The concept of digital blackface is something that I had never considered when looking at reaction gifs or social media as a whole. In thinking about this I realized that I actually did frequently send and or receive gifs of over the top reactions that I guess could be under the title of \u201cblack face.\u201d I think there is something to be said for this idea of popularizing a stereotypical reaction or behavior and applying it to all members of that race or group. For instance when vine was still going there was a very famous video where a black vine star, Marlon Webb, eats\/wears\/yells watermelon. He would rhyme things with watermelon, but he would pronounce watermelon as water-mel-own. This way of pronouncing watermelon became very popular on vine and many people started to follow his example. This gets a little uncomfortable once the creators are white though. They try to say the words exactly like he does and it goes from a joke to an offensive impersonation. \u00a0The vines as a whole are pretty weird and not meant to be racist, but the subject matter itself is already a tough subject. Watermelon has been an African American racial trope ever since free slaves began selling it as a way of living post slavery. Since then it has devolved into a negative symbol often used alongside other stereotypes. Having this in mind turns these vines into something much harder to watch in my opinion.<\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.theatlantic.com\/national\/archive\/2014\/12\/how-watermelons-became-a-racist-trope\/383529\/<\/p>\n

Digital Blackface in a broader sense is something that has grown alongside the birth of reactiongifs. As the article explains this over-the-top representation of the African American race can have damaging effects to society. In my mind the biggest issue is when we see the digital image cross over into conversation and reality. We can find these clips so funny or relatable that we try to use them in person. Much like the watermelon vines people have a tendency to try and mimic the gifs and or videos, this doesn\u2019t work as well when you\u2019re doing an impersonation. Too easily things can go from harmless to racist.<\/p>\n

I can hear the counterargument now though of people saying, \u201cWell what about when people try to imitate rednecks and white people with accents.\u201d The difference lies in the history. Historically speaking white people in America have had it pretty good especially if you\u2019re looking at their representation in media and movies. It is a different story when you look at the history of African Americans, specifically in cinema. Black face and dialect poetry and performances were very popular throughout the early to mid 1900\u2019s. That is why it is important that we are aware and careful about misrepresentation in the digital age.<\/p>\n