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Yeah, my wording was definitely too general. There was slavery in Spain, my intended meaning was that there was no systematic enslavement of black people but th
by Al-Khwarizmi 4y ago
Yeah, my wording was definitely too general. There was slavery in Spain, my intended meaning was that there was no systematic enslavement of black people but there is definitely a chasm between what was in my brain and what I actually wrote, so I stand corrected.
Regarding blackface, what do you suggest to do, then, if there is a tradition of someone portraying a character (whom children believe in) that happens to be black, if there are no black people at all to do it?
- foldr 4y agoFrom the Wikipedia article linked above: >By the 16th century, 7.4 percent of the population in Seville, Spain were slaves. Many historians have concluded that Renaissance and early-modern Spain had the highest amount of African slaves in Europe As for what to do about blackface characters, the simplest solution is just to portray them differently. I believe this is gradually becoming a more popular option in the Netherlands, which has a similar problem with Zwarte Piet: https://raffia-magazine.com/2020/12/02/outgrowing-zwarte-piet-turning-a-racist-past-into-an-inclusive-future/ https://raffia-magazine.com/2020/12/02/outgrowing-zwarte-pie...
- wizofaus 4y agoDo you have as an example of where applying dark coloured make-up to anyone of a European background to make them look exotic/foreign doesn't also look completely ridiculous (and inevitably somewhat insulting)? And yes I'd include "Zwarte Piet". If you're putting on a performance where it's crucial that the audience identifies a particular character as African (or Moorish) then find a performer who can convincingly and respectfully pull it off sans make-up, or adapt the plot to what you have available. I gather that's what's done for the part of Othello for at least 30 years now at any rate.