# Other Cringeworthy Blackface/Yellowface/Etc. movies **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** movies\ **Created:** [June 23, 2026, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/other-cringeworthy-blackface-yellowface-etc-movies/1031135 "2026-06-23T15:04:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![griffin1977](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/977dab/32.png) [@griffin1977](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/griffin1977)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2026, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/other-cringeworthy-blackface-yellowface-etc-movies/1031135/21 "2026-06-23T16:28:45Z")
> [@Atamasama](#): > > Or Tom Cruise pretending to be Jewish, Though that’s also dodgy as I assumed he was not just being “generic Jewish Hollywood exec” his character was meant to be a fun parody of Harvey Weinstein specifically ---
**Author:** ![Smid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/838e76/32.png) [@Smid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smid)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2026, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/other-cringeworthy-blackface-yellowface-etc-movies/1031135/22 "2026-06-23T16:34:11Z")
> [@griffin1977](#): > > Alexi Sayle in Indiana Jones is pretty dodgy, much as I love him. It’s a Ukrainian playing a north African (or a generic Hollywood “Arab”, the distinction between the two being too much for Hollywood to grasp) and not only that it’s a stereotype of a corrupt arab monarch. Which is worse IMO Not Ukrainian, he’s a brit with a Lithuanian (and Jewish) mother. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2026, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/other-cringeworthy-blackface-yellowface-etc-movies/1031135/23 "2026-06-23T16:36:30Z")
> [@griffin1977](#): > > Though that’s also dodgy as I assumed he was not just being “generic Jewish Hollywood exec” his character was meant to be a fun parody of Harvey Weinstein specifically First of all, I don’t know that it’s any better. Secondly, he doesn’t really look anything like Weinstein. That seems silly. [![](https://s.yimg.com/lo/mysterio/api/64a918890fa92babe891a06067ffa702b564b5472a420b263fb396ff7bbd23bc/lightyear_networkapi/resizefill_w1200;quality_80;format_webp/https:%2F%2Fmedia.zenfs.com%2Fen%2Fthedailybeast.com%2Faf9418b01db65872a3ba76f27f79db94) ](https://s.yimg.com/lo/mysterio/api/64a918890fa92babe891a06067ffa702b564b5472a420b263fb396ff7bbd23bc/lightyear_networkapi/resizefill_w1200;quality_80;format_webp/https:%2F%2Fmedia.zenfs.com%2Fen%2Fthedailybeast.com%2Faf9418b01db65872a3ba76f27f79db94) [![](https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/3B77/production/_127932251_4510ee762080b4c4034b76be218b4c1f5462a0800_227_7499_42191000x563.jpg.webp) ](https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/3B77/production/_127932251_4510ee762080b4c4034b76be218b4c1f5462a0800_227_7499_42191000x563.jpg.webp) You still think so? While yes, Justin Theroux did have Weinstein in mind for the character’s personality, the look of the character was Cruise’s idea, and the end result didn’t look anything like Weinstein. And even Theroux wasn’t making a “fun parody”; Weinstein was an asshole to him, and it was a dig at him, not light-hearted. ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2026, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/other-cringeworthy-blackface-yellowface-etc-movies/1031135/24 "2026-06-23T16:39:45Z")
> [@griffin1977](#): > > That’s a little more complicated as its parodying Hollywood movie blackface. Is that ok? Most people nowadays would say no, it’s not. YMMV There was a time when using blackface ironically, to parody the practice, was still acceptable, but that loophole has closed as well and now any use of blackface is unacceptable in the public eye, it seems. Blackface episodes from shows like Community and 30 Rock have been pulled from streaming channels, and Tina Fey has made a public apology for it. Robert Downey Jr.’s blackface portrayal seems to have avoided criticism, though. At least not that I’ve heard. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2026, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/other-cringeworthy-blackface-yellowface-etc-movies/1031135/25 "2026-06-23T16:41:53Z")
> [@solost](#): > > Robert Downey Jr.’s blackface portrayal seems to have avoided criticism, though. At least not that I’ve heard. At the time that _Tropic Thunder_ came out, I do remember there being controversy about the role; some seemed to be from people who didn’t understand that it was a parody of the practice, while others seemed to be from people who found that, even as a parody, it was still unacceptable. ---
