Black face in Wario Land 2?

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So, one of the treasures in Wario Land 2 is a generic face.
But i saw a Let's Play that says that this is a black face, and kept sayong how wrong it is, and asking how did this get past the localisaton and everything. But i refuse to believe it. I only see a generic face here.

What do you guys think?

(Scip to 22:55)

 
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I'm pretty much positive it is intended as a black face. I mean... they wouldn't do that intentionally, it's so extremely characteristic...
But my question is. Why does that guy think it shouldn't be in the game?!? Isn't it incredibly racist to think black faces shouldn't be allowed in North American games?!?
 
Aah, I get it now d:P
I got this comment on YouTube: "It is not black faces, it is blackface, but I think I see what your confusion may be. If you are not a history person, blackface was used by non-black actors to imitate the blacks. Zach, specifically, is referring to its use during slavery, where it would be used offensively to portray blacks as stupid and clumsy, as well as used to exaggerate certain features of black people's faces. It is considered offensive and derogatory"
It makes sense to want it not in there, then.
I don't mind too much, still, but perhaps that's because I've never really been involved in anything related. Although, I guess... the zwarte piet issue was quite similar... and we were of course involved in that.
 
I would like to point out here that this may have gotten in because of Wario Land's place of development. Remember, Japan doesn't really have the same cultural associations with blackface and what not, and it's also very, very homogeneous in terms of its population and any racial differences.

As a result, a lot of things get included in works made there (like video games and anime) which might seem uncomfortable to someone from the US. See the controversy caused by Jynx in Pokemon, or Mr Popo in Dragon Ball.

This likely got through because hey, it's a small treasure icon and Nintendo likely didn't bother to do much in the way of changing things like this.
 
CM30 said:
I would like to point out here that this may have gotten in because of Wario Land's place of development. Remember, Japan doesn't really have the same cultural associations with blackface and what not, and it's also very, very homogeneous in terms of its population and any racial differences.

As a result, a lot of things get included in works made there (like video games and anime) which might seem uncomfortable to someone from the US. See the controversy caused by Jynx in Pokemon, or Mr Popo in Dragon Ball.
Click to expand...

that's right.

I'm still surprised it got past treehouse, though.
 
I used to think it was some kind of mask but this palette makes it more obvious.
WL2_Treasure.PNG

Maybe they thought making it blue for the gb color version would be enough to cover it up? Like Oilman in Megaman Powered Up?
qh0mtdxsmtt1nbhrj654.jpg
 
In the previous game (VB Wario Land), there is a similar case in the haunted mansion level that this bloke mentions (skip to 13:30 in the video below)....



One thing you've got to remember; "blackface" isn't universally acknowledged/understood outside America, since American history is not a universal subject. It got Australia in a lot of hot water a few years back when US singer Harry Connick Jr. came over to judge a classic variety show we used to have every Saturday. Basically, a group of ethnic doctors came on and did a silly tribute for the Jackson Five, with their faces painted black. It was meant to be a loving tribute to Michael Jackson's recent death, but Harry Connick Jr. took it the exact same way as the guy in that WL2 video. After making a huge scene it hit the international press and caused a massive stink.

It's not the first time this sort of thing has happened. I've seen tourists blow up over stuff like one of our best/iconic cheeses, (ironically created by American cheese maker, Edward W. Coon, who created the "cooning process" for manufacturing cheese quicker).

coon.jpg
 
Yes, I was thinking this earlier and I don't think it's blackface as Americans know it but more along the lines of something like a Gollywog that isn't meant to be racist but unfortunately is seen as insensitive nowadays. In Japan black people are often drawn with big lips due to the perception they have over there. Still, it does some to be the face of someone of a dark complexion which is a bit odd for a treasure...
 
Magma said:
Yes, I was thinking this earlier and I don't think it's blackface as Americans know it but more along the lines of something like a Gollywog that isn't meant to be racist but unfortunately is seen as insensitive nowadays. In Japan black people are often drawn with big lips due to the perception they have over there. Still, it does some to be the face of someone of a dark complexion which is a bit odd for a treasure...
Click to expand...

You know, I always just assumed that treasure was some kind of tribal mask or native statue head. Same with the one's on the wall in VB Wario Land's mansion. They just look like some kind of kooky tribal mask to me, nothing racially provocative or offensive (see below).

Speaking of Japan's perception, other countries like France do it too. I'm a huge fan of the Asterix comics, and they basically exaggerate every single race in history. One of my favourite characters as a kid was this huge black pirate with big red lips who was stationed as a lookout in the crows nest. He was awesome, but some say he's "wrong" today. I swear, as time passes people are forgetting what "racist" actually means....
tribal-mask-guy-harnett.jpg
 
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Yeah it's supposed to be a tribal mask.

The pitch-black face with light, thick, tube-like lips is a cartoonish caricature of an african face.

