Japanese McDonald's Makes Fun of White People

[Chibz]

Making fun of white people and rightly so. White people suck.

*Paid for by the committee to insult white people.

 

[jboking]

And?

Nobody makes fun of white American people nowadays, I think they're well deserving of a good joke. The French, Russians and black people have been in the firing line for too long.

Does no body listen(and enjoy) Chris Rock's stand-up but me?

 

[WhatWhatWhatism]

Does it honestly matter?

This is just a bit of fun, its not meant as a malicious jab at Americans, merely a fun little poke at a certain American stereotype.

I don't see what all the fuss is about. Stereotypes really don't mean anything, no one actually believes that the French are all actually womanizing, beret-wearing, garlic coated surrender monkeys. Its not racism or anything evil - just a lighthearted way to hawk a few more death-burgers to kids by making them laugh at the funny white man.

Anyway, everyone does it. The Japanese themselves are (at least in Britain) one of the most heavily stereotyped ethnic groups ever, on television they come in one of two models:

1. Honor obsessive samurai murdering psycho. (pre 1945)
or
2. Sexually frustrated imbecilic businessman pervert tourist thingy (post 1945)

People laugh, but there is no mistake by anyone that this is anything remotely serious.

In short: If we all mocked each other all the time we'd be too tired for wars.

Or something like that.

 

[notsosavagemessiah]

Does it honestly matter?

This is just a bit of fun, its not meant as a malicious jab at Americans, merely a fun little poke at a certain American stereotype.

I don't see what all the fuss is about. Stereotypes really don't mean anything, no one actually believes that the French are all actually womanizing, beret-wearing, garlic coated surrender monkeys. Its not racism or anything evil - just a lighthearted way to hawk a few more death-burgers to kids by making them laugh at the funny white man.

Anyway, everyone does it. The Japanese themselves are (at least in Britain) one of the most heavily stereotyped ethnic groups ever, on television they come in one of two models:

1. Honor obsessive samurai murdering psycho. (pre 1945)
or
2. Sexually frustrated imbecilic businessman pervert tourist thingy (post 1945)

People laugh, but there is no mistake by anyone that this is anything remotely serious.

In short: If we all mocked each other all the time we'd be too tired for wars.

Or something like that.

The problem with number 2 is that it's kinda true. Perversion is a constant in japanese society, with the light stuff being exposed breasts on posters plastered around cities, to the more below the radar stuff being tentacle and rape porn sold at video stores.

 

[Neopopulas]

Because americans NEEEEEEVER use racial sterotypes in ads about, oh i dunno, the japanese (and hispanics, blacks, arabs, australians, irish, scottish, english ad infinitum) No need to get so upset whitey, cheer up!

 

[Sir_Puffybottom]

ha ha ha thats funny

 

[scotth266]

and if your really that offended, just remember "August 6th-9th, 1945".

Remember kids: you should be judged based on the actions of your ancestors, regardless of your opinions on what they thought. Because that's totally fair and all.

Hahaha, fun stuff. Oh, us silly white people. We've started using stoners in commercials, so race isn't too far off if it hasn't already begun. If Taco Bell ran a campaign about mexicans saying how good their food is, wouldn't it have more of an impact, what with that whole "oh, they know what they're talking about for Mexican food, they're Mexicans!" thing. White people like burgers. It's not that hard to go for, really.

And yes I know most people like burgers--White people are the ones to build a culture around it, stereotypically, though.

*cough* [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/7.132063#2936272]

I don't see the problem with the advert, but I think as some one else pointed out white people need to stop stabbing each other in the backs, forcing us to live under the heel of our fellow white man.

Your mileage may vary.

A fellow troper I see. When I was reading this article, all I could think of was this [http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/AcceptableEthnicTargets].

I beat you both to the punch though. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/7.132063#2936272] I should have included a link...

 

[not a zaar]

Can you blame Japan for hating on white nerds? Imagine all the anime dorks who make it their life's mission to go to Japan just to be closer to the source of anime. I would be annoyed at them too.

 

[fenrizz]

I can see how the uproar would make sense over the Ching-hong Chinaman, but I just think Mr. James is an adorable joke and I'm not sure why the discrepancy.

It's called a double standard.
Either it's free game for any group of people, or no-one can do it.

Just what I was gonna say.
I hate double standards.

 

[Ninja_X]

I'm white, I grew up around Asians and am learning Japanese as a second language.

