First, some history.

Now, moving on to film:

Remember the 1980s comedy “Soul Man,” where the lead character colors himself Black—as in, actor C. Thomas Howell performing in Blackface?

Well, here’s something fun to do in 2008: find Robert Downey Jr. in this promotional photo for the new comedy film, “Tropic Thunder”:

I don’t even know what to say. 🙂 Here, read an EW article on whatever’s going on there. This one might help as well. (APRIL 4th UPDATE: Here’s another.)

Since Downey has “gone there,” I hope he’s at least as good as Billy Crystal’s Sammy Davis Jr.