Did 'SNL' Go Beyond the Pale With Fauxbama?

cnredd · #1 (**permalink**) 02-29-2008, 02:39 PM

Quote:

When Barack Obama announced his candidacy for president last year, some observers questioned whether the senator from Illinois was "black enough" to embody the hopes and aspirations of African Americans.

Now a variation on that theme has emerged: Is Fred Armisen, who is not African American, "black enough" to embody Obama on "Saturday Night Live"?

Debate over that question has been pinging around the Internet since Armisen, a veteran cast member, donned darker makeup to portray the Democratic candidate for the first time Saturday. Armisen played Obama opposite Amy Poehler's Hillary Clinton in a sketch satirizing the supposedly cushy treatment his candidacy has received from the media.

"SNL" impresario Lorne Michaels said yesterday by phone that he thought the sketch played so well that the show intends to air another Obama/Clinton debate spoof tomorrow night, with Armisen and Poehler reprising their characters.

Nobody much cared about Armisen's racial background (he is of white and Asian heritage) when he played Prince and Steve Jobs during seasons past of the NBC show. Nor did it seem to matter that "SNL's" Darrell Hammond, who is white, has impersonated the Rev. Jesse Jackson for years. Or that decades ago on "SNL," Billy Crystal played Sammy Davis Jr.

But in 2008, Obama isn't just any politician or celebrity. Which is why Armisen's DNA became something of an issue when he became "Fauxbama" in "SNL's" first show back since the writers' strike ended this month.

Maureen Ryan of the Chicago Tribune put the question bluntly: "Call me crazy, but shouldn't 'Saturday Night Live's' fictional Sen. Barack Obama be played by an African-American?" Ryan went on to conclude: "I find 'SNL's' choice inexplicable. Obama's candidacy gives us solid proof of the progress that African-Americans have made in this country. I guess 'SNL' still has further to go on that front."

Hannah Pool, a writer for the Guardian newspaper in Great Britain, suggested the whole setup had "minstrel" overtones.

"Casting a black actor wouldn't have guaranteed the quality of the sketch, but it would have made the whole thing a lot less shoddy," Pool wrote. "Let's get one thing straight. The moment anyone starts reaching for 'blackface,' they are on extremely dodgy territory. Anyone who thinks it's either necessary or, for that matter, remotely funny to black-up needs to have the gauge on their moral compass reset."

The urge to smack people and say "Grow up!"...

I think SNL isn't funny whatsoever, but this non-issue is just putrid...

crazyflamingos · #2 (**permalink**) 02-29-2008, 02:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cnredd

Did 'SNL' Go Beyond the Pale With Fauxbama?

The urge to smack people and say "Grow up!"...

I think SNL isn't funny whatsoever, but this non-issue is just putrid...

OMG! Isn't this the second time this week that you and I have agreed about something?

Oh well. I have been on opioid pain killers all week. Wait till I'm not high any more!

cnredd · #3 (**permalink**) 02-29-2008, 02:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by crazyflamingos

OMG! Isn't this the second time this week that you and I have agreed about something?

Oh well. I have been on opioid pain killers all week. Wait till I'm not high any more!

Maybe the pills finally got you to start thinking straight...

crazyflamingos · #4 (**permalink**) 02-29-2008, 03:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cnredd

Maybe the pills finally got you to start thinking straight...

Straight? Interesting choice of words. My partner of ten years really wouldn't like it if I suddenly started thinking "straight." She has too much time and money invested in me for that!

cnredd · #5 (**permalink**) 02-29-2008, 03:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by crazyflamingos

Straight? Interesting choice of words. My partner of ten years really wouldn't like it if I suddenly started thinking "straight." She has too much time and money invested in me for that!

Ok...then maybe the pills are making you smarter...

Agreeing with me twice in one week sounds like conclusive evidence...

foundit66 · #6 (**permalink**) 02-29-2008, 03:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cnredd

Did 'SNL' Go Beyond the Pale With Fauxbama?
The urge to smack people and say "Grow up!"...

I think SNL isn't funny whatsoever, but this non-issue is just putrid...

One of those situations where heightening racial difference perpetuates racial tension, just cause we make it so.
This is an arbitrary complaint that fixates on "race".

I can't help but think, "What the %@$# do you want us to do then?"
Should we stop using this guy for this role cause he's not "black" enough?
And by the same standards, wouldn't that logically mean that we could also prevent guys from being in certain roles cause they are not "white" enough?
Oh wait. That latter case would be when Rev Sharpton would get involved...

foundit66 · #7 (**permalink**) 03-01-2008, 04:32 PM

I was watching a Tivo'd episode of "Eli Stone" last night, and they dropped a comment that was just too head-on for words. (Different subject)

"If these were two white guys, we wouldn't even be having this discussion."

May sound bad, but it's true.

Mikeyy · #8 (**permalink**) 03-01-2008, 04:50 PM

Maureen Ryan and Hannah Pool? Who the hell are these two dingbats? Nobody complained when these two dressed up like real reporters. Maybe they would be happy if Obama was played by two people. A black and a white person.

Yagmi · #9 (**permalink**) 03-01-2008, 10:58 PM

Comedy is comedy.. these people play roles.. That is all this whole democratic race is turning into the black/white issue and the male/female issue... THEY ARE ALL AMERICAN.. and this is comedy.....

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