**Author:** ![griffin1977](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/977dab/32.png) [@griffin1977](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/griffin1977)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2026, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/other-cringeworthy-blackface-yellowface-etc-movies/1031135/26 "2026-06-23T16:47:01Z")
> [@Atamasama](#): > > the end result didn’t look anything like Weinstein I’m not so sure… [![](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/thr_weinstein_brothers.jpg) ](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/thr_weinstein_brothers.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![griffin1977](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/977dab/32.png) [@griffin1977](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/griffin1977)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2026, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/other-cringeworthy-blackface-yellowface-etc-movies/1031135/27 "2026-06-23T16:49:36Z")
> [@Smid](#): > > Not Ukrainian, he’s a brit with a Lithuanian (and Jewish) mother I’m sure his autobiography (which is excellent) said Ukrainian. But that’s probably my dumb meat brain 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2026, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/other-cringeworthy-blackface-yellowface-etc-movies/1031135/28 "2026-06-23T16:51:20Z")
> [@griffin1977](#): > > I’m not so sure… That still doesn’t look like the character from the movie. Remember, _Cruise_ was the one who came up with the look, and I don’t see any reports that he was trying to look like Weinstein, just “Jewish”. Personally, I don’t think that being a particular person is any better than a generic ethnicity. Going in blackface to do a James Brown impression, for example, doesn’t seem better than just being a generic Black person. But that’s just my opinion. ---
**Author:** ![Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/intergalactic_gladiator/32/112_2.png) [@Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Intergalactic_Gladiator)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2026, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/other-cringeworthy-blackface-yellowface-etc-movies/1031135/29 "2026-06-23T17:04:43Z")
Swedish-born actor Warner Oland was famous for playing Dr. Fu Manchu, Henry Chang in _Shanghai Express_, and of course, Charlie Chan. ---
**Author:** ![PlaceboTarget](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/placebotarget/32/1073_2.png) [@PlaceboTarget](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PlaceboTarget)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2026, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/other-cringeworthy-blackface-yellowface-etc-movies/1031135/30 "2026-06-23T17:07:31Z")
Fifty years from now “Tropic Thunder” will still be considered a masterpiece. (And yes, I own a crystal ball.) ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2026, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/other-cringeworthy-blackface-yellowface-etc-movies/1031135/31 "2026-06-23T17:11:58Z")
Chiwetel Ejiofor, who is a Briton of Nigerian ancestry, was cast as Vincent Kapoor in _The Martian_. There was a line in the movie where he says he has a black mother and an Indian father. No similar attempt was made for the character of Mindy Park, who was ethnically Korean in the book but was played by Mackenzie Davis in the movie. ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2026, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/other-cringeworthy-blackface-yellowface-etc-movies/1031135/32 "2026-06-23T17:15:14Z")
> [@griffin1977](#): > > Both Adele James and Cleopatra have one parent of African descent and one parent of European descent. That is almost certainly not the case for Cleopatra. We’ve discussed this before, but Cleopatra VII was almost certainly the daughter of Cleopatra V (who was probably identical to Cleopatra VI, a likely phantom Cleopatra) who was very, very unlikely to have been African in any sense but having been born on the continent of Africa. It is in fact likely she was the mother of all of Cleopatra VII’s siblings. She was almost certainly a Ptolemaic scion of some sort and almost certainly mostly Greek with a tiny smidge of Persian generations back. Granted late Ptolemaic ancestry is both complicated and obscure. But a Black African sneaking into the woodpile in that cultural milieu is highly unlikely. The Ptolemies lived in a virtual Greek bubble internal to Egypt (Alexandria at that point was essentially a Greek city-colony). ---
**Author:** ![drewbert](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drewbert/32/15890_2.png) [@drewbert](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drewbert)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2026, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/other-cringeworthy-blackface-yellowface-etc-movies/1031135/33 "2026-06-23T17:19:24Z")
I’m curious what we think about Peter Sellars’ role in _Murder By Death_. The movie is full of parodies of classic detective characters. Sellars is playing ‘Inspector Sidney Wang’, a send-up of Charlie Chan. The fact that Wang’s adopted son is played by an Asian actor tells me they knew exactly what they were doing casting a white person to play Wang. So I like to give it at least a partial pass, but it still feels a little cringeworthy these days. ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2026, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/other-cringeworthy-blackface-yellowface-etc-movies/1031135/34 "2026-06-23T17:22:45Z")
