March 16, 2001

9:28 PM

You think American teevee is bad? You ain't seen nothing yet, boy. Japanese teevee, in additional to being obsessed with human degradation and suffering, is also blatantly and inappropriately racist at times. Now the crap they show on Fox doesn't seem so bad in comparison, does it?
posted by jia (15 comments total)

I liked this post better when it was on Memepool.
posted by darukaru at 9:44 PM on March 16, 2001

Personally, I prefer my TV appropriately racist. That's why I'm proud to be an American.
posted by kindall at 9:55 PM on March 16, 2001

Warning: Personal Aside

Jeez, heaven forbid I spread and add to a meme I've been seeing around just because it also happens to be on another popular weblog.

Not every metafilter reader also frequents memepool. I personally don't visit memepool that often because I dislike the fact that one can't discuss any of the interesting topics they have. And don't get me started on its stagnation problem because of its handpicked posting crew.

I didn't know that we had citation guidelines for metafilter nowadays. I feel like I'm in freshman english all over again and getting busted by the teacher for screwing up my MLA parenthetical documentation...
posted by jia at 10:16 PM on March 16, 2001

eh hell, this was from the Chris Rock show or something right?

and btw, if yer swiping from weblogs, make sure they're a bit less promintent.
posted by foist at 11:36 PM on March 16, 2001

Although a citation of some kind wouldn't have hurt, at least Jia expounded a wee bit on the subject. Memepool would be even nicer with a more convenient discussion feature, but in the mean time this sort of thing isn't so bad. It's not quite as redundant as this sort of thing.
posted by techgnollogic at 12:01 AM on March 17, 2001

ummmmm

take a joke people!!

geez
posted by sawks at 3:39 AM on March 19, 2001

Memewhat? Fox also runs King of the Hill.
posted by tiaka at 4:43 AM on March 19, 2001

hrm. well, while i beleive that racism is somewhat of a problem in japanese society, this clip is not japanese. at all.

reasons:

if you check out the credits, there are only two japanese members in the cast.

the daughter is definitely NOT japanese.

the japanese don't often do tv in english, even if for humor. and even if they did, this particular "humor" doesn't translate well.

i don't know who made it, but i'm sure it isn't real japanese tv. i'm pretty sure it was made for an american audience, with the credits and such added later. just my $0.02.
posted by rklawler at 5:52 AM on March 19, 2001

i'm sorry. that was about the 'blatant and inapproriately racist' link.
posted by rklawler at 5:53 AM on March 19, 2001

Titus! You're kidding, Aaron. That show makes me want to wash.
posted by rodii at 6:30 AM on March 19, 2001

"And don't knock Fox. At least they run Titus."

If you're going to defend Fox, you'd be better off pointing out that they run Boston Public. (Though I like Titus, too)
posted by CrayDrygu at 6:42 AM on March 19, 2001

btw, the rampant cruelty in Japanese TV is not a recent development. i lived in Japan for 6 months during the 1970s and was absolutely amazed at what i saw on TV. and it's also reflected in many other forms of popular entertainment, like the infamous "manga" comics which regularly feature extreme sadistic sexual violence.

but on the other side of the coin, Tokyo is one of the world's safest big cities...
posted by cfj at 8:41 AM on March 19, 2001

If you're going to defend Fox, you'd be better off pointing out that they run Futurama. Any show that features a robot being chased by the ghosts of a flying toaster (from After Dark) and the Windows logo is deserving of undying devotion.
posted by kindall at 10:18 AM on March 19, 2001

Violence in manga: Bear in mind that manga is a very diverse form. Manga are only "infamous" in the West because the market for comics here is for action material, rather than cute girls and their social problems, so the violent stuff is what's imported.
posted by davidgentle at 5:16 PM on March 19, 2001