China actors face blackface backlash over makeup used in film about Chinese peacekeepers in war-torn Africa
- Actors used blackface makeup to disguise themselves as African gangsters
- Online critics aghast at ‘too ignorant’ behaviour, not first time actors have erred
Top China actors Wang Yibo and Huang Jingyu have faced a backlash for appearing in blackface makeup in a new movie about Chinese peacekeepers in Africa.
On May 2, an online observer posted Wang’s blackface makeup from the action film Formed Police Unit, accusing the actors of “racial hostility”. The post has attracted 35,000 likes and 11,000 reposts.
Released on the mainland during the May Day holiday, the film is directed by Hong Kong director Lee Tat-chiu and produced by Andrew Lau Wai-keung.
It stars the two Chinese actors as peacekeeping police officers in a fictitious conflict-torn African country.
They wear the makeup in a scene in which they disguise themselves as local gangsters to rescue witnesses.
The practice of non-black performers using makeup to portray black people in entertainment works was popular in the United States in the 19th and 20th centuries but was later considered offensive and racist.
