ancient European rituals
2012-04-19 17:03:20.629334+00 by Dan Lyke 1 comments
Freakin' brilliant: Apparently there are calls for the resignation of Swedish Culture Minister Lena Adelsohn Roth over this blackface animatecake (YouTube). The artist is black and describes the work as part of "... revamping the blackface into different forms, and thereby criticizing it (YouTube), and I've gotta say that the "holy shit, that's offensive" first reaction it got out of me suggests that it's pretty effective art, especially as, digging a bit deeper, it appears that the artist was looking to make statements not only about race but about genital mutilation.
Jallow Momodou writes about the cake and Sweden's racism in the Guardian, showing that there are several layers here.
But I also love this reaction: Africans shocked by uncivilized antics of European savages
“The only people calling for her to resign are European liberals hiding behind a thin veneer of civilization,” explained Burundian sociologist, Descarte Tugiramahoro. “We Africans are not shocked in the slightest.
“All she’s doing is engaging in two ancient European rituals: giggling at people who look different, and symbolic cannibalism, as introduced by the Catholic Church. It’s all completely normal.”