During his smooth criminal live performances Michael Jackson would dance as a shadow behind a curtain. Now I realized, he got the idea from Fred Astaire and I love how much Fred inspired him, it's like seeing bits of actual history. Both of them are amazing

@manuelperales579

3 жыл бұрын

POR FAVOR COMPARAR A FRED ASTAIRE CON MICHAEL JACKSON ES COMPARAR LA MIERDA CON EL ORO.!!

@treseancann1261

2 жыл бұрын

@@manuelperales579 You don't know shit.

Who else came here after reading the first pages of Swing Time by Zadie Smith?

@McCharlotte

3 жыл бұрын

me!

Fred Astaire!, Solid gold!!!!!,……… no doubt!!!! Mr. Astaire was a top-notch tap dancer!!!!, and a true perfectionist!!!!, when it came to, ballroom!!!!!, Fred Astaire, was the undisputed champion!!!!!, “technical!,” (the mechanics of the dance!!!!!),Style!, Grace! Charm!, showmanship!!!, in fact!, When judged,in, contests with his sister, Adele Astaire!, The judges would adjudicate them!, for first place!!!!, and give out first second and third prizes to everybody else!!!!,& tell Fred, and Adele Astaire!, That their style is called, Astaire style!!!!, became a standard!!!!❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️💃🏻🕺🏻❤️❤️👍ps…. also, his movie career, he had final cut of the film., was like watching it live, no cut ins or add ins!!!!!,with the camera, all one take on the finish!!!, what artist had that power!!!!! maybe Michael Jackson?????

@Thaofus

10 ай бұрын

And whats more - he also designed his clothes and wardrobe!

Astaire died of pneumonia on June 22, 1987, at the age of 88. Shortly before his death, Astaire said: "I didn't want to leave this world without knowing who my descendant was, thank you Michael"-referring to Michael Jackson. I would have loved to have been an insect on wall for the convesation concerning this clip. Astaire's life has never been portrayed on film. He always refused permission for such portrayals, saying, "However much they offer me-and offers come in all the time-I shall not sell." Astaire's will included a clause requesting that no such portrayal ever take place; he commented, "It is there because I have no particular desire to have my life misinterpreted, which it would be." I know that, it would be a interesting film to watch either way.

@kansaspeach7727

6 ай бұрын

"❤❤❤❤😔beautiful!"

1936 and no one has matched this level of virtuosity and artistry. I don't think anyone will.

@treseancann1261

Жыл бұрын

Michael Jackson was amazed at Fred's skill. No wonder he idolized him.

Hey folks, the great novelist Zadie Smith has written a new book called Swing Time which gets its name from this film sequence. She goes deeply into this whole question of cultural appropriation and all the nuances. Check it out. BTW, Smith loves Astaire and she is black.

@ravel5340

6 жыл бұрын

Smith brought me here.

@rquashie64

5 жыл бұрын

me too

@coreycox2345

5 жыл бұрын

Thanks Charles Minus. I will check it out. Loved "White Teeth."

@Mercutiossword

4 жыл бұрын

cultural appropriation is a dumb fucking concept. This piece is a tribute to "Bojangles". Plenty of racism to go around in the minstrel show days white folks painting african-americans as lazy stupid quaint, only good at song and dance but that's not what Fred is doing here.

@victornutcracker6122

4 жыл бұрын

This blackface sequence is a tribute to African American culture.

What few people are aware of is, Fred Astaire really didn’t want to do this routine in “Black-face”. He had to because he was bound by contract to the movie studio who made him do it. Astaire was, in fact, a huge fan of Bill “Bojangle” Robinson and patterned a lot of who he was as a dancer to Robinson. So, he danced this routine as a tribute to the man/dancer he so admired. As a “Black” man - quotation marks added because there were never any “Black & White” races; only descendants of Africans and Europeans - I had to learn very early in my own life that everything isn’t always so neatly packaged in Black & White after once having had the lives of my two younger brother’s and myself saved from a potentially life threatening ordeal when (while living in Chicago) we found ourselves in the wrong neighborhood where people who looked like us were hated and not at all welcome. We never got her name and truthfully we were oblivious to the danger we were in (at ages 13, 12 & 8); but I think of her often and thank God for her.