People associate that with racism because the so-called "blackface" was used in America back in the day to make fun of black people.
But it wasn't the face that made it racist, it was the portrayal of african-americans that made it racist.
The face itself is just a silly exaggeration of reality. That's what caricatures are.

But Japan doesn't associate it with that.

To be honest, I actually think this tube-lip on dark skin design looks actually pretty cool. So it's disappointing that it has been tainted with this racism connotation. Oilman's face for example looks cool. The light lips make a great contrast.
But you can't use that. Even if it's on a creature that isn't even human. >_> Otherwise you'll be labeled racist and people want to lynch you.



Let me tell you a little anecdote:
When I was little my favourite children's story was Jim Knopf und Lukas der Lokomotivführer (in english: Jim Button and Luke the Engine Driver). It's a story about a black kid called Jim and his best friend Luke who go on an adventure with their locomotive.
The illustrations in the book use exactly this design to portray Jim but nowhere in the book are there ever any reference to racism in any form. No one treats Jim differently, Jim himself is just an ordinary kid who happens to be black.
5a4ffc3ccf93d9e31a385c0e029f4d46.jpg


So when I got older and learned about actual racism towards black people I had no idea what they were thinking.
What's my point here?
It's that this "blackface" itself, without any actual racist connotations is not racist. It's just a caricature.
So people should stop treating it like something made by the KKK.
Jynx is not racist, the squid boss from Wario Land 3 is not racist and this mask is not racist.
Americans only associate it with racism.
It's like the Hitler mustache. It's guilt by association. There's nothing bad about Hitler's mustache. Only that Hitler wore it.
If he had worn a long, twirly moustache then that would've become infamous. But people still make a fuss if a character happens to have a similar mustache to Hitler's. It's stupid.
 
ShyGuyXXL said:
Yeah it's supposed to be a tribal mask.

The pitch-black face with light, thick, tube-like lips is a cartoonish caricature of an african face.

People associate that with racism because the so-called "blackface" was used in America back in the day to make fun of black people.
But it wasn't the face that made it racist, it was the portrayal of african-americans that made it racist.
The face itself is just a silly exaggeration of reality. That's what caricatures are.

But Japan doesn't associate it with that.

To be honest, I actually think this tube-lip on dark skin design looks actually pretty cool. So it's disappointing that it has been tainted with this racism connotation. Oilman's face for example looks cool. The light lips make a great contrast.
But you can't use that. Even if it's on a creature that isn't even human. >_> Otherwise you'll be labeled racist and people want to lynch you.



Let me tell you a little anecdote:
When I was little my favourite children's story was Jim Knopf und Lukas der Lokomotivführer (in english: Jim Button and Luke the Engine Driver). It's a story about a black kid called Jim and his best friend Luke who go on an adventure with their locomotive.
The illustrations in the book use exactly this design to portray Jim but nowhere in the book are there ever any reference to racism in any form. No one treats Jim differently, Jim himself is just an ordinary kid who happens to be black.
5a4ffc3ccf93d9e31a385c0e029f4d46.jpg


So when I got older and learned about actual racism towards black people I had no idea what they were thinking.
What's my point here?
It's that this "blackface" itself, without any actual racist connotations is not racist. It's just a caricature.
So people should stop treating it like something made by the KKK.
Jynx is not racist, the squid boss from Wario Land 3 is not racist and this mask is not racist.
Americans only associate it with racism.
It's like the Hitler mustache. It's guilt by association. There's nothing bad about Hitler's mustache. Only that Hitler wore it.
If he had worn a long, twirly moustache then that would've become infamous. But people still make a fuss if a character happens to have a similar mustache to Hitler's. It's stupid.
Click to expand...

The little brush mustache was a beloved trademark of Charlie Chaplin before Hitler went and tainted its reputation permanently. As a fan of Chaplin, I truly resent that.
 
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Magma said:

What would this qualify as
Click to expand...


I've got no idea who they are, but it looks no different to the ethnic doctors we had here, doing their horribly cringe-worthy tribute to Jackson Five. In a perfect world this kind of thing might be considered flattering, since they're only innocently portraying their dark-skinned idols with dress and makeup. It's not racist, but because of what it symbolises in America's dark past that is what it's called in western society. All the heart-felt intentions in the world won't change that view now.

@Shyguy XXL
The little brush mustache was a beloved trademark of Charlie Chaplin before Hitler went and tainted its reputation permanently. As a fan of Chaplin, I truly resent that.
 
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I won't be saying anymore on this subject. It makes me very uncomfortable and I don't have all the answers, but I DO have an awful lot of heroes, black and white, in real life and fiction. As long as we keep strong values and think with logic before running with the crowd, we don't need to worry about racist symbols in our favourite things.
 
Yeah, that's what I thought. It is definitely supposed to be a black face... but why it would be meant to be offensive? I mean, the treasures are so diverse... it doesn't seem out of place.
 
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