I read Roger Ebert's review of the film Tropic Thunder today, and I was disappointed that he glides so easily over the question of Robert Downey Jr. in blackface. I'm a big fan of Ebert's reviews and his opinion is really one of the few that I care about before going to see any movie (Ed Gonzales's are the others that I put stake into). The review is not that good in comparison to his other ones, generally speaking, but I was expecting some kind of thoughtful criticism of race in the movie, and none was offered. This is disconcerting because the movie is so highly anticipated and will make boatloads of money and influence huge numbers of people in its representations.
But more so than simply not confronting the use of stereotypes in the movie, Ebert seemingly contradicts himself when you compare this review to his review of Spike Lee's Bamboozled, where he heavily criticizes Lee's use of blackface and stereotypical imagery precisely because he believes the imagery is too powerful and controversial in its own right to be successful. Frankly, he seems to give white Hollywood a pass where he wouldn't give a black filmmaker.
After the fold I've copied the e-mail that I sent to feedback@rogerebert.com, and I've included links to the two reviews.
Read More