@pennagain6207

5 жыл бұрын

Sorry you had to go through a traumatic event to learn what all of us should have learned a long, long time ago. By the way, the moves in this are mostly an homage to BUBBLES, and very little to Robinson, but the latter was known and John Sublett was not, except as half of the Buck 'n Bubbles vaudeville routines. Take a look at kzread.info/dash/bejne/n6VnmrOFcqicp7A.html and you can have a tiny glimpse of what Astaire's tap dance teacher in the 1920s looked like.

@cliffordsmith428

5 жыл бұрын

PennAgain Wow! That was awesome and I’m always open to learning historical truths. Thank you so much for sharing and for the lesson. I can truly see “Bubbles” in Astaire’s movements. Awesome.

Bill Robinson and Astaire, 2 of the greatest dancers of all time. Yes he had the blackface on and I am sure he respect Bill Robinson, he did it as a tribute, while that was the time and the face paint should not have been done, my guess if the producers made him have it, I am sure if he had his way he wouldn't have done it. With that said , let's respect the lost art of dancing from both of these two amazing men.

@margaretyoung1576

6 жыл бұрын

It's worth noting that this is the only blackface Astaire ever did--and it avoids a lot of the stereotypical blackface of the time. So, no, not Astaire's preference. Of course, it would never be done today.

@pennagain6207

5 жыл бұрын

The tribute was mainly to John "Bubbles" Sublett, his tap teacher from the 1920s, still going at age 58 (3 1/2 min.) kzread.info/dash/bejne/ZqCqr8Ojh5eqd9I.html In 1937 Bubbles was mostly still known as a vaudevillian, not in movies. The "Bojangles" title of Astaire's dance was because of Robinson's (+ Shirley Temple) popularity. Looking at Bubbles you can see where a lot of his moves came from. Robinson is in there too but not so much.

People need to learn to look at the past with nuance. We can appreciate Fred's talent and believe he was a good person, while still learning from the mistakes of the past. All of us have done insensitive things. We can acknowledge that those things are wrong while still acknowledging the good.

@ralphw.tullochjr8283

7 жыл бұрын

Ammon Miller

@gaslight.gatekeep.girlboss6476

4 жыл бұрын

exactly

To film this, Astaire had to dance the entire routine perfectly at least four times.

This is a wonderful tribute to Bojangles. This is not offensive. I love it.

never get tired of Fred!

Just watched this scene on TCM this morning.

Micheal Jackson stole all thissssssssssss I swear and James browns moves

@riorange2083

6 күн бұрын

Its not stealing, its paying tribute to the greats that inspired him, and also refining the ideas and moves. Please don’t cast negativity over Micheal’s legacy. He always praised those he took inspiration from in interviews and never took complete credit for his artistry.

Come on guys. Fred thought Bill was the bees f****** knees.

I take it as a straight tribute; not a parady. Fred is totally awesome in this. But what I love most of all is the solo keyboard at the beginning of this clip. I think it is a piano fitted with metal hammers. The sound is similar to a Hohner Clavinet.

@YokoshimaOfficial

5 жыл бұрын

Yes, it is a tribute.

@justabreeze460

3 жыл бұрын

It’s a tribute but it’s still not ok. Did black people like it back then? No. Did Bojangle ask for him to do this? No. He did a great job, just wish he saw how it was still hurting people back then.

@Baueresque

3 жыл бұрын

Thumb tacks on the hammers!

@Tonabillity

2 жыл бұрын

@@justabreeze460 Exactly. What makes it a parody is the way that he is stereotypically dressed 🤨

Shadow dancing he got from Fred movement crazy a white man empires a black icon

It's something when a dance from 1936 is still cool in 2017--Fred was a great dancer but his style, his choreography (he chose Pan Hermes) are a big part of his genius. Of course this is racist. It was 1937. Bill Robinson himself was in movies that included people in blackface. At least Astaire didn't paint the big lips--he had some sensitivity, he wasn't a shitty person. And today he'd never do this. Don't judge the past by today's values.

