For Bangladeshi Brothers - With Love

[Cookie Monster]

I appreciate your writing a long detailed post trying to sway my opinion.

The fact remains that this type of caricature of dark-skinned people is unthinkable in the modern world. Educated people in most civilized countries will be shocked - as I was.

I guess Pakistani entertainment values are incompatible with those. Neither good nor bad, just incompatible. To each his/her own I guess.



Thanks - I guess......

It's not about swaying ur opinion. There's plenty of ppl who think bad about Pakistan/Pakistanis. Just take our eastern neighbors as an example. A billion of them are taught to hate us through their media. So u can continue thinking whatever u like...everyone has the right to their opinion.

I was just trying to clarify that the ppl in this show are not racists. Moeen Akhtar specially was known to be a good man by those who knew him. In all their works(in their long careers) they never produced anything racist. He is just dressing up as different characters...and that's all there is to it

In short...
- He dresses up as CIA Agent(whitens his skin with make up) and no one bats an eye
- He dresses up as a woman...and no issues raised
- He dresses up as a Bangladeshi Cricketer(darkens his skin with make up) and that's somehow racist?

It would be wrong to think that it's racist...most actors dress up as their character while playing a character.

I would totally be in agreement with u had he showed that Bangladeshi Cricketer in a bad light in the show...or displayed any such racism...but it's simply not the case.

If u still think that darkening one's skin is in bad taste then u must also think the same about him lightening his skin to play that CIA agent right? It's only fair...

 

[Kambojaric]

The fact remains that this type of caricature of dark-skinned people is unthinkable in the modern world. Educated people in most civilized countries will be shocked - as I was.

I guess Pakistani entertainment values are incompatible with those. Neither good nor bad, just incompatible. To each his/her own I guess.

Wait till you see Zwarte Piet, Hajji Firuz etc. I agree though, black facing should not be happening in this day and age, but Pakistanis generally speaking wont even know that this is something racist to do. For the average Pakistani its the same as putting white powder on your face and becoming white like Queen Elizabeth

 

[Bilal9]

Wait till you see Zwarte Piet, Hajji Firuz etc. I agree though, black facing should not be happening in this day and age, but Pakistanis generally speaking wont even know that this is something racist to do. For the average Pakistani its the same as putting white powder on your face and becoming white like Queen Elizabeth

EXACTLY. However who will tell the Pakistani populace that you simply don't do this in this day and age and it is not acceptable? If they are ignorant of this (in 2018) then whose fault is it?

It's not about swaying ur opinion. There's plenty of ppl who think bad about Pakistan/Pakistanis. Just take our eastern neighbors as an example. A billion of them are taught to hate us through their media. So u can continue thinking whatever u like...everyone has the right to their opinion.

I was just trying to clarify that the ppl in this show are not racists. Moeen Akhtar specially was known to be a good man by those who knew him. In all their works(in their long careers) they never produced anything racist. He is just dressing up as different characters...and that's all there is to it

In short...
- He dresses up as CIA Agent(whitens his skin with make up) and no one bats an eye
- He dresses up as a woman...and no issues raised
- He dresses up as a Bangladeshi Cricketer(darkens his skin with make up) and that's somehow racist?

It would be wrong to think that it's racist...most actors dress up as their character while playing a character.

I would totally be in agreement with u had he showed that Bangladeshi Cricketer in a bad light in the show...or displayed any such racism...but it's simply not the case.

If u still think that darkening one's skin is in bad taste then u must also think the same about him lightening his skin to play that CIA agent right? It's only fair...

Darkening or lightening skin are equally in bad taste. But darker people have suffered injustices in the world historically which white people generally have not. Hence applying boot polish on your face is seen as in poor taste.

Bhaisaab, let's just forget I ever brought this up. Mai mafee mungta hoon.

The (faraaq) chasm in our level of understanding of progressive issues is just too great and I hope you read about these issues and gain a better understanding.

It was amazing to see no one raised any eyebrows in Pakistan (civil society, or literary folks) to criticize these highly offensive cartoonish caricatures of Bangladeshis.

Let's just also say that someone making a caricature of a Pakistani with a hook nose and a turban on Bangladesh TV wouldn't be too welcome. We tolerate crass humor too but we have our limits which is a lot tighter than that of Pakistani media and audiences.

 

[Samlee]

For Pakistanis, Bengalis are Dark, short, poor, uneducated, uncivilized and comical character. See this-

I frankly don't know what to say.

If this is what passes for entertainment in Pakistan presented by ARY digital and which mates superb bad taste with majority Pakistani intellectual values - then I only have my condolences for you. Blackface with shoe polish?? Your media clearly has no shame....

If this meets with your taste - please do the rest of us a favor and stay IN Pakistan - you and your medieval values will never fit in with the rest of the world.

And no Bangladeshi I know looks like the caricature put forward in that video.

@Avicenna, @Homo Sapiens, @Centaur .....

Firstly , this video ( posted by @Jon-Snow ) is insulting to only one case in Pakistan and that is this video is racist.
No bangladeshi look like that , yet with dark skinned and short in size we have no complain .
This type of act will introduce pakistan as racist so this is their shame not ours , I admit .
But this video is showing more than just skin color.

