I have been seeing A LOT of this the last couple Halloweens, white people covered in brown makeup as part of a famous rapper costume. It's not blackface in the historical sense, but it's still a pretty ballsy move. The problem with the pic is that when you look at it, these guys did a piss poor job on their costumes. It just looks like two white assholes, not Biggie and Tupac.

On Saturday night I was at a party that had a blonde white woman dressed as a Japanese concubine, with the pancake makeup and lipstick and all that. She got compliments all night, which I do not think would happen if she had applied brown makeup and went as Lil Wayne.

For the record, I went as a police detective. A white one.

Apology has been posted on their FB page in the vein of "sorry you were offended."

The apology makes it even worse. They said "we have been posting images of partygoers from years past" which means that they've had the photo for over a year, and still saw nothing wrong with posting it.

I'm planning on being one of those Avatar creatures for Halloween. But instead of wearing boots that make me a few inches taller and painting my skin blue (which, i imagine, are the best ways to go about impersonating a tall blue person), i'm just going to wear a sign that says, "Imagine that i'm tall and that my skin is blue," so as not to offend anyone.

When was the last 'real' blackface used? The '20s? I imagine a lot of the people at the party had never heard of it. If you have to explain to innocent people why something is racist...is it still racist?

Passing along this poster campaign, which I thought was good stuff... http://www.ohio.edu/orgs/stars/Poster_Campaign.html

This lack of awareness shouldn't come as a surprise. This is a company of "creatives" couldn't come up with anything more clever than "Nemoween."

I despise racism and those who subscribe to it. And i don't think that dressing up as another race is a very wise or considerate move -- even if you aren't aiming to offend anyone, there's just too much of a likelihood that you inadvertently will, and for that reason alone, it should be avoided.

But that doesn't mean that every instance of it is inherently a blatant act of racism. Those two dudes, like tons of other white kids, probably idolize Tupac and Biggie, and very possibly don't have even a hint of racism running through their heads. And how else could they dress up as their heroes? It's not as if they were dressing up simply as a couple of 'black people'.

By people continuing to take such knee-jerk-offense at such things only helps to perpetuate the myth and mindset that there's any real difference between us all. What, only black people can dress up as black celebrities? And white people as white celebrities? Now THAT'S racist.

How many men will dress up as women this year? Are they all automatically misogynists? If i put on a fake beard and wear a top hat, am i unquestionably a Lincoln-hater?

Let's wait for actual instances of hate or racism to get all offended and indignant about -- not a crappily-executed Halloween costume donned by a couple of rap fans who just happen to be white.

(And, who knows? Maybe these two ARE racist punks, but we don't know that based on their costumes alone...)

Upside: you all may get a gig with KXL.

Human in training. Take yourself back in time and imagine you are a super big fan like you say, get tix for the halloween show to see Tupac and or B.I.G. and you dress up just like them. You get to head back stage and W00T! W00T! let the homage begin! They would totally understand and be flattered I bet. Cause you would be all "I am tearing down racism guys", "heck its not like we are truly different and junk"

Obviously it is OK to be offended by this every halloween and calling people out of in is also great in my book.

HIT: point isn't whether those two clowns are actual racists, point is that Nemo posted something that is widely regarded as tasteless. Being image people, you'd think they get it. Doesn't seem like it was done maliciously, just stupidly.

And also, just stop dressing as black people for Halloween, and frat parties. That so hard?

@ parking-lot-junkie:

As i noted at the beginning of my 2nd comment, i don't think it's a very smart/sensible/sensitive thing to do -- even if i wasn't intending to offend anyone by dressing up like that, chances are that i would regardless, and so i wouldn't do it. But just because you or i (or most thinking beings) wouldn't do such a thing to show our love/homage doesn't mean that all of those who would are undoubtedly racist. Actual racism needs to be present for something to be racist. Poor taste and blind hate aren't synonymous.

What these two did isn't the same thing as, for example, the behavior illustrated in the link that Iharwin included -- those people were dressing up as races/religions -- these guys were dressed up as actual individuals, and i kind of doubt that they were consciously doing so derogatorily. Their use of brown paint served the exact same purpose that their use of a fat suit and a backwards bandanna did: to make their costumes more realistic.

Our country's racism only started waning in the recent past and, shamefully, plenty exists still, so i can't really blame people for getting offended by instances like this, even if many of said instances aren't actual acts of racism. Do i think it was a dumb move on Nemo's part to post this? Yes. Do i think that the fact that they did is incontrovertible evidence that they're a racist organization? No.