@johnjames1320

4 жыл бұрын

excactly. cant just the past by today's transformer values.

@gaslight.gatekeep.girlboss6476

4 жыл бұрын

Totally

@gaslight.gatekeep.girlboss6476

4 жыл бұрын

Tim Dewano Why? I'm not denying it's racist, but that's how the world was back then. We can't erase it, we can just learn and move on. And we can't just totally dismiss Fred's talent by this incident, because if we would a LOT of artists would fall with him and that's not fair.

@normanfooteii5300

3 жыл бұрын

@@johnjames1320 @amvance okay so then slavery no harm in slavery either since it was the past. got it

@michaela3891

2 жыл бұрын

@@normanfooteii5300 No one said it was ok. We said- don't judge the past by your today. Intent should always be considered. Even when it's challenging. Do we think Astaire was attempting to honor or dishonor Bill Robinson? I think the answer is clear- even if misguided.

"Arguably, or for me, the greatest single sequence in all of film history [is] Fred Astaire dancing with his own shadows, and all of a sudden he stops and the shadows become independent and dance without him and he has to catch up with them. It's so quintessential movie. It can't get more beautiful. It's actually from Swing Time [1938]. And when you look at the cave and certain panels, there's evidence of some fires on the ground. They're not for cooking. They were used for illumination. You have to step in front of these fires to look at the images, and when you move, you must see your own shadow. And immediately, Fred Astaire comes to mind - who did something 32,000 years later which is essentially what we can imagine for early Paleolithic people.

Beautiful tribute to Bill Robinson and "Bubbles" of "Buck & Bubbles".

the end moves are the best I ever saw. No wonder MJ copied this guy, but could never reproduce that end move and specially with that precison.

@kingofthebeast4024

4 жыл бұрын

Gen ZoD he didn’t copy him, he drew inspiration from him

@genzod7940

4 жыл бұрын

@@kingofthebeast4024 In all businesses people inspire others, inspiration also includes to copy, it´s normal to copy and even improve whatever has been copied. I like MJ very much, but I am able to detect many copied moves from other old school dancers and I do believe that MJ was a limited dancer. To me, probably the bests dancers were the Nicholas Brothers, these guys would do anything that MJ could have done, but not the opposite. Fred also has some legendary performances, different style than the NBs that were way more athletic than Fred, but Fred really had that different kind of touch, style and finesse. Also what makes me appreciate way more the old school entertainers is that they could dance, sing, act, play instruments etc..., in the old days in order to be successful you had to be a very complete artist because the competition was huge and at a very high level even if they had less technology than today´s performers. Today many are famous and can´t even play a Triangle. You know that move that MJ makes with his leg frontwards, I believe it comes from here: kzread.info/dash/bejne/eKt9z62Sd6a5qKw.html (from min two nineteen to two twenty one ) And if you look many of the MJ moves and research in the internet, you´ll see that many were already done by other performers long ago, but again, this is normal, nothing wrong. All dancers spent and spend hours watching old school dancers movies, performances and moves and many of these moves have been copied and improved, now, to who the original moves really belongs to is hard to tell because it goes very far in time. To get back to MJ, you have to think that MJ has been created and some performers just have it in their blood since they are kids, you can see this from the early stages of their lifes and I post here the difference between a young MJ performing (already older than the NBs) and the NBs performing when they were kids: kzread.info/dash/bejne/pqSp0ZKyhtvYidI.html kzread.info/dash/bejne/aX121seapbrZeKQ.html kzread.info/dash/bejne/qWGOu9qkp8S2lJc.html And then, if you try to compare them when adults, the difference becomes even worst: kzread.info/dash/bejne/fnaFsciygpqbprw.html At the end, they are all a big familly kzread.info/dash/bejne/poOasqxraKXeec4.html kzread.info/dash/bejne/pZyJ1dNypbfQltI.html kzread.info/dash/bejne/f52NyJKFXbS2j84.html kzread.info/dash/bejne/fpifm8Syc5Tgl7g.html

