Shock the Monkey? (Obama Monkey Ad)
Why do some of the Japanese commercials come off so wrong and preju-(racist)-dice? They deliver all the visual cues to say this is the campaign of one Barack H. Obama and then cast the man behind the podium as a monkey. Hey maybe the monkey is a highly sacred/special animal and this is the highest honor that can be bestowed on a fellow human being? Or maybe they share the racist lore and tenets of the rest of the world and feel a strong need to show it off? Either way, you have to wonder at what point is this a good idea.
**UPDATE**
The monkey is actually the company's mascot, and they were trying to get in on the Obama hype.. unfortunately while being oblivious to what this would mean to Americans and many others around the world.
Here's an older commercial with him [here].
To Japanese, the snow monkey is actually a symbol of Japan. All the comments on articles on this controversy are of disbelief that Americans would be offended by this while they see it as a cute animal imitating Obama (not portraying him), and even annoyance that Americans assume that their "racist lore" is true the world over.
I agree that the ad is offensive, but the truth is that portraying a person as a monkey does not have the same history or meaning in every culture.
Thanks Hana! https://sites.google.com/site/mayuradocs/PinIt.png
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6 comments:
o.m.g. yeah, i'd be interested in what they're rationalization behind this is...is it monkeys are cute, or racism sells? either way it really doesn't matter since intention is inconsequential--this is clearly racist, intended or not. i have a feeling that if our president was white, they may not have thought about using the monkey to represent him. this is just...awful.
The monkey is actually the company's mascot, and they were trying to get in on the Obama hype.. unfortunately while being oblivious to what this would mean to Americans and many others around the world.
Here's an older commercial with him: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1zKWSZAiXZc
To Japanese, the snow monkey is actually a symbol of Japan. All the comments on articles on this controversy are of disbelief that Americans would be offended by this while they see it as a cute animal imitating Obama (not portraying him), and even annoyance that Americans assume that their "racist lore" is true the world over.
I agree that the ad is offensive, but the truth is that portraying a person as a monkey does not have the same history or meaning in every culture.
Hana, Thanks for the great insight and background information. I'm certain American advertisers have offended the world over unaware.
This ad obviously draws upon age-old derogatory comparisons between those with African features, and monkeys. Such comparisons are not accurate.
And don't give me this cop out shit about different cultures having different meanings. This is a case of different culture - universal meaning.
This is humor at the expense of not only Obama, but of Black people in general. That is how it is in Japan. They only have one race of people there, so they do and say what they want about who they want, without the risk of offending anyone. Until it hits the vast array of tubes known as the Internets.
So don't make excuses, or try to understand it from another perspective. You understand it immediately. But, hey, those Asians catch hell here in America.
If, say, Chile's official bird was a chicken, and their ad agency did Obama munching fried chicken, would that be culturally excusable?
And if Australia's official fruit was a banana, and their ad agency had Obama peeling a banana, would that be OK?
And if in Vietnam, watermelon was their official fruit, and their ad agency had Obama wolfing down a watermelon, could the Vietnamese claim ignorance?
Please.
i definitely agree with Ego Trippin--ignorance is not an excuse. it's still very racist. portraying a person in any culture as an animal--that's called "dehumanization," and it's used specifically to point out difference (see any war propoganda).
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