Transformers: Revenge of the Racial Caricatures

[Bob The Skutter]

Hartzilla2007 wrote:

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And yet the heads of the Trade Federation got a pass.

Is it cos they aint black?

[davejames]

Mark de Vries wrote:

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Besides, is it okay if they were based on rednecks and not if they were based on black people? Still stereotyping...

No offense, but I've never understood this argument. Considering their much more tragic history in this country, it seems perfectly reasonable to me that we SHOULD be a lot more sensitive to them over other groups.

I always have to cringe everytime I hear some white dude complain about how rough we have it in this country.

[Bob The Skutter]

davejames wrote:

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No offense, but I've never understood this argument. Considering their much more tragic history in this country, it seems perfectly reasonable to me that we SHOULD be a lot more sensitive to them over other groups.

I always have to cringe everytime I hear some white dude complain about how rough we have it in this country.

Why? treating people special because of their race is still discriminatory.

[captcalhoun]

Hartzilla2007 wrote:

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And yet the heads of the Trade Federation got a pass.

your memory is faulty. i remember people bitching that they were Japanese racist stereotype thingies.

[TheArsenal]

captcalhoun wrote:

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your memory is faulty. i remember people bitching that they were Japanese racist stereotype thingies.

And along the same lines, Watto was criticized, by the majority for being a Jewish merchant stereotype, although some saw him as a slight on Arabs.

[captcalhoun]

oh, yeah, that too. with his avarice and big nose and cod Yiddish accent. oy vey, etc.

[Bob The Skutter]

captcalhoun wrote:

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your memory is faulty. i remember people bitching that they were Japanese racist stereotype thingies.

Yeah I remember that too.

[FordSVT]

Many of the Transformers in the original cartoon and comic fit various cultural stereotypes.

Jazz and Blaster have always sounded like urban blacks. Blaster spends most of his time break-dancing ffs. I never heard anyone complain about it until Michael Bay made his little movie.

People on the Internet can go fuck their sensitive little selves, quite frankly.

Have any, I don't know... BLACK people weighed in on this or is this a bunch of guilty white hand wringing over nothing again? Serious question.

[Thespeckledkiwi]

FordSVT wrote:

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Many of the Transformers in the original cartoon and comic fit various cultural stereotypes.

Jazz and Blaster have always sounded like urban blacks. Blaster spends most of his time break-dancing ffs. I never heard anyone complain about it until Michael Bay made his little movie.

Really? Jazz was voiced by one of the greatest legends of all time, Scatman Crothers. There is a reason why he sounded like an urban black...because he was voiced by an urban black man.

I don't know about Blaster and Buster Jones, but Buster has played some black characters as well.

Plus, you know BOTH OF THEIR HISTORY FIT WITH THEIR VOICES.

[davejames]

Bob The Skutter wrote:

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Why? treating people special because of their race is still discriminatory.

Maybe on a purely technical level, but we're not a bunch of robots here. To act like discrimination against whites is no different than discrimination against blacks greatly diminishes what their culture went through in this country (and the effect it continues to have on current generations).

I just find it strange how eager some are to brush that history aside, and pretend we're all magically on the same level playing field now where the past doesn't matter.

[davejames]

TheBolianChef wrote:

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Really? Jazz was voiced by one of the greatest legends of all time, Scatman Crothers. There is a reason why he sounded like an urban black...because he was voiced by an urban black man.

I don't know about Blaster and Buster Jones, but Buster has played some black characters as well.

Plus, you know BOTH OF THEIR HISTORY FIT WITH THEIR VOICES.

And aside from the voice, I don't remember Crothers' Jazz being all that "urban" anyway. He had kind of a cool way about him, but he wasn't a walking caricature like the movie version.

[Bob The Skutter]

davejames wrote:

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Maybe on a purely technical level, but we're not a bunch of robots here. To act like discrimination against whites is no different than discrimination against blacks greatly diminishes what their culture went through in this country (and the effect it continues to have on current generations).

I just find it strange how eager some are to brush that history aside, and pretend we're all magically on the same level playing field now where the past doesn't matter.

It's not so much brushing history aside, as saying "Yeah, it happened, now lets move past it."
Pretending it never happened isn't the way, but dwelling on it isn't either. Equality means equality, not special rights for everyone who's not a white man.
And no, I'm not saying "poor little white man, losing all the perks" I'm saying if everyone is equal then treating some people as though they're special breeds problems, not solves them.

[SamusAranX]

I think the problem is people overreact. Al Sharpton is already engaging on a crusade against these characters.

Yes, something can be done in poor taste, or found to be racist or stereotypical. Doesn't mean it has be the next major race issue.

Like I said, I found them to be tasteless and embracing stereotypes, but doesn't mean I have to constantly express this view in public or make it an issue on my agenda. I simply acknowledge my distaste and share with others if asked is all. Who is to say the producers intended it? If it really was so intentional or so offensive it needed to be a subject of nationwide outcry and public apologies, wouldn't the voice actors had said something before the film was finished or released?

As the old saying goes, there are bigger fish to fry.

[Thespeckledkiwi]

davejames wrote:

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And aside from the voice, I don't remember Crothers' Jazz being all that "urban" anyway. He had kind of a cool way about him, but he wasn't a walking caricature like the movie version.

That's true to.

[Stone_Cold_Sisko]

Did he really have a gold tooth???