This scene still amazes me

@nostalgicharmoni3205

4 жыл бұрын

I (dont) apologize for what i said. Everything there was meant to be said, but not in that particular way. You are bias and racist. Why? Because out of all scenes, you choose to see the scene that is racist and includes blackface. And you sit there saying it amazes you?? You’re parents didn’t teach you correctly...

wow thanks for uploading this!! just today i was thinking about watching this scene and couldn't find it anywhere but here. :)

@nostalgicharmoni3205

4 жыл бұрын

Of course someone like you would want to watch this stuff, just so you could admire it. Do you know how racist this is?? I want u to reply, and answer because I feel like you just don’t get it.

Great Dancer!!! Are the silhouette dancers Fred also. the bodies look different than Freds

While we now know this was very racist, it was a different time then where this was normal. And sure most white people who wore black face back then were purposefully being racist, but Fred Astaire wasn't purposefully being racist, he considered this a tribute. Fred loved and respected black people, he wasn't racist. Before Fred died in June 1987, he was proud to say that his successor would be Michael Jackson, who was a black man (Note: Fred died before MJ would unveil his new lighter look, so Fred only ever saw dark skinned MJ)

@johnjames1320

4 жыл бұрын

lol. thx for the analysis re MJ's turn to whiteness

@Char-kd6bl

4 жыл бұрын

@@johnjames1320 lol um you're welcome? And he never "turned white", he had a skin disorder and disliked his nose

@Char-kd6bl

4 жыл бұрын

@Tim Dewano How am I a racist apologist when Fred Astaire wasn't racist? Did you read the comment at all? I acknowledge that it's a racist performance and it's despicable that this exists, but you need to understand that Fred lived in ignorant times and he didn't see it as racist at the time. He wasn't racist.

@chocmilk10

2 жыл бұрын

@@Char-kd6bl MJ was always black. He never “became white”. He had vitiligo. That doesn’t mean his racial makeup changed.

@Char-kd6bl

2 жыл бұрын

@@chocmilk10 I’m aware.

I don't apologize for thinking that this is one of the best things I have seen. Here in Western Canada there was a hockey team of young men in their prime who did elements of a tribal war dance before one of their games. Three of the dancers were First Nations and one was of European descent. A team mate posted the dance online and they were publicly censured on the news for three days. I have always thought that dancing exuberantly for anticipated triumphs is what young men in their prime are supposed to do by their nature. What is this world coming to?

@justabreeze460

3 жыл бұрын

Look up blackface in America. No one’s over exaggerating

Amazing!

Thanks to Thaofus for posting this great dance film! It might get many more views if you correct the typo in the title, it should be "Bojangles".

Its not offensive its a look into the past. Part of history. Yes back then blacks were not treated equally in film in this era but these movies should be watched as a peace of our histor

Love to know how they did this

even the hatssssssssss the gloves and the pants with the strip on the side freddddddddddddd wowwwwwww

Ha ha yes this film would not be made today. A gambling man who treats his fiancé badly, finds another woman, stalks and harasses her. His friend steals her money, he follows her about, pretends he can’t dance to stalk her some more, goes into her room uninvited, pretends to leave with fake footsteps then lurks around some more. But because it’s Hollywood and not real life she loves it! He does a routine in blackface. (Although what’s he saying? He’s a great dancer and all the ladies love him?). But yes this film would be burned at the stake today but you can’t judge by our standards. Amazing talent and art and I love all the dance routines...sublime! No doubt in 80 years from now they’ll look back and be horrified by what we think is normal now. We are the human race and we change. We can’t help it that’s how it is.

Fred Astaire for ever!

So cool, before this I was watching a Micheal Jackson video, I didn't know he tap dance. I have to say though, these times will always be my favorite for dancing and singing..acting too for some. Interesting with the shadow, but what does it mean lol ..and why does it say Bill Robinson is in this..is the shadow him or something?