This video clearly shows that bangladeshis are talkative , uncivilized , savages who don't know any kind of manner , don't know how to talk , don't know how to behave , don't know what to say , don't no any sequence of discussion bla bla bla ...
This part is really insulting for bangladesh I believe.

@Oscar bhai - I am curious what people from areas like Sindh would think of this video who had skin tone darker than any Bengali.....I've known a few Sindhis who look like the person in the video actually. This is not funny at all - it's rather sad.

OK Brothers Get One Thing In Your Head ,Dark Skin Does Not Equate To Inferiority.One Of The Biggest Personalities In Islam Hazrat Bilal(R.A) Had A Dark Skin Tone.

Secondly The Actor Moin Akhtar Can Easily Be Called The Biggest Comedian Pakistan Ever Produced.In Real Life He Had A Brownish Complexion He Was Not White.

Thirdly Pakistan Has Large Communities Of Dark Skinned People Just Come To My Balochistan And I Will Show You Makrani Community Similarly In Sindh and Punjab A Significant Population Is Dark Skinned.

For Pakistanis, Bengalis are Dark, short, poor, uneducated, uncivilized and comical character. See this-

Also Hum Sab Umeed Se Hain Was A Pathetic Show That Is Why Geo Doesn't Show It Any More

 

[Baby Leone]

OMG am shocked to see Bangladeshis behavior in this thread. I think they are not that much use too of free speech and free Media. Just imagine if they are still part of Pakistan with that much freedom we have most of them would die of frustration or complex.

I have seen several videos of this program where he mostly made fun Pakistani and other countries ethnicity in more brutal way and we Pakistanis take it as humor and art.

Pakistani media is generally considered too much out spoken as compare to our neighbors.

 

[Cookie Monster]

Darkening or lightening skin are equally in bad taste. But darker people have suffered injustices in the world historically which white people generally have not. Hence applying boot polish on your face is seen as in poor taste.

Yes but again I would like to highlight that the blackface thing that happened in Hollywood was more than just darkening one's face to play a black(African American) character. As I said earlier they showed them in a bad light in various ways. Bangladeshis were not shown in a bad light here.

Bhaisaab, let's just forget I ever brought this up. Mai mafee mungta hoon.

No need to apologize...discussions are good. I'm glad u could keep it civilized even if at the end of the day we disagree. Most trolls here don't know how to carry out a discussion.

The (faraaq) chasm in our level of understanding of progressive issues is just too great and I hope you read about these issues and gain a better understanding.

U must think that I m not aware of the level of racism that exists in various places or maybe that I haven't experienced it myself or that I live under a rock and haven't seen/read about the plight of other groups and the issues they face...

...well I'm PAKISTANI/MUSLIM living in USA...not just for a few days...but for decades now. I've spent a substantial amount of time here, I got my education here, and I've been working here. So yes I've experienced my fair share of racism here. Also as a Pakistani(spent my childhood there) I understand the dark skin/light skin complex that the ppl of our subcontinent have. Additionally I do keep up with the news and the issues facing the society, one of these major issues is racism in America. For example the various police shootings of unarmed black men, the recent march of white supermacists protesting removal of confederate statues, Colin Kaepernick taking a knee, etc. All of that just happened in the last year or so...

In my academic years not only did I learn about the slave trade/plantation workers and their plight but also about Jim Crow Laws, the times and struggles of Separate but Equal, MLK/Malcolm X/Rosa Parks/Sit in protests among others. I also learned about the plight of Native Americans, Social Darwinism, and the colonial era where white europeans thought that they were out to civilize/better the "savages"(everyone else).

So in short...I do not lack the understanding of what racism is nor am I unaware of the plight/struggles of black/brown/non-white ppl. I understand where u r coming from but I disagree bcuz in my opinion just changing ur look to play a character(including darkening one's skin) isn't racist on its own. It's what follows...it's how u choose to define/portray that character, which may or may not be racist.

It was amazing to see no one raised any eyebrows in Pakistan (civil society, or literary folks) to criticize these highly offensive cartoonish caricatures of Bangladeshis.

Let's just also say that someone making a caricature of a Pakistani with a hook nose and a turban on Bangladesh TV wouldn't be too welcome. We tolerate crass humor too but we have our limits which is a lot tighter than that of Pakistani media and audiences.

It wasn't a cartoonish portrayal. No one raised an eyebrow bcuz as I've mentioned that the show wasn't racist nor were the ppl in it. Bangladeshis were not shown in a negative light whatsoever. Anyways...I can see that this conversation has gone long enough and that u r also no longer interested...so this would be my last post regarding this.

 

[Kambojaric]

EXACTLY. However who will tell the Pakistani populace that you simply don't do this in this day and age and it is not acceptable? If they are ignorant of this (in 2018) then whose fault is it?

Black facing is primarily seen as a bad thing in the West, due to the very specific context and history of this act and its nefarious connotations in that region, from the age of slavery all the way down to the Jim Crow laws. In East or South Asia, sensitivity around this act never emerged (probably due to less exposure to black people). Whilst as said I agree black facing should not be happening in this day and age, you cannot blame an average Pakistani for not knowing the negative connotations this act holds. The same holds true for an average Japanese Burapan rapper who has never learnt otherwise. Sure the governments should be raising awareness about the connotations of this act in other parts of the world, but honestly speaking this will be low down on their list of priorities.