> [@drewbert](#): > > I’m curious what we think about Peter Sellars’ role in _Murder By Death_. And what about Peter Sellers playing a dopey Indian for laughs in "The Party"in brown face? ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2026, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/other-cringeworthy-blackface-yellowface-etc-movies/1031135/35 "2026-06-23T17:22:57Z")
> [@PlaceboTarget](#): > > > [@FlikTheBlue](#): > > > > No mention yet of Robert Downey Jr. in black face in **Tropic Thunder?** > > The movie is built as a self-referential, multi-layered satire of Hollywood itself, outside today’s culture-war debates. (He goes even further and disguises himself as an Asian vendor when they infiltrate the camp.) Okay, here’s a challenge for everyone: What do you think about the multiple ethnicities (and sexes) portrayed by the actors in **Cloud Atlas**? This is definitely self-referential, and the whole theme of the film is the commonality of human experience regardless of the outer wrapper it’s contained in. So we get Halle Berry playing a South Pacific woman and an Indian woman, Jim Broadbent playing, among other things, a Korean musician, Jim Sturgess laying a Korean or Chinese man, and so on, with actors playing characters of different races and different sexes. Only this is clearly done deliberately with no intent to denigrate. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2026, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/other-cringeworthy-blackface-yellowface-etc-movies/1031135/36 "2026-06-23T17:45:15Z")
And Peter Lorre as “Mr. Moto” in a series of 8 B movies. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2026, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/other-cringeworthy-blackface-yellowface-etc-movies/1031135/37 "2026-06-23T17:45:25Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > No similar attempt was made for the character of Mindy Park, who was ethnically Korean in the book but was played by Mackenzie Davis in the movie. I haven’t seen the movie, but does it say she’s Korean in it? While “Park” is a common Korean surname, it’s also an [English/Scottish one](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Park_(English_surname)). (For example, Ray Park, who played Darth Maul in _The Phantom Menace_, is certainly not Korean.) ---
**Author:** ![PlaceboTarget](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/placebotarget/32/1073_2.png) [@PlaceboTarget](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PlaceboTarget)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2026, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/other-cringeworthy-blackface-yellowface-etc-movies/1031135/38 "2026-06-23T17:49:42Z")
> [@EinsteinsHund](#): > > And what about Peter Sellers playing a dopey Indian for laughs in "The Party"in brown face? This is another wonderful film. Anyone who means well can see Peter Sellers’ respect for Indians. His character may be the only genuinely unadulterated soul in the movie. ---
**Author:** ![PlaceboTarget](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/placebotarget/32/1073_2.png) [@PlaceboTarget](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PlaceboTarget)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2026, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/other-cringeworthy-blackface-yellowface-etc-movies/1031135/39 "2026-06-23T17:58:40Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > Okay, here’s a challenge for everyone: What do you think about the multiple ethnicities (and sexes) portrayed by the actors in **Cloud Atlas**? I watched it only because a family member insisted on it. I’m a science-fiction fan but the experience was underwhelming, so this memory almost erased itself. I wish I had enjoyed it so that I could express an opinion about it. I can’t. ---
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2026, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/other-cringeworthy-blackface-yellowface-etc-movies/1031135/40 "2026-06-23T18:18:40Z")
> [@PlaceboTarget](#): > > > [@EinsteinsHund](#): > > > > And what about Peter Sellers playing a dopey Indian for laughs in "The Party"in brown face? > > This is another wonderful film. Anyone who means well can see Peter Sellers’ respect for Indians. His character may be the only genuinely unadulterated soul in the movie. OTOH, Dana Carvey’s turn as Prince LaIi Jhamba in _The Master of Disguise_ is somehow even less watchable than the rest of the movie. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/other-cringeworthy-blackface-yellowface-etc-movies/1031135.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/other-cringeworthy-blackface-yellowface-etc-movies/1031135.md?page=3)