@tammie1078

4 жыл бұрын

@Tim Dewano What the hell? I was not racist, and I'm sick of men calling woman a bitch, you no know what, I don't care, your being a "DICK" for your rude comment.

were the background Silhouettes Fred Astaire also. They didn't look like him🤔

Other than the fact that he’s in blackface, this scene is pretty mesmerising

Today … Blackfacing - Scandal 😅

U r wecome

His intention was literally a tribute to a dancer he admired. Don't fuss. 'Corking up' (painting face for visual reasons) was famously used in films that time :)

@justabreeze460

3 жыл бұрын

Black people literally have the right to fuss🙄 you don’t tell people how to feel. It’s blackface not whitewashed corking up. The intention never matters. While his heart may have been in the right place, he was still to blind to see how offensive this was to the very person he was paying tribute too.

ive been looking for this for years but gave up hope a good while ago then i here fred astaires name and took another shot to show me girlfriend and viola ,SICK

Great dance routine, but of course it would be labeled racist in todays world .Fred Astaire was, and is, the best male tap dancer by far.

This is where Michael Jackson got the idea for his live performance intro to Smooth Criminal and The Way You Make Me Feel.

The 'blackface' is so light you can hardly see it, like Fred's yellowface in 'Limehouse Blues'.

Danny Mullen

were the background Silhouettes Fred Astaire also. they didn't look like him

All commentary aside, it was a normal movie, you're chuckling along in the previous scene where Fred is in his dressing room preparing for the show and mid-laughter he just slaps on some blackface. Tell me you weren't like - WTF just happened? Where are we going with this?? Don't!

So sad we don't have this today.

@treseancann1261

Жыл бұрын

I agree. It's a lost art.

What an amazing dance. Notice at the end when Fred exists. Notice his unique walk off stage. He invented that walk. The African Americans got it from him.

what are the background Silhouettes Fred Astaire also they don't look like him🤔

Excuses. If Robinson did a tribute to Astaire in white face most of you would be having coronaries.

@abralaventana

7 жыл бұрын

Robert, all do respect. Did Michael Jackson emulate Fred? Yes. Did he emulate Fosse? Yes. He also lightened his skin, as is popular in Jamica.

@rquashie64

7 жыл бұрын

Jackson didn't 'emulate' Fred. He respected him, and many others. He respected dancers of all color and style who came before him. Yes, I agree. The skin-lightening is not relevant to this conversation. The point here, is that it doesn't help the conversation when white people make excuses for past offensive behavior by saying, it was a 'different time.' Yes it was, a time of Jim Crow, rampant lynchings, land theft and other such activities. I am willing to say Fred was a pretty good dancer, but yeah, like Michael Jackson lightening his face -- what he did is kinda f'ed up and we can learn something from it about cultural appropriation (what artists often do) and self-hatred (what black artists often do).

@rquashie64

7 жыл бұрын

Just asked you to consider another POV Marie. Just asking people to be honest enough to reflect on the source of their own opinions and attitudes.

@abralaventana

7 жыл бұрын

I "feel" what you are saying, but the whole "cultural appropriation" argument is so weak. Everything is cultural appropriation via a particular lens. Jackson straight up stole from Fosse. Skin lightening is not art, it is artifice, but on the art level, Jackson straight up stole So what. He was a genius Your bullshit "when white people" is an attempt to automatically deny somebody who is white the right to an opinion under the fascist rules of: cultural appropriation; privilege; yada. FU to that fascism, really, fu to that.

@miked7625

7 жыл бұрын

robert quashie "fred was a pretty good dancer". lol, just like eminem is a pretty good rapper, right? And it's because they're white, no doubt. Seriously, dude...get over yourself. Your whining makes me give less of a shit the more I hear it. "...pretty good dancer."

Nowadays we can tribute black performers without doing blackface!

