Myriam Fares In Blackface: The Shocking New Music Video
Lebanese music artist (is she? debatable) Myriam Fares has stirred controversy with her latest music video for the song Goumi in which she dances and prances in a jungle (because Africa, duh) while she progressively gets into blackface.
Blackface, for those who don’t know, is about making blackness a costume. More specifically, it’s about blackness as white people understand it. I won’t get into the history of blackface or how it is extremely derogatory and a disdainful representation of black people as cartoonish, outlandish, and garish – you’ll have to educate yourselves on your own time, but suffice to say that it is a generally agreed upon form of blatant racism.
Myriam has proven that she (along with an entire production team) still lack the basic sensibilities that contribute to Arab racism and ignorance. It is the total lack of awareness about how a disenfranchised people and an entire continent are still struggling to write their own history and still fighting for the right to represent themselves.
Tribal? Asian? African?! Who knows.
The entire production of the video, the “savage” feel, the jungle theme, the wild hair and make-up, as well as the presence of what looks like Amazonian people or indigenous folk, are all representations of the people she is emulating as “others”.
With African traditional jewelry, Southeast Asian neck-rings, Indian and African dances and music, it is clear that to Myriam, culture is split into whites and others.
The truth of the matter is, white people will continuously do blackface and say, “you know how I am, I’m the least racist person!” Okay, little Trumpsters, calm down.
People in blackface tend to be less concerned with how their actions were actively harmful to black people and more preoccupied with the fact that their reputation was now sullied.
Here is how some people reacted on Twitter:
المخرج، المصورين، طاقم العمل ، الراقصين والمصورين ومريام فارس … ما حدا شاف ان في مشكل ان مريام فارس تدهن جسمها اسود لتلعب دور امرأة أفريقية ؟؟ معقول ؟ pic.twitter.com/vT6F1gOTIr
Myriam Fares is the perfect example for Arab ignorance. Is it really difficult educating yourself on what is right and wrong? Blackface? In 2018? What is more disgusting is the fact that the comments are all praising the video and no one sees her actions as wrong.
There is a video clip of an Arab singer @myriamfares doing a black face , which exposed her to racism absolutely rejected in the policy of YouTube exposure to any person insulting color or race of any ethnic please block the video @YouTubeArabia@YouTubepic.twitter.com/ivIZRjcpyb
