Transformers: Revenge of the Racial Caricatures

[TheArsenal]

He couldn't read, had the I.Q. of pocket lint and tipped "cows" for fun. So yes, double standerd still stands.

The further we hurl into the 21st Century, the more it can be said to be a double standard.

The origins are clear though. The stereotypes targeted differ in this respect: unflattering stereotypes about African-Americans were used to reinforce negative ideas about an entire race from the majority who held the social/economic power, came in little contact with them and viewed blacks a monolithic whole. This in turn played out into real life to become harmful to individuals of that race based on views held about them from these constantly reinforced negative portrayals.

Unflattering stereotypes about whites were a comment on a specific subsection, or individual, but was never used to make assumptions about the group as a whole. The white majority never viewed themselves as all the same.

So, the question is: are we far enough along and sophisticated enough to understand that negative portrayals of a religion/race/ethnic group is not a comment on the whole?

If the answer is yes, then no harm done by these portrayals.

If the answer is no, then people becoming upset is to be understood*.




*this is assuming there is anything offensive about them in the first place. I have not seen them, so I can not comment.

[Gaith]

Indeed. A rural, Southern white person can choose not to act like a stereotypical redneck. Michael Jackson notwithstanding, black people can't choose to change their skin color, so in the final analysis, it's a false comparison.

[Aragorn]

The whole racism thing with Jar Jar Binks was just something overblown by people who look to find racism in everything, who aren't happy unless they're offended. It's like when the protest groups cry offense at Native American sports mascots and somehow they speak on behalf of the Native Americans who aren't offended by the mascots.

Skids and Mudflap were more noticeable, but do you take into account that one actor was white and the other was black? Does the black actor have no say in the nature of his own performance? Does it matter if the actors were doing a lot of ad-libbing and going off with the characters? Yet the simple fact is that they are robots. When you have white characters acting all gangsta like in Havoc or Alpha Dog, is that racist toward blacks?

[Teelie]

It's not about blacks specifically though. That is the false assumption. The twins were spoofing urban black youth, and a specific subsection of it at that. I've never known anyone who acted as much like a urban ghetto or a country redneck as these two examples were played as. I've lived in the city and in the country and I've known both blacks and whites who leaned towards the stereotypes but neither was a full-on stereotype. It's still unflattering either way but since it's still more acceptable to dismiss racism against whites, it's just written off like the above.

You can't go and say one is about a particular race when it's clearly not, then turn around and say the other is about just a specific subsection of another.

[T'Girl]

SUBSET. if you have a race: White, and a group: Jewish, from a place: Florida, who happen to be: Old --- and there are two robots acting and talking like two old white jewish men from florida, is that racist?

If not, then automatically two "urban youth" robots aren't

Those robots seem really smart, obviously stereotypes of korean school children, shame.

Get over yourselves.


T'Girl

[Tulin]

Hear, hear!

I am sick of this notion that only white people can be racist. It's as if black people and Asians are all accepting and welcome everybody with open arms into their neighbourhoods/countries.

x 1000


The worst kind of hatred is self-hatred and white people seem to be full of that these days while they bend over backwards to apologize for PERCEIVED wrong doings against every ethnic group around.

It sickens me.

[iguana_tonante]

By the unholy power of thread necromancy, exhausted topics shall rise again!

[Dr. Chandra]

iguana_tonante wrote:

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By the unholy power of thread necromancy, exhausted topics shall rise again!

[Hartzilla2007]

iguana_tonante wrote:

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By the unholy power of thread necromancy, exhausted topics shall rise again!

Damn, get a gun and shoot the thread in the head before it bites you and turns you into a zombie.

[Mr. Laser Beam]

Tulin wrote:

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I am sick of this notion that only white people can be racist. It's as if black people and Asians are all accepting and welcome everybody with open arms into their neighbourhoods/countries.

Ayup. We've all heard of the Nation of Islam, but there's others. For instance, the Black Israelites. I see groups of them every so often on the streets of NYC. There's some vitriol there that would put the KKK to shame. Fortunately, everyone else ignores them.

Dr. Chandra wrote:

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So would the Thundercats call this "thread-ra"?

[zakkrusz]

People just need to learn to take joke, and develop a thicker skin. Anyone with half a brain knows stereotypes are bull after all.

[T'Girl]

If a stereotype is based on foolishness, then it's low pressure air.

If it actual applies to an individual, then it's observation.