First Act

A movie documentary aired, in which the white German journalist-author-filmmaker Günter Wallraff explains to white Germans that racism actually exists,

drawing from the vast personal experiences he made by engaging in conversations dressed in an afro wig and Blackface makeup.

© x-verleih

Second Act

I gave a few interviews in which I somewhat reluctantly explained (what’s to ‚explain‘?) why this guy’s unoriginal project was not cool.

Etc. But I still needed a cheer-up.

Third Act

So, one week later, with help from a theatre make-up artist I dressed up as Günter Wallraff, for Halloween.

My drag and performance were disquietingly convincing.
 

(Yes, it’s me in these photos. The scarecrow acted as undercover bodyguard. It was necessary.)

At the lectures and symposia in the following weeks, I continued to introduce myself as „Günter Wallraff“, with the accordant name tag / journalist ID.
This served as a microscopic dose of relief for me and the other Black people present.

click to enlarge

*

Curtain Call

Our names are now forever linked. Fuck.

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Fotos: the scarecrow and Wolfgang Brückner

Blogeintrag, Pingbacks, Kommentare: http://www.noahsow.de/blog/2009/11/02/whiteface-zu-halloween-dieses-jahr-mal-als-wallraff/

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