Why could Robert Downey junior do black face?

[Bastila Shan]

How come it was ok for him to do this in tropic thunder? And yet anyone else who does it is shamed into oblivion

[Enriquez]

I have to admit I thought he really was black when I first saw him.

[=CrimsoN=]

Because the movie itself was a parody of common Hollywood tropes.

[feytharn]

Originally posted by Hoboslayer:

How come it was ok for him to do this in tropic thunder? And yet anyone else who does it is shamed into oblivion

Because it was clearly an ironic commentary on the practice of blackfacing or actually on the practice of using white actors to portrait roles that should be black/middle eastern/other ethnotypes (See 'Breakfast at Tiffanies', 'Teahouse of the August Moon', 'Almost every epic movie out there' for examples). Missing that is almost impossible in the context of the movie.

[psychotron666]

Because it should be okay for anybody to do black face or whatever.

And that movie was making fun of it anyway.

I'm honestly more upset that domino in Deadpool 2 is a black woman with an afro when the character is an albino with straight hair. I mean, how many big roles do albinos get in movies as it is? Why replace an albino with a black person?

I mean I haven't seen it yet, so she might do a good job, but why is it no name cosplayers at comic con can make a better costume than the one in the official movie?

[Dirty Dan]

Originally posted by psychotron666:

I mean I haven't seen it yet, so she might do a good job, but why is it no name cosplayers at comic con can make a better costume than the one in the official movie?

Because the people who cosplay have a reputation for having no life? This isn’t justifying the movie for totally changing something, just saying that if your most favorite thing is at a convention, you’d probably have more passion then someone being paid to do something.

[chiefputsilao]

the same reason why blacks can use the N word but others cannot...

[Plaid]

Originally posted by chiefputsi✖✖✖ 上 没什么 老挝:

the same reason why blacks can use the N word but others cannot...

what? Downy isn't black, though :/

[Holding These Alligators Down]

Because the character was a parody of method actors who take themselves too seriously.
Also the other characters in the movie know how dumb it is and he isn't playing a black guy, he's playing a white guy who is playing a black guy.
It's a bit different to movies from decades ago where white people would play savage natives in westerns and speak like "Um, how! I am called Running Horse etc etc"
Or Mickey Rooney playing a racist stereotype Chinese man in Breakfast at Tiffany's, I usually don't give a crap if a movie offends anyone but i kind of understand why this would offend Asians.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DC5RtcypOqE

[OMG!]

The answer to, "Why is it okay for someone to do one thing in one situation and not in another?" is "Context".

In Tropic Thunder, the context was a satirical comedy movie (or a comedy movie with satirical elements) that in no small part mocked the seriousness of Hollywood and its enthusiastic willingness to use minorities as subjects for primadonna non-minority actors. That's a context generally seen as okay, though some people and critics can (and did) disagree with it, as is the nature of art and media.

It's a bit like how it was largely okay for his dad, Downey Sr. to dub over an African-American actor (Arnold Johnson* ) in his 1969 racial satire of advertising/Hollywood/corporate power structures, 'Putney Swope'. Which is a good landmark movie and someone somewhere should read this and go, "I'm gonna watch this! Thanks!"

*Who could never remember his lines.