What are you trying to say? We all look the same to you. No no. Oh, not at all oh, I'm sorry
I guess that was a little racist
I should say so you should be much more careful when you're talking about the sensitive subject of race banned cartoons
Swastikas Dragonball z and a pikachu photoshop to look like hitler. It's not a game review. it's a game theory
Hello internet welcome to game theory the show that's done trying to relate its educational merit to Pokemon memes [all] right
You've waited long enough for this episode, so let's not waste any time with silly Drawn-out introductions filled with desperate attempts at humor
Oh, I just called you out son
The question today is whether or not Pokemon is racist
And I'm leaving the final answer up to you since pokemons first appearance in the western market there have been two major
accusations of its content containing racist and hateful
Imagery the first which claims that Pokemon is pro-nazi is the easier to answer so let's start there shall
We now if Modern First-person shooters have taught me anything. It's that Nazis are bad, [okay]?
So why would anyone think that a game featuring such adorable little pocket creatures would also support
ethnic cleansing it all stems from this a
Swastika
emblazoned on the Kogas Ninja Trick trading card
parents after stumbling across this glowing red beacon of hate drew the obvious conclusion
That Golbat was a metaphor for white supremacy [meaning] that the entire Pokemon franchise as a whole [wasn't] [listing] children to become
Neo-Nazis, but we as enlightened gamers know that Nintendo wouldn't take this risk
We're talking about a company [that] replaced seals with snow monsters in the original ice
Climbers to Avoid anyone claiming that they had you clubbing seals to death
As if anyone would actually care about that?
Moving on the swastika Pattern or [mangy] as it's called in Japan dates back long before
goose-stepping became an army Fad as far back as
4000 BC the word, Swastika
Literally means lucky or well being and became a common symbol in Eastern religions particularly hinduism and buddhism
representing everything from the sun peace and the number 10,000 to the entirety of
creation but World War II made
Everyone particularly in the west forget about all of [that] in the late 19th century the swastika was found on ancient Pottery in Germany
Leading researchers to conclude that it was an important religious symbol for dramatic ancestor
Soon after a german nationalist movement that believed in the preservation of a pure-blooded Aryan master race took up this
Ancestral symbol as their logo because of its popular appeal at the time and its cultural significance
Hitler made sure to include it in his design for the Nazi flag [a] regular
Betsy Ross that one moving on to the main course of today's episode a
Question still contested Eleven years after it first appeared on January 5th
2000 Poet and children's book author Carole Weatherford accused the character design of Generation [1]
Jinx as being an overweight drag queen version of black stereotypes in response episodes of the anime have been banned
Figurines have been discontinued and Jinxes skin was forever changed from black to purple
She also called out Dragon Balls Mister Popo
Leading to his lip size being reduced and a palette swap from black to oh my god of blinding
But for as absurd as her claim sound there are centuries of evidence to back her up [it] all dates back to Minstrel shows
Not these these
stage acts featuring white comedians painting their faces with grease paint to portray black characters
Beginning in the 1830s and growing in popularity after the American [Civil] war these performances portrayed
African-Americans as dumb lazy and
Superstitious the greased makeup exaggerated the size of the performers eyes and lips thus embedding these traits in the popular cultures understanding
of the black image cartoons, especially
adopted this visual shorthand
Perhaps most famously Merrie melodies as bugs in the gang had 11 episodes retro actively banned for its portrayal of other races
illegal be [Mommy] kept Idle body no boom minstrel shows continued until get this the
1960s when the civil rights movement finally brought a close to these spectacles, but how does this all relate to Jinx well?
There's obviously the exaggerated eyes and lips
But there's also her gloves which were another common element in the minstrel costume in addition
The name Jinx is an obvious reference to the word Jinx or something that brings bad luck which can either relate to the aforementioned
Too superstitious
characterizations and minstrel shows or a belief in Voodoo another common black stereotype plus the fact that Jinx is a
curvaceous woman shape Pokemon may have roots in the Mammy Archetype A
Specific stereotype for black women involving a large imposing female who is the dominant?
authoritative figure of the House
But though it's a compelling case it's far from perfect [the] fact that Jinx is an ice psychic
Type would have no explanation in addition though, Carol
Weatherford would claim that the blonde hairs of reference to a black woman's fondness for wigs and weaves
The fact that queen Latifah Wears fake hair is far from convincing evidence
Her complaints were countered by Pokemon supporters presenting two
Alternative theories the first is that Jinx is based on a nordic ice
Princess with black skin an odd claim considering that black skin and Nordic heritage don't really go [hand-in-hand]
[but] there is indeed one figure that fits the bill [hel] norse guardian of a [Qi]
Single Hockey stick well the person is a female deity daughter of Loki and appointed by odin as guardian of the [dead] and unlike
Western conceptions of hell the place as a fire filled land of suffering norse
Mythology Depicts hell as a frozen land of bitterness and pain
Like New York in the Winter which would explain [Jinx] being an ice type and like any good norse woman hell is
Depicted with long flowing blonde hair this theory could also explain jinxes weird opera singer get up
You know the phrase it ain't over until the fat lady sings with the fat woman in a viking costume [that] all
originates from a series of four operas by [vogner] called the ring cycle think Lord of the rings
But with vikings and in german anyway this huge 15-hour epic ends with a 20-minute solo by the valkyrie Brunhilde
[thus] the stereotype of opera singers and the appearance of
So those are some major points in this theories favor, but here's the downside yes
Hell is said to have black skin, but only on half of her body the other half is caucasian
[it's] a good theory, but again not perfect
Finally there's the argument that Jinx is based on a fashion fad of 1990s Japan
Ganguro this Trend features Japanese girls tanning heavily to make their skin as dark as possible then using white or light pink
eyeshadows and lipstick to Embellish their features in addition
Ganguro girls heavily Bleach their hair to be orange blonde or silver and tend to keep the styling long
Between the Dark Skin pink lipstick and long blonde hair it's a compelling argument
but the problem here is with the
Timing according to a time magazine article the first Pokemon games took [6] years to complete meaning development began in
1990 the Ganguro Fad reached its height in the mid to late 90s between 1995 and
2000 which would mean that Jinx was included
Extremely late in the development cycle, but here's the kicker if Jinx were indeed Ganguro she would still be racist
Sociologists have traced the inspiration for the fad to the worldwide influence of Hip-hop culture
With Japanese teen girls darkening their faces and accentuating their eyes and lips to emulate black
females in fact Ganguro literally Translates as black face
So if [jinxes] design was indeed inspired by this fashion trend. She would still be based on racial
Stereotypes just ones that were twice removed
Anyway there you have it Jinx the hip hop fashion trending norse viking opera singer goddess racist
Pokemon which theories correct. I'll leave that for you to debate personally. I'm just glad that the rastafarians haven't launched any complaints about tangela
Oh and Mr.. [pope]. [oh]. Yeah. He has no excuse nor a little bit racist
Well, you're a little bit too, but hey that's all just a theory a game theory
Thanks for watching between me and you I think everyone's a little bit racist
sometimes
Doesn't mean we go around committing hate crimes
Look around and you will find no one's really colored by
Maybe it's a fact we all should face
everyone makes judgments
based on race now, not big judgments like who the hirer who buy a newspaper from no
No, just little judgments like thinking that Mexican busboys learn to speak goddamn English, right?
everyone's a little bit racist
today
So everyone's a little bit racist, [okay]?
Ethnic jokes might be a good fun to laugh because they're based on truth. Don't get mad at
personal attacks
Everyone enjoys them so relax [all] right stop you preferred this one