Tom Hanks hammered for 'disgusting' portrayal of White Trump supporter in SNL skit

[Michie]

Hanks played the same MAGA character in 2016, just before Trump's first election victory​

Actor Tom Hanks' appearance on Saturday Night Live (SNL) for its 50th anniversary special sparked controversy online after Hanks portrayed a White Trump supporter wearing a MAGA hat and sporting a rural accent.

In the skit, Hanks' character appears on a parody game show called Black Jeopardy. After he gets a correct answer and is congratulated, Hanks initially refuses to shake the Black host's hand, played by Kenan Thompson.

Continued below.

Tom Hanks hammered for 'disgusting' portrayal of White Trump supporter in SNL skit

Actor Tom Hanks appeared on SNL for its 50th anniversary special, portraying a White Trump supporter who initially refuses to shake the hand of a Black game show host.

www.foxnews.com

 

[FireDragon76]

Hanks played the same MAGA character in 2016, just before Trump's first election victory​

Actor Tom Hanks' appearance on Saturday Night Live (SNL) for its 50th anniversary special sparked controversy online after Hanks portrayed a White Trump supporter wearing a MAGA hat and sporting a rural accent.

In the skit, Hanks' character appears on a parody game show called Black Jeopardy. After he gets a correct answer and is congratulated, Hanks initially refuses to shake the Black host's hand, played by Kenan Thompson.

Continued below.

Tom Hanks hammered for 'disgusting' portrayal of White Trump supporter in SNL skit

Actor Tom Hanks appeared on SNL for its 50th anniversary special, portraying a White Trump supporter who initially refuses to shake the hand of a Black game show host.

www.foxnews.com

The skit looks fairly tame. Some people are just really thin skinned. Maybe some people find the portrayal of the character as a simpleton to be offensive, but there's soome evidence to back it up, that it's not merely a stereotype. In one study, people that voted for Donald Trump, on average, exhibited less cognitive complexity than those that didn't, as well as being more suspicious and fearful of others: The psychological puzzle of Donald Trump: Eye-opening findings from 20 studies

I know in my own family, as my dad has gotten older, he's gotten more and more simple minded, and more easily influenced by propaganda. Especially right wing propaganda of the mean-spirited and fearful sort. Instead of thinking about complexity and nuance, he latches onto slogans. I believe that accounts for alot of Donald Trump's support. His messages are validating people that can't or won't think too hard about things.

Hanks has done alot of good films recently that have humanistic themes, so it isn't surprising he would poke some gentle fun at Trumpism. His film, A Man Called Otto, is a good counterpoint to the bitterness that inspires Trump's MAGA. It's about a grumpy, bitter old man who is challenged to grow out of his bitterness by racially or ethnically other neighbors.

 

[soldier of light]

I see no tolerance in the Liberal media although they preach tolerance for their own side

 

[FireDragon76]

I see no tolerance in the Liberal media although they preach tolerance for their own side

On the contrary, tolerance doesn't mean acceptance or lack of criticism. It is the media's duty to criticize, to speak truth to power ,not to necessarily agree with the powerful just because they are perceived as popular.

 

[soldier of light]

On the contrary, tolerance doesn't mean acceptance or lack of criticism. It is the media's duty to criticize, to speak truth to power ,not to necessarily agree with the powerful just because they are perceived as popular.

Trump's lawyers played a video of the liberal intolerance. He showed politicians, Hollywood and the media. They incited unrest in the streets, hate, and intolerance for Trump and his supporters. We see their bigotry in the SNL skit.

 

[Von Davidicus]

The skit looks fairly tame. Some people are just really thin skinned.

Poke someone in the arm once, they might get annoyed. Poke someone in the arm a hundred times, and they'll likely get a bruise.

Been a lot more than a hundred times, and a lot more than a poke.

 

[FenderTL5]

meanwhile, real Trump supporters

 

[FireDragon76]

meanwhile, real Trump supporters

The most cringe thing is how a young woman seems to tell an elderly Bob Simon about how he's been lying to them for years, despite the fact she only looks to be a third of his age. Truly, she knows nothing about the world except right wing propaganda spoon fed to her from the crib.

And that, in a nutshell, is why Trumpism is a thing at all. Reagan repealing the Fairness Doctrine surely has contributed to this mess.

 

[RileyG]

The skit looks fairly tame. Some people are just really thin skinned. Maybe some people find the portrayal of the character as a simpleton to be offensive, but there's soome evidence to back it up, that it's not merely a stereotype. In one study, people that voted for Donald Trump, on average, exhibited less cognitive complexity than those that didn't, as well as being more suspicious and fearful of others: The psychological puzzle of Donald Trump: Eye-opening findings from 20 studies

I know in my own family, as my dad has gotten older, he's gotten more and more simple minded, and more easily influenced by propaganda. Especially right wing propaganda of the mean-spirited and fearful sort. Instead of thinking about complexity and nuance, he latches onto slogans. I believe that accounts for alot of Donald Trump's support. His messages are validating people that can't or won't think too hard about things.

Hanks has done alot of good films recently that have humanistic themes, so it isn't surprising he would poke some gentle fun at Trumpism. His film, A Man Called Otto, is a good counterpoint to the bitterness that inspires Trump's MAGA. It's about a grumpy, bitter old man who is challenged to grow out of his bitterness by racially or ethnically other neighbors.

I don't think the skit was offensive, but then again, I do have some issues with Trump, to say the least.

 

[RileyG]

I see no tolerance in the Liberal media although they preach tolerance for their own side

As a very moderate Republican, I agree.

 

[Yarddog]

Hanks played the same MAGA character in 2016, just before Trump's first election victory​

Actor Tom Hanks' appearance on Saturday Night Live (SNL) for its 50th anniversary special sparked controversy online after Hanks portrayed a White Trump supporter wearing a MAGA hat and sporting a rural accent.

In the skit, Hanks' character appears on a parody game show called Black Jeopardy. After he gets a correct answer and is congratulated, Hanks initially refuses to shake the Black host's hand, played by Kenan Thompson.

Continued below.

Tom Hanks hammered for 'disgusting' portrayal of White Trump supporter in SNL skit

Actor Tom Hanks appeared on SNL for its 50th anniversary special, portraying a White Trump supporter who initially refuses to shake the hand of a Black game show host.

www.foxnews.com

It was funny. People see what they want to see. Hanks initially dropped back with his hands up but then stepped forward and shook his hand.

 

[FireDragon76]

It was funny. People see what they want to see. Hanks initially dropped back with his hands up but then stepped forward and shook his hand.

I thought it was funny, but true in its symbolic value.

MAGA says they like churches, so do most black people, but white MAGA people might be uncomfortable with that fact, since acknowledge the humanity of black people is something that the structural racism in the US makes difficult.

The real value of the skit was that it was primarily by and for African-Americans to poke fun at how something like SNL itself, and how it has been influenced by structural racism and white privilege in the US. Hence the earlier gag about none of the contestants knowing the correct answer on "Black Jeopardy", but knowing all the other comedy and variety shows that happened to be Black oriented... because they live in a cultural ghetto, if not a physical one, due to structural racism. Tom Hanks, an iconic white man, just showing up out of the blue, shows how diffiicult it is for African Americans to have a Black community not defined in contradistinction to whiteness. And this is the background for the gag that is being criticized by a few. Blacks and White people at the end of the day can both value institutions like churches, but the shared humanity is a point that it seems like many southern and rural whites don't want to acknowledge.

 

[ozso]

His bit was only about one minute long. The whole 7 minute sketch was mostly Eddie Murphy making fun of Tracy Morgan and SNL making fun of SNL.