Sylvester McCoy in The Hobbit 'like Jar-Jar Binks'

[Candlelight]

http://www.stuff.co.nz/entertainment...ckson-a-wizard

But Sacks' wasn't all gushing, writing: ''Like all unexpected journeys, there are a few pitfalls along the way, most notably the tangential subplot surrounding bumbling wizard Radagast the Brown (Sylvester McCoy), whose buffoonery at times descends into Jar Jar Binks territory.''

Oh dear.

[Tosk]

Sylvester McCoy being a buffoon? I actually like the sound of that.

[The Mirrorball Man]

I didn't like McCoy as the Doctor, but the guy can play a buffoon!

[Skywalker]

So he's the new Gimli?

[Mister Fandango]

So he's saying that Radaghast is a racist and horribly politically incorrect portrayal of a mentally handicapped black guy that everyone, including the characters in-universe and even his own people, loathed with a seething passion?

Yeah, no. At worst he's going to be a bit too comic reliefy, but he's very much just an old, eccentric wizard who might have a little trouble socializing with people. It won't even be remotely comparable.

[Sindatur]

Mister Fandango wrote:

---

So he's saying that Radaghast is a racist and horribly politically incorrect portrayal of a mentally handicapped black guy that everyone, including the characters in-universe and even his own people, loathed with a seething passion?

Yeah, no. At worst he's going to be a bit too comic reliefy, but he's very much just an old, eccentric wizard who might have a little trouble socializing with people. It won't even be remotely comparable.

Wait...JarJar Binks was a black stereotype? Where does this come from?

[Enterprise is Great]

^^^ His accent mainly IIRC.

[Sindatur]

Enterprise is Great wrote:

---

^^^ His accent mainly IIRC.

Oh... OK, the only folks I've ever heard use that accent are pasty white Cajuns. Sounds like someone seeing what they want to see to me, since I know for a fact pasty White folks also have that accent.

[iguana_tonante]

Some very white people like fried chicken and watermelons, too. (Myself included). That doesn't make the racist stereotype less racist.

[Sindatur]

iguana_tonante wrote:

---

Some very white people like fried chicken and watermelons, too. (Myself included). That doesn't make the racist stereotype less racist.

Never understood where that stereotype came from. I've lived in a few predominantly black neighborhoods and never noticed a higher presence of Chicken and Watermelon eating amongst blacks.

[Christopher]

Sindatur wrote:

---

Never understood where that stereotype came from. I've lived in a few predominantly black neighborhoods and never noticed a higher presence of Chicken and Watermelon eating amongst blacks.

Yeah, that's just a weird one. It's not even as if there's anything wrong with eating those things, so I don't see how it qualifies as derogatory, but for some reason, racists seem to think it is.

[iguana_tonante]

From what I understand from this post, it's a Southern US thing.

[The Wormhole]

Sindatur wrote:

---

Wait...JarJar Binks was a black stereotype? Where does this come from?

Believe it or not, it's been a common complaint since 1999.

[Mister Fandango]

Christopher wrote:

---

Yeah, that's just a weird one. It's not even as if there's anything wrong with eating those things, so I don't see how it qualifies as derogatory, but for some reason, racists seem to think it is.

Err, what? If someone says something racist, and other people are offended, it's not just the person saying the racist things that are racist, but the people who are offended by it, too? The hell?

Course, a lot of people (such as the ones in this thread) confuse racism with stereotyping. There is a difference. One is fueled by hatred or at the very least misunderstanding, the other is simply noticing common traits and associating them with the people possessing those traits. This is one of those things that is closer to the latter than the former. Much the same way that all white people apparently love mayonaise and Homeland, black guys are all hung like horses, and Asians are all mathematical geniuses. Most stereotypes are far from being racist, no matter how much overly sensitive or apologetic some people feel they need to be about anything even close to actual racism.

[Christopher]

Mister Fandango wrote:

---

Err, what? If someone says something racist, and other people are offended, it's not just the person saying the racist things that are racist, but the people who are offended by it, too? The hell?

That isn't even remotely what I'm saying. It isn't even on the same continent as what I'm saying. Of course it's valid to be offended, because what's offensive is the attitude of the racists. The particulars they use in their attacks are just the excuses they make up to justify that attitude. I'm just saying it's odd to me that they'd choose those particulars. But then, racism in general is hard for me to understand, I'm proud to say.

Course, a lot of people (such as the ones in this thread) confuse racism with stereotyping. There is a difference. One is fueled by hatred or at the very least misunderstanding, the other is simply noticing common traits and associating them with the people possessing those traits. This is one of those things that is closer to the latter than the former.

Maybe, but I have seen/heard those stereotypes used in racist rhetoric. For instance, during the election I came upon an article about racist "tweets" or something directed against President Obama, and I was bewildered by how many of them mentioned fried chicken and watermelon. It just seemed so bizarre.

I guess it just reflects the narrow, rigid minds of the prejudiced. They have a single, simplistic, caricatured image in their minds of what a black person is, and when they see something that profoundly contradicts that stereotype, such as an intelligent, dignified African-American becoming President of the United States, they can't expand their minds enough to encompass or understand it. So they just fall back on their lazy, repetitive stereotypes like a parrot reciting a memorized phrase. It's easier to restate the catchphrases and buzzwords they've been trained to use because it saves them from actually having to think.