Santa's Slave: A Colonial Hangover
Netherlands | 2016
Every Christmas in the Netherlands, the same debate rages over Black Pete, Santa's black-faced assistant who is played by a blacked-up white person. Sporting an afro and huge red lips, the character is reminiscent of racist colonial caricatures of black people, like the infamous 'golliwog'. But in Holland there is huge resistance to its banning, with supporters claiming it is an innocent traditio…