@pennagain6207

5 жыл бұрын

You can,in fact you must, but that's stupid. Make-up is make-up, whatever it's used for. It has no politics. In this case, it isn't the same - even if you announce first that you are "being black" (and if you don't announce it, you are being a hypocrite). The tributes were to two extraordinary dancers, not "any" black performers: Bill "Bojangles" Robinson and the almost unknown John "Bubbles" Sublett (whom Astaire took lessons from in the 1920s and who was called "the greatest" by both Astaire and Robinson). The point is that both black dancers were COMPARATIVELY - as compared to Astaire - unknown and need to be credited by other dancers almost as (or as) good as the originals. The main problem with your comment is the "we" part ... until "They" can do the same for all white characters. This "forbidding" of roles or costumes or make-up is just blocking the progress that should have been made by now. It is the opposite of what people think: it is divisive. And it is, in fact, downright Racist.

@pennagain6207

5 жыл бұрын

Correction: Robinson was, of course, well known by the time Swing Time was made in 1937. Two years before he had done that cool stair-tapping duo with Shirley Temple and it became one of the most popular movies of 1935. The title of the number has Robinson's name because of his fame at the time.

Maybe he was doing a tribute to a black man because that black man wasn't even allowed in as a performer to the nightclub, much less in the audience. The only way those white folks could know of the great dancer Bojangles was to watch a white man pretending to be him. While Astaire and the filming were amazing, blackface is still racist.

@pennagain6207

5 жыл бұрын

Black "performers" were welcome in nightclubs in 1937. Astaire never made any secret of the fact the homage was to two of his equals (or betters) in tap: one was Bill "Bojangles" Robinson and the other was his teacher from the 1920s, a mostly vaudeville (before movies) performer, John "Bubbles" Sublett, see what he could do at the age of 58 kzread.info/dash/bejne/ZqCqr8Ojh5eqd9I.html). No one else could have done the moves. Robinson was well known to movie audiences though. You are in for a treat - from 1935, one of the biggest hits of the year: kzread.info/dash/bejne/k6afzamjdNPHaKg.html

I love how I'm reading the comments and people are like "it's only a tribute relax!" Well if he respected Bill Robinson enough he won't wear blackface. Don't excuse it but I do understand it was a different time but don't excuse behavior like that; blackface is still a problem in modern day USA.

@douglassharpe55

6 жыл бұрын

Don't apply today's nonsensical "values" to 85 years ago, that's all. That being said, Fred never did a more brilliant and technically challenging tap routine than this one. Following the FX part, to the end of the number is mostly what I'm referring to, takes my breath away.

@newking70

6 жыл бұрын

yea b/c i see people wearing blackface everyday.....GTFO.....why don't you address those modern day rapping minstrels.

@pennagain6207

5 жыл бұрын

@@JackisaMimic You can't make up motives or actions just to suit the latest PC meme. There's no such thing as cultural appropriation in a negative sense. Our country is not a "melting pot" because it does not take away from what new citizens bring to it, but culturally we are a marvelous meld of a bit of everyone's language and literature, food, music, games, art and oh, yes, dance (and everything else from pizza to acupuncture to "amigo") all the cultures of people who have contributed to it. Saying you can't wear this or say that because it "belongs" to someone else's "culture" is nothing short of insane. By the way, a VERY small percentage of "black" people in this country are actually black, and a minority of "white" people are blue-eyed blondes. To separate the two into races is exactly what it says: RACIST.

@lj3277

5 жыл бұрын

So if you have a problem with this do you have a problem with Dave Chappelle wearing white face making fun of white people

Such wonderful dancing overshadowed by such horrifying racism. Blackface complete with shiny white gloves and a stupid lolling Bojangles grin. Shame..

@pennagain6207

5 жыл бұрын

How stupid can you get. This is a tribute to two black dancers and they knew it.

How any one can find this offensive, is beyond my grasp!

@jcb3393

8 жыл бұрын

I know - this was actually a tribute to another tap dance great. One of the most difficult dance routines Astaire had to do because it was so outside his own style.

@mythos5789

7 жыл бұрын

are you the first day around in internet? some are searching the whole day for anything where they can complain about

This routine has always walked a thin line between tribute and racist parody. We know of his respect for Bill Robinson (and the Nicholas Brothers as well), but Bill was a back straight toe tapper, not a flashy heel and toe spinner, and that ending for me crossed the line. Although I loved Astaire this one was close. I've always been left feeling ambiguous about this one. Perhaps it would have been best never to have been.

