A gathering of talented entertainers who have made a ``Trading Places'' of the changing times! Eddie Murphy is the best!

Problem scene and historical background

Now, I said at the beginning that it would be a hot topic now, but the problematic part is the scene where Dan Aykroyd paints his face in blackface and the part where the older brothers use the N-word (a derogatory term for black people). Nowadays, it will surely become a hot topic on social media. But it didn't catch fire at that time. This reminded me of the college photo scandal of Virginia Governor Ralph Northam and Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring that broke in February 2019. In 1984, the year after the film was released, the two were featured in their college The Graduate in blackface and as members of the Ku Klux Klan. It was discovered only now that it became a big problem.

“Trading Places” (c)Photofest / Getty Images

This movie was released in 1983, when the political correctness that we see today was not as prevalent in Hollywood. 1983 was the year Vanessa Williams, who later became an actress, became the first black person to be crowned Miss America, and the birthday of the Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. became a national holiday. The decision to commemorate Martin Luther King Jr.'s national holiday did not come easily, and it took many twists and turns before it finally became a reality. Then, in December, the music video for Michael Jackson's " Thriller " directed by John Landis was aired for the first time on MTV, featuring a completely different storyline and Michael Jackson's beautiful voice and dancing. It was a year in which black culture took the world by storm and gradually became accepted by the general public.

In fact, as I mentioned earlier, Gene Wilder also appears briefly in blackface in `` The Transcontinental Express, '' which starred Eddie Murphy pioneer Richard Pryor. And at that time, it wasn't really considered a problem. However, `` Mr. Soul Man '' (1986), which was released after ``The Trading Places'', was controversial even before its release. The main character was accepted into Harvard Law School, but for some reason he was unable to pay his tuition, so he tries to disguise himself as a black person in order to get a scholarship that only black people can receive. Times have changed, partly due to the controversy that this film aroused.

Henry Louis Gates Jr., head of African American history at Harvard University, describes this situation as follows: "In this era of digitization, maximum access to archives, and increased media diversity, we have learned that these images (such as blackface) cause us pain. You shouldn't use it now." Hollywood and we are no longer ignorant and are moving forward.

The best Eddie ever

Did you remember and were upset about the blackface in this movie? I asked an African-American man of my generation. ``I had forgotten that scene even existed, and I still love the movie,'' he said. He replied, ``Eddie Murphy was a superstar. I was so proud of Eddie in that performance. That's why I wanted to see Eddie. And it was awesome.'' In both America and Japan, children of the same age felt the same way, ``It's funny! Eddie Murphy is the best!'' and it's still the same today. No matter how times change, the brilliance of Eddie Murphy and this movie remains the same.

Text: Anzureratto

Writes mainly for the magazine "Eiga Hiho" (Yosensha). His book ``Black Movie Guide'' (Small Publishing) is now on sale.

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