I find this funny.

 

[TallanKhan]

Tolerance isnt about no one laughing at anyone else, its about everyone being able to laugh at ANYONE and it not being anything more than a joke.

 

[Fraeir]

Of course they make fun of White people, White people is the only people in the world it's totally fine to make fun of, as noone ever cares when something happens to White people, even more so if it's a white male!

Accidentally bumped into a black guy? "Racist!"
An Asian? "Racist!"
A woman? "Sexist!"
A White guy? "Punch him this time, noone care less!"

I mean, we have it coming with our history on being dicks to others, but the formerly oppressed aren't really going forward with a good example by taking on our crappy trait?
Sorry, de-railed, but yeah..

Broken Japanese is better than no Japanese though, isn't it? : P
Self-irony though, everyone needs eeet! It saves lives 8D

 

[Federalist92]

Japanese McDonald's Makes Fun of White People

McDonald's in Japan has launched a new ad campaign that centers around a caricature of a bumbling white foreigner who can't speak Japanese and, for whatever reason, happens to love McDonald's.

Baka gaijin! McDonald's in Japan is having a little fun with stereotypes of ignorant Caucasian foreigners with its newest ad campaign. The ads feature one Mr. James, a bespectacled white foreigner who dresses like your stereotypical IT nerd, with an ugly part, geeky shirt and tie and a consistently goofy smile. Mr. James speaks awful Japanese, and can only communicate in katakana, the system used in Japanese for transcribing foreign words. Mr. James is too stupid to know any kanji.

He loves McDonald's food, and is traveling all over Japan to meet people and blog about his experiences in comically broken Japanese. According to some people, Mr. James is also a racist stereotype of white foreigners. Thus a non-profit called the Foreign Residents and Naturalized Citizens Association (FRANCA), has written [http://www.debito.org/?p=4153] an open letter to the McDonald's homebase in the US to shut down the ad campaign.

Mr. James promotes ignorance, undoes progress made on behalf of foreigners for equal treatment in Japanese society and will be a burden on white people living in Japan, FRANCA says. It's an idea they argue should never have flown in the first place, asking "would McDonald's USA (or McDonald's in any other country, for that matter) choose to promote, for example, a new rice dish with a "ching-chong Chinaman" saying, "Me likee McFlied Lice!"? Of course not."

I have no personal experience of what it's like to be white in Japan, but I have to say that it seems like a big fuss over a stupid joke. And here I was under the impression that foreigners were treated like gods in Japan. Anime has led me wrong yet again.

[Via Consumerist [http://consumerist.com/5340185/japanese-mcdonalds-campaign-makes-fun-of-white-people-foreigners]]

Permalink

Im under the impression that in japan foreigners are treated like weirdos.
A bit south of japan, in indonesia though, white people are treated like gods. literally. i should know. my cousin moved there from London to work there. she said as soon as she got there it was so easy to tell she was different. nearly all the indonesians were the same height, (male and female), and they were all much shorter than her. Also she never saw another white person for a very long time as there are very few white people in indonesia. she stood out like a sore thumb, with her incredibly pale skin (compared to the locals) and height. she told me on skype, that she had been photographed by random people in the streets because they didnt know what a white person was and had never seen one.
I want to move there sometime.

 

[A Pious Cultist]

Ironic that i have a friend called "Mr James".

I dream of a world in which people understand what a coincidence is and why it isn't ironic.

 

[Trivun]

Just seems like a harmless joke to me. People take offense at anything these days.

Agreed. I just find the whole thing pretty damn funny. I'd take it more as flattery than an insult, given Japan generally seems to me to be a pretty tolerant and friendly nation (and yes, I've met Japanese people, and had Japanese people visit my previous school, so I know what I mean).

 

[Gaderael]

Well, my fiance's uncle has lived in Japan for nine years now, can read and write fluently, and is a teacher there, and he still gets the foreigner looks all the time.

Still, the joke is pretty funny.

 

[Bunnybeater]

Let us remember the words of the Great Wise One Himself, Ben Croshaw.

"A society where anyone can make jokes about anyone else and everyone laughs is a truly tolerant society. Political-correctness-charged censorship only serves to engender resentment and distance between social groups."

He Hath Spoken.

 

[oneniesteledain]

I'm a white American, and I'm not at all offended.

I'm apathetic about this.

 

[Woem]

This is hilarious, I love it.

Would you, in fact, say that you're loving it?