@JonRobert

9 жыл бұрын

Actually no. The PC movement has in fact plunged into self-parody now, with the notion of "jazz hands" instead applause. The latter now requires "trigger warnings" lest the fragile feminists become upset. See www.gaystarnews.com/article/uk-students-union-passes-policy-stop-white-gay-men-acting-black-women250315 and www.express.co.uk/news/uk/566202/NUS-jazz-hands-clapping-anxiety-feminists. Yes it is true, and no, it is not from "The Onion"

@GlanceofGlory

9 жыл бұрын

Hel Gar I have to believe that at least some people, like Astaire, simply didn't know any better. But there are very few people who I've felt that way about, black face triggers such visceral feelings in me and nearly anyone with an ounce of sense.

@helgar791

9 жыл бұрын

GlanceofGlory Astute comment. I can't but agree.

@helgar791

7 жыл бұрын

croc huntas And the day you become black then you can tell me what I find offensive.

@helgar791

7 жыл бұрын

croc huntas Good. Then at least explore the history of the man Astaire was "imitating" and why that man never made near the money Astaire did. Nor was he able to perform onstage or on screen with white people. Actually on screen with only one: Shirley Temple. Again, Bill was not a heel/toe tapper, but Bill did the much harder technique of tapping only on his toes. At least try to understand how African-American's invented tap dancing by transforming the Irish form into the art it is today. At least try to understand why although Astaire was a fine dancer he wasn't near the dancer Bill or the Nicholas Brothers were. At least try to understand how every form of music or entertainment invented by African-American's: jazz, rock and roll, the way singers sing today and the way they style, tap dancing etc., was stolen (co-opted) by white people so that they could make the money and African-American's could be shut out. In some case, such as jazz and R & R white people would claim to have invented it and not black people. Then maybe you will understand part of my ambiguity.

Insubstituível

this is racist as fuck but god damn he could dance...

@johnjames1320

4 жыл бұрын

lol. nuthin like a racist video to put a grin on your face

The great Fred and Hermes!!!! Now, no more politically correct nonsense, blackface was not a sin in 1937. That being said, I think the dance itself, particularly after the FX, was the.most complex tap routine ever filmed, and Fred at the pinnacle of his abilities. Takes my breath away.

Michael Jackson admired him so much they swapped color...

I just wanna say, that y’all can put comments up like “oh Michael Jackson looks up to Fred Astaire”, and, “Astaire was such an amazing dancer”, or, “a lot of black people look up to that man” But thats not going to cover up the fact that he was wrong for putting on black makeup trying to impersonate a black person, because at the end of the day, none of y’all whites would feel happy about us blacks putting on white makeup and blonde stringy hair.... peridot.

@creeperkiller9795

4 жыл бұрын

It was the 1930s that's how society was back then. It is wrong but no one thought it was because that's just how it was

@chriscrump6639

Жыл бұрын

Actually, it was done in White Chicks. Was I offended being white? No. I rank it as one of the funniest comedies I have ever seen. Not going to defend black face though. Especially caricature black face. That crap was just overtly racist and makes me cringe when I see it in movies from back then that I love.

The PC crazy want to take this film and de-colorize it. It's a tribute piece, nothing more. It was 80 years ago for crying out loud.

Why did the three black men give up? They were far better than Fred Austerlitz.

@chattyroz2934

6 жыл бұрын

They were all him, of course. Couldn't you tell? The picture was slightly distorted. I think it was stretched to widen it a bit.

Can someone please attempt to explain why they feel a white person putting on black face is offensive.

Besides the blackface being offensive (and that it really doesn't matter what's in your heart, but how you behave in the public eye), the dancing in this video clip is vulgar and loose in comparison to Bill Robinson.

Racst

where michael jackson got this frommmmmmmmmmmm he took alot from this man and james brown jackie wilson

This is all I know of Fred astaire. Oh, and Madonna likes to rap about racist actors in songs. Shame on Fred, shame on Madonna