(And, for the record: If i was going to dress up like Biggie or Tupac, i wouldn't need paint, or bling, or fat suits -- i would just cover myself in sheet music and then smear poop all over it...)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CVtsvIpJFTw

HIT, I'm in agreement with you. I am also thinking about that great comedy "Tropic Thunder" and those movies where the black guys get dressed up as blonde girls. I think this is a far cry from 'blackface' days where black actors were not hired, or were shown in less than flattering by whites in black makeup.

This brings up the implications of all those Presidential masks you see on Holloween -- can a white person wear a Obama mask without being called rascist?

Without knowing the guys pictured, I don't know if they had a racist intent or were simply living in a vacuum that a place like Portland makes possible. For them, it's probably pretty easy to live their lives without having any meaningful interaction with other races. Assuming these two are/were Nemo employees and having been inside Nemo Design's office, it's pretty monochromatic.

More than likely, the two guys' experiences to black people are limited to what they see on TV (don't get me started on media representation...) because I seriously doubt they would do this if they had regular interactions with blacks (or other races for that matter).

Which means what?
If they are not from PDX, have black friends, and are not rascist, then it is OK?
Or, if they are from PDX and have few or no black friends, and not rascist, then it should be frowned upon?
Tarintino grew up being one of the only white kids in the neighborhood, and it certainly hasn't stopped him from using the "N Word" (and how do I hate that contraction!)

Really, frankieb, bringing Tarentino into this conversation? Your extrapolation is flawed. I didn't say it was OK, either way. However, living in a racial vacuum makes it easier to not have that filter that comes with knowing you are actively offending a group if you don't know anyone of said group...especially when you are of the majority and can actively "avoid" interaction with other groups.

Yeah, really. Tarantino. Nope, I do not find the comparison flawed, but extremely relavant to the point you are trying to make.
"Trying" should be emphasized.
You are drawing one heck of a lot of conclusions from a photograph.

Let's all take a lesson from C. Thomas Howell, whose career in the 1980s was completely destroyed after he offensively donned blackface for the box office bomb "Soul Man" back in 1986...

Who again is C. Thomas Howell you kids might ask? Exactly...

Hasn't hurt Robert Downey Jr.

Even their white papers wear black face.
http://nemodesign.com/blackpapers/

Wait... that's racist but this is okay? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sTqsy63Wf9Y

I used to live across the street from this place. It kinda hella sucked. They would have these huge parties from time to time, and there would inevitably be vomit all over the sidewalk, people making all kinds of noise into the wee hours... Basically the same sort of complaints you hear from NE Alberta folks about Last Thursday. Most days they were pretty good neighbors, but that was more or less negated by the parties they threw.

Someone needs to show me where the article calls NEMO racist. I see "Jaw Dropping" "Who thought this was a good idea", "As a brand agency" questions.

HIT "Poor taste and blind hate aren't synonymous." got me misty eyed. That last comment about sheet music and poop really made me think you were awesome and over educated.

The history of blackface parody folds inward on itself. Researching the genre, I found an African American performer - in blackface - pretending to be Lilly White.
http://rdhardesty.blogspot.com/2013/07/he-…

C Thomas Howell? The guy from The Outsiders? You know he's had his biggest acting year ever in 2013 - almost 20 projects released. So, bad example. Good to know he was a dick, tho.

pretty ludicrous that dressing up as biggie or tupac would be considered racist. they are pop icons as much as white ones. my iranian female friend went as little wayne one year and it was not intended to be racist, but was for fun in the spirit of halloween and she genuinely likes little wayne! she made her face appear true to his skin color to depict the character more accurately. just because someone puts blackface on to depict the character does not equal racism. so what about when afro americans go as a white celebrity or character? what is the difference? halloween is an american tradition that bred my generation and others to go as recognizable celebrities or characters. the portland mercury seems to be stirring a pot when they should have taken an angle from all sides of the equation. ~ from a sociology major

also to mention is on saturday night live when white actors depict black characters...that is not the same thing?? that is a celebrated, national television show and it is acceptable in that realm but not for halloween based on my aforementioned comments above. people can take anything and twist it to mean something negative and picking this photo apart is proof.

Not sure why people still get offended by this. I don't think it is really a big deal, I don't know these people, I don't even know what Nemo is in relation to Portland. Don't you ever get tired of being offended. I mean this shit happens every year and every year people go apeshit. I hope it isn't cynicism that has made me so blah when is comes to blackface. It is just old and over done. Sigh, I am all out of outrage.