I watched Blazing Saddles and it was real easy to see how the usage of the N word in that movie was actually part of a bigger message overall. Saying that I love chinks or I love n------ to get out of jury duty isn't funny, and I don't see anything productive out of it other than a cheap laugh.
It kind of is. She didn't want to be offensive, so she wrote "I love chinks". The humor lies in the act of her trying not to be offensive, she actually was. That is why any racial epitaph would of worked in that joke. It really had nothing to do with Asians.
My original problem was that I felt she chose to use the Asian versus over other races because she felt (like most prominent people who say racially insensitive things about Asians) it would get the least heat. Words with ugly histories deserve to be treated like history and left there in the past, not to be rehashed in any form.
That's a clever twisting of my words. I said she doesn't have a right to use it because she's just exploiting those words for her career. If Maragret Cho used the N word, how well do you think that would go over despite the fact she's Korean?
Seriously, they are portraying a Chinese pirate, A PIRATE, not a Chinese person. It's a pirate who happens to be from China. All of the pirates are scruffy looking. It's not like they are making him into a weak and docile person, or giving him a really racist slanted eye look with a bruce lee accent. It's not like he's whipping out Kung Fu moves! My lord, this is just unbelievable that people would complain about this. But I guess someone will find a way to complain about anything. The PC crew wins again. If they have it their way, races won't be allowed to be in media ever again. We'll have to make everyone purple or something, from the land of ladadee.
I completely disagree. You need to focus on intent, not the word itself. Words themselves inherently have no power. We choose the power that they hold. Like Lenny said, the word's suppression gives it the power, the violence, the viciousness. Restrictions on speech only limit people's ability to overcome their own social prejudices.
So do you feel Isaiah Washington should have been reprimanded for his usage of the word "f*g" when asked by a reporter to comment on the fight between him and Dempsey? As for Bruce's theory. I think they tried that with the N word and from what I've seen, it still hurts and it is still used by racists. the KKK wasn't going to find a new word for black people just because rappers made it popular.
lol. i was offended by arnold in Terminator. I mean, i know he's a white robot but why did he have no rhythm!?
Over time the words will be demystified. It already has some. The word itself does not hurt. It depends who and how someone says it. The intent hurts. You can yourself choose what words that you want to say. But we should not suppress the words themselves in society. However we can fight the hatred of the use behind them. These words can actually have positive effects too. You will also will suppressing that. You just said you understood the use in Blazing Saddles, but now you are saying you want an outright ban. It just won't work.
I don't want an outright ban. I just don't think that people who are simply exploiting the ugly history of such words should be allowed to use them in any form.
Hey NewYorker. Is the 'How Long is a Chinaman' joke still one of your favorite jokes now? What did you expect from someone who is lowlife enough to casually crack this kind of racist jokes anyway?
I think that would be almost the same question as how do you decide intent? The only way to enforce it is to do what has been done in the past, make a big enough stink in the media about it, educate people on why the word is offensive, and hope people move on.
Hmm interesting question. Lets plug it into your formula: Looks like Cho would be OK considering she isn;t white.
I cant do it, Blazing Saddles usage of the word obviously was intended to educate about the stupidity of people who used those kinds of words. that and it's one fo the funniest movies of all time.
