In 2004 director Keenen Ivory Wayans released a comedy film called White Chicks. Starring Shawn Wayans and Marlon Wayans, it focuses on two black FBI agents who use whiteface to solve a kidnapping plot with the help of a white woman. With a budget of $37 million, the movie grossed $113.1 million worldwide when it was released on June 23, 2004. This movie provides entertainment and to the audiences. However, it has its negative sides.
Kevin Copeland and Marcus Copeland (Shawn and Marlon Wayans) are FBI agents and brothers who go to a convenience store to capture members of an organization that is selling drugs inside ice cream boxes. They disguise themselves as old Caribbean men receiving drugs. Kevin and Marcus engage in a shootout, knocking out the criminals, and leaving the place devastated. But soon they discover that these men are actually selling real ice cream. Meanwhile, the real drug dealers show up and escape. A few agents and the FBI supervisor, Elliott Gordon, arrive at the scene. Upon arrival, the scene gets very messy. Rather than terminating them, he gives them the responsibility of protecting the billionaire cruise line heiresses Brittany and Tiffany Wilson (Maitland Ward and Anne Dudek) from a kidnapping plot (the socialite kidnappings). Despite the fact that their cuts are barely noticeable, the Wilson sisters refuse to leave the hotel when they get facial cuts in a car accident. In order to save their jobs, the agents disguised themselves as Wilson sisters’ lookalikes. Kevin and Marcus meet Karen, Tori, and Lisa, Brittany and Tiffany's three best friends, at the Hamptons hotel. In addition, they meet Megan and Heather Vandegeld, their enemies. Gina, Marcus' wife, becomes suspicious when she hears a female voice on the phone with him. The couple goes through a rough patch in their marriage. There is a long bumpy road for Marcus and Kevin of trying to be men but also being women in the hotel. Kevin shows an interest in news reporter Denise Porter while Marcus shows interest in his wife. Eventually Tiffany and Brittany Wilson's real identities are revealed and they are left with no choice but to have a look around for the suspicious man with a gun.
Racism and racial stereotypes are the most disturbing aspects of this movie. The characters strongly emphasize how important it is to be white and how it is the dominant skin tone in our society. When looking for a partner, the main black character, Latrell, makes the comment "white meat only," implying that skin color is more important than personality and qualifications. Kevin pretending to be one of the Wilson sisters while lying in the sun, Latrell makes racial remarks as he goes after one of the Wilson sisters (who is actually Kevin disguised as one of the Wilson sisters). In other words, this would suggest that men should only be attracted to pale, white women, and that any change in skin tone would devalue her. He makes an inappropriate remark that black males are rough sexually by saying "once you go black, you're gonna need a wheelchair". "Negro please," Latrell asks when he discovers that Kevin and Marcus are actually black men imitating white women. "Didn't anyone warn you that this was going to be an all-white affair?" highlighting racial misconceptions that black people are excluded from particular activities due to their ethnicity or race.
The underlying idea that all of these racist sequences are supposed to be jokes struck me as the most striking aspect of this film. This is similar to ironic sexism, which occurs when the media uses derision, parody, and satire to hide the objectification of women. This film was made with the hopes of making viewers laugh at racial and gender stereotypes that they find amusing. It's critical to be aware of the hegemonic values that are constructed in the media and to understand the impact they have on those who view them.
Despite all of the negative things about the movie, I still can’t deny how much entertainment it brought me when I watched it before. I am also thankful that I watch that movie, because it helped me realize now that there are “jokes” that are not appropriate to the public. It is important that whenever you want to bring entertainment to the people, you should be sensitive on the things that you will say. Always consider the feelings of others. In that way, you will become successful without hurting anyone’s feelings. Remember that the key to success in entertainment is for you to know your audiences.
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