Housekeeping On the Failure to Properly Contextualize a Joke
posted by on May 30 at 13:03 PM
Last Thursday, the Seattle International Film Festival commenced with a gala screening of Stuart Townsend’s Battle in Seattle, a dramatic retelling of the WTO riots, in which the character of Governor Gary Locke was inexplicably given a ridiculous, English-as-a-second-laguage chop-socky accent.
In this week’s New Column!, we aimed to satirize Stuart Townsend’s portrayal of Locke with a faux movie poster for his next flick:
However—the print version of the New Column! was published without that explanatory starburst (“If you liked Stuart Townsend’s inexplicable characterization of Governor Gary Locke in Battle in Seattle, you’ll LOVE…”), leading numerous readers unfamiliar with Battle in Seattle to conclude that we’re racist pigs, with a weird bone to pick with a governor of yesteryear.
My apologies for any offense, and sorry for the confusion.
Another nit: Gary Locke was never mayor of anything. King County Executive, check, Governator, check, mayor, non.
@1 -- You must mean Govelnol.
WestSide is right even if his nickname is stupid.
Even if you have the starburst, it's still pretty fucking racist.
WestSide is right even if his nickname is stupid.
Even if you have the starburst, it's still pretty fucking racist.
asians are too touchy about their image in the media.
Oh! I thought it was a reference to erst-while Insurance Comissioner Deborah Senn's one-woman show. I imagined you were spoofing ex-public servants who go into the performing arts.
Even if you have the starburst, it's still pretty fucking racist.
No, it's not racist, it's a parody of an inexplicably boneheaded move by a clueless filmmaker, you insufferable twat.
Doctor: "I'm sorry, but you've got a cataract."
Chinese patient: "No, I drive a Rincoln Continental."
(Shamefully ripped off from the Sopranos, but hirrarious nonetheless)
Uh, so what did Townshend do with Locke's character?
My only quibble was that "fall" should have been spelled "frar".
Are you sure that 'chop-socky' accent isn't the very real Hong-Kong accent of actor Tzi Ma, who is famous for his role in "Rush Hour", a few Jackie Chan films, and about a million other things. (If it was indeed a fake accent, then nevermind an carry-on.)
Personally, I was impressed they got such a high-profile actor to play Locke. I recognized him immediately.
#5: What image? They are invisible.
@7
Yeah because having an actor from hong kong play a guy from Seattle leads directly to "Accelerated Math Skills" and "Kung Fu Kicks"?
This is a case of the parody being more offensive to than the original.
#12: You forgot "Rush Hour", and a few Jackie Chan films.
#13: Would you be cool with a guy with an African accent playing Barack Obama or Colin Powell, or a guy with a Mexican accent playing Bill Richardson or Alberto Gonzalez? How bout a guy with a thick Scottish accent playing GW Bush?
Andrew @13, you seem confused about how satire works.
How is that not the point?
Well, actually, I've been meaning to talk to you about your severe lack of Hispanic and Asian employees ...
Asians are invisible in the the major media because they make up less than 5% of the population. Sure, blacks make up 12% of the population of the U.S. but theyre not concentrated to a few major metro areas. and if you look at the media of those metro areas asians are represented pretty well.
Also, how are we to know that the starburst wasn't added after negative reactions to the print version, rather than "left out" of the intended piece?
It's art. No need to apologize for it.
I got the joke without needing the context. I'm sure plenty of other people did, too. People are just whining because it's easier to do so via e-mail and blog replies than the old ways (writing a letter, picking up the phone, brick through window).
Let me guess: An officer of the PC Police stormed into the Stranger offices dressed in a Darth Vader outfit, wielding pepper spray o'plenty, which he, she or it promptly and prodigiously sprayed in the face of the first person s/h/it saw, which was of course The Stranger's receptionist.
And the poor hapless sap still doesn't know that they were also channeling a wicked WTO-referencing meta-prank.
Stupid, stupid PC Police!
"it's still pretty fucking racist"
yeah, it's terrible, ohmygosh, a misguided attempt at satire, clearly the STranger is racist, horrors, we all must condemn it forthwith!!!
Meanwhile, denying real Blacks and Latinos and Asians real voting rights in DC or Puerto Rico or Guam, or any other places the rest of us get to rule over second class citizens with fewer rights -- that's all okey dokey, Mr. Okie!
Keep focused on the real racism: verbal slurs, near slurs, unintended slurs, misguided non slur slurs, slurs-because-of-our-special-sensitivity-to-such-and-such--and-you-forgot-to-respect-our-this-or-that slurs, etc. that's the real racism today!
Bonus: you get to call lots of folks racist, and never have to do anything about it!
@23 ... dude, using too many hyphens is way too PC ... even for me. Lay off the extra hyphens.
uh, this is too boring to be racist; fake anti-P.C. in the name of satire and comedy is tired and needs to be put to sleep. Maybe if you let Asians take a crack at it, it would have been funny. All the white folks defending it as funny and satire is most likely racist.
Not sure if it's racist but it seems so, but am entirely certain it's stupid and not funny.
Man, you sloggers try WAAAAY too hard to be funny and mostly fall right on your faces.
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