Blackface in 2008

Here we are in 2008 - poised to be the year that a black man will be the Democratic nominee for President of the United States. A year that will go down in history, because we have finally, FINALLY transcended race here in the good ol' U S of A and can say we are truly "color blind." Opportunities are available to everyone, equally, regardless of the color of their skin (maybe we'll deal with gender later...)

And that is why Robert Downey, Jr. can play a black man.

That's right. In Tropic Thunder, the next Ben Stiller comedy sensation due out this summer, Robert Downey, Jr. plays a spoiled, pompous black actor accidentally dropped into a real combat zone with other spoiled, pompous actors. Well, he had the spoiled and pompous down so all they really had to add was the blackface. Seems logical, no?

You don't think they could've found someone, I don't know, maybe BLACK to play a spoiled, pompous black actor? I imagine Jamie Fox could've handled that, or maybe Chris Rock or Don Cheadle or Eddie Murphy(who does spoiled really, REALLY well) or Lawrence Martin... or does RDJ just have spoiled and pompous locked? No genuine black guy could handle spoiled and pompous like him! Or maybe all the good black actors were just way too busy since there are so many roles out there for fine black comedic actors. So many that they have to be picky and turn down roles to play fat, black women.

It's just such a shame that Robert Downey, Jr. isn't really black. Then he could be doing life for all those little indiscretions of his, just like his homeboys....