Even though the year isn’t over, there are already plenty of reasons for people to remem­ber 2008 — more than enough for VH1 to devote an hour to its inevitable special “I Love The ‘00s.” I managed to witness a unique moment in our culture in regards to race, and no, it has nothing to do with Barack Obama.

It actually happened at a pre-screening for the new Ben Stiller comedy “Tropic Thunder,” where I saw Robert Downey Jr. playing a character-actor who gets controversial skin pigmentation to play the film role of an African-American sergeant.

That’s right folks. Iron Man is in black face.

I can’t help but wonder why I haven’t heard as much as a peep of protest? Don Imus can get on his radio talk show and call the Rutgers women’s basketball team “nappy-headed hoes” and lose his job, but Robert Downey Jr. can play black and get laughs. What the heck does it all mean?

African-American News-Press columnist Alonzo Weston frequently addresses issues of race locally and nationally in his writing. When he saw the previews of “Tropic Thunder” and witnessed Downey Jr.’s portrayal, his reaction was instant and passionate.

“I just bust out loud laughing, man, because he does such a great job,” he says.

Hold on a sec. Did I hear that right?

Yup. Weston was so impressed with Downey Jr.’s performance that he said it made him believe he was actually “channeling a black guy.” It wasn’t some early 20th century performer slathering their face in black shoe polish or even a white female flight attendant speaking jive to a black dude in 1980’s “Airplane.” This was an actor who walked the line between offensive and funny but kept it real.

“Those guys, the guys that never had contact with blacks, that just spoke to their prejudices,” Weston says. “On some level... here’s a white person that finally gets it.”

I’m sure that’s part of it, but the writing also helped. You quickly realize that RDJ’s black face is a jab at the outrageous lengths some actors go to immerse themselves in their roles (Daniel Day-Lewis, perhaps?). There’s also an actual African-American character (Brandon T. Jackson) who makes sure to point out the absurdity of the ordeal, which makes for the film’s funnier moments.

“Having that other character is an important part,” says KQ2 film critic Bob Shultz. “Without that, it would have been hard to pull off.”

Then again, in a decade that has produced shows like “The Chappelle Show” and “Mind of Mencia,” which have given multiple ethnic and racial groups an excuse to laugh at themselves and each other, maybe Robert Downey Jr. pretending to be a black man isn’t so bad. Actually, I take that back. It’s still pretty racy, literally. But if you go see it, I dare you not to laugh.