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Snapchat’s Offensive ‘Bob Marley’ Filter Gives You Instant Blackface

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L

LyleLanley

Banned
Snapchat’s Offensive ‘Bob Marley’ Filter Gives You Instant Blackface

For some reason, Snapchat decided it was a good idea to create a Bob Marley filter—one that makes the user look like a bizarre, warped version of the late singer, dreadlocks and all. All the typical things that might stop a massive social network from doing this—the fact that it looks like like automated blackface, the reductiveness of creating a Bob Marley filter on 4/20, the half-hearted attempts at incorporating Marley’s music, the fact that it literally slaps blackface and dreadlocks on everyone who tries it—apparently didn’t occur to Snapchat.
Click to expand...

Update: A Snapchat spokesman emailed us the following statement:

“The lens we launched today was created in partnership with the Bob Marley Estate, and gives people a new way to share their appreciation for Bob Marley and his music. Millions of Snapchatters have enjoyed Bob Marley’s music, and we respect his life and achievements.”
Click to expand...

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Happy 420 everyone.
 
Q

Quick

Banned
Masquerade has a similar filter, and it initially placed either Bob Marley's or Snoop Dogg's face, but a recent update took that out and just had the hat and dreads.
 
TheMan

TheMan

Member
eh, just a play on his love for weed on 4/20, endorsed by his estate no less. Equating this with racism is a bit much.
 
C

CloudyTuba

Member
Based on the title, I expected this to be an offensive caricature of an entire race with pitch black skin and big red lips. You know, like blackface.

Instead I see a novelty developed in conjunction with Bob Marley's estate that makes you look more like a specific man on a very relevant day. It's basically the same idea as if they made a Captain Jack Sparrow filter on Talk Like a Pirate Day, which everyone would love.

I think people are just extra sensitive about this sort of thing because of actual blackface in the past, but if they stopped to really think about it they'd realize it isn't the same thing at all.
 
M

Makonero

Member
SillyNonsense said:
Based on the title, I expected this to be an offensive caricature of an entire race with pitch black skin and big red lips. You know, like blackface.

Instead I see a novelty developed in conjunction with Bob Marley's estate that makes you look more like a specific man on a very relevant day. It's basically the same idea as if they made a Captain Jack Sparrow filter on Talk Like a Pirate Day, which everyone would love.
Click to expand...

I sincerely doubt that if they made a Jack Sparrow filter that they would lighten your skin.
 
A

Archaeopteryx

Member
This is exactly like the Benjamin Franklin face they had a couple weeks ago. It just overlays it on your face. I don't see the problem.
 
S

studyguy

Member
They already implement poorly placed hats and ears, etc.
Should have just made your shitty hats and kept it going than do that lol.
Anyway it makes me look like I'm suffering from constipation.
 
C

CloudyTuba

Member
Makonero said:
I sincerely doubt that if they made a Jack Sparrow filter that they would lighten your skin.
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Jack Sparrow actually has very tanned orangish skin, so I would totally expect them to apply an orange tan filter to everyone. Eye makeup, too. I'd like the filter more if it made me look more like him. Because that's the point.
But I don't want to get into debating an imaginary instance, it was just an example to illustrate a point.

Archaeopteryx said:
This is exactly like the Benjamin Franklin face they had a couple weeks ago. It just overlays it on your face. I don't see the problem.
Click to expand...

Yeah, the point of this is to make you look like a specific man, the focus is not his race, nor is it at all exaggerated to an offensive point. It just makes you look like the dude.

Now if they made filters than turned you straight up into exaggerated caricatures of races, stereotypes and all, that would of course be shitty.

imbask said:
wait... if I faceswap with a black friend, am I racist?
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Sometimes I feel like some members of GAf would argue 'yes.' Because true equality to some people apparently means to put up as many walls as possible instead of enjoying each others differences.
 
B

backflip10019

Member
Overlaying Bob Marley's face on top of yours isn't giving you blackface.

MSQRD also has a Snoop Dogg face that does the same thing. It's not blackface.
 
A

A Link to the Past

Banned
Quick said:
Masquerade has a similar filter, and it initially placed either Bob Marley's or Snoop Dogg's face, but a recent update took that out and just had the hat and dreads.
Click to expand...

Seriously, it's like people don't understand that you don't need to paint your skin black to dress up as a black figure.
 
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