magician...."Change!!! Yes We Can!!!!" You can get the gist of this even without subtitles.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GpNSip5gyKo

And here are a couple of racists here at home, doing their radio show in blackface: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CyGwlAI52cE

And this beauty, on a show that appeals to the Cuban demographic in FL, flew under the radar, too: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wCzCyks6J78

The Turkish guy is offensive, but he's not the first by a long shot.

[graywarrior]

11. Man, the stuff you don't hear about until you hear about them

Unbelievable.

[MADem]

17. They LOVE blackface, for some reason. When I lived in Japan,

there used to be this doo-wop group that sang fifties/soul hits, and they did it in very thick, coal black, blackface, with tuxedos, and pompadours. .... and white gloves.

Also, they didn't put the makeup on their necks--which were lily white.

Here's another group that did something similar--only they didn't pile on the blackface quite so thick: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=00RWEJY3YG4

Here's a guy doing an immy of Louis Armstrong: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c7-9E6uHAek

I don't get it, myself, the WHY of it all.

[graywarrior]

18. I think the Japanese are obsessed with any American pop culture, so

I can sort of understand their thing. The other stuff is very strange.

[indimuse]

22. hehe....

right.... :)

[Karenina]

16. Are you certain of that?

:shrug:

[MADem]

20. You obviously didn't click on any of the links I provided....?

:shrug:

[Karenina]

21. None of them are about TURKEY!!!

Some of my best friends are... :evilgrin: First, I wanna know what THEY saw and heard, as I understand neither the language nor the references. I always tell my ESL students, "Context is EVERYTHING."

[MADem]

24. No one "intends" any harm when they do these things, I know.

Except maybe the jerks at the radio station--they were doing it to "incite."

The Turkish guy could have been calling Obama the New Messiah, the Hope For The World, the Savior of the Planet...it doesn't matter. It's a cultural knife-in-the-heart, particularly when the guy is made up sloppily, and using what looks like MUD--the guy's natural skin color is closer to Obama's than that brown smeared stuff is.

When the Japanese do it, they intend it as an "homage," mostly, and they also are looking to get a giggle out of it. They don't connect the context of Minstrel Shows and Step-N-Fetchit and all of that ugly and painful history. They don't internalize the insult.

When the Cubans (Cuban-Americans) did it, they were getting their digs in--there was nothing that was "not racial" about that piece. They were making fun of the "negrito" and more specifically, his African roots. One may think, why, so many Cubans are of mixed race, how can that be that they would do such a thing? Well, it is. There's no small amount of "shade" and "feature" prejudice as well amongst some (SOME, not all, so I don't want to hear it) quarters. I hear this stuff in Puerto Rico sometimes, too, even though the same "Who's yer granny?" (suggesting Granny was a darker shade) chit-chat is laughed about, as well.

I don't go for the (ryhmes with Bag-Bread) references about anyone who was born in Turkey, the Arab World, or southwest asia, either. The "I was only keeeeeding...I keeeed!" excuses after the fact don't really cut it. They knew they were wrong, but they did it anyway, to get a reaction--be it giggles, or shock, or laughter--from their audiences. It's just not cool to hurt the feelings of others with appearance-based humor that is, well, gratuitous.

[liberation]

26. Sometimes a black face is just a black face...

When I hear some Americans analyze other culture's ratial prejudices, I end up learning more about our own American prejudices than the foreign ones being discussed.

Regardless of context the clip looks lame...

[ArmeniansForObama]

25. It doesn't surprise me.

[Karenina]

31. Did you watch the "Town Hall" with Turkish students?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sxtRR7d8qIY

[Iggo]

29. I say we kill him.

Then let's kill anyone who draws a picture of Mohammed.

Or wait a second. Maybe we should just say, "What an idjit" and move on.