You think so?

Hmm I am busy and also can't find good topic! Hopefully I can write something today! Anyway this is a video, he is acting like "Japanese", for you we looks like this???

This is soramimi which I laugh a lot recently.We hear it's "Gyoza (chinese dumpling), Sui Gyoza (dupling with soup), Noritama (frake for rice)".

In the end, this one the cooleset"under construction" page that I have ever seen.

Comments

[Air Jordans]

A man is not old as long as he is seeking something. A man is not old until regrets take the place of dreams.

to julian: I didn't say there is no racism in US. I just compared urban, educated areas of Europe with similar areas in US. So compare London with New York City. Or Paris. Etc. In countries like Britain and France, the prime minister/president actually publicly says racist statements against Muslims. Even Bush hasn't done that, ok? Tony Blair has made such statements. So has Jacques Chiraq.

The anti-Muslim sentiment in US is nowhere near what it is in Europe. The stories you hear are from parts of US that are basically the most ignorant...these are people that believe Earth is 4000 years old and science in schools needs to be taught in a manner consistent with their Bible. They are comparable to the ultra-nationalists in Japan, who keep rewriting history books to avoid mention of Japanese Imperial atrocities in China, Korea, Okinawa, etc. They have some politicial influence unfortunately because of the way votes are divided up among states (small states have disproportionately many votes in the electoral college).

to mari: of course Japanese does not sound like that. But ignorant people only hear what Japanese sounds like through stupid things like someone shouting "Banzai!" in a movie. it's like somebody imitating Chinese by saying "ching chong ching". It doesn't sound like any Chinese but originally maybe they heard some fake Chinese person on TV or in a movie. Actually, I've met quite a few people who will tell me (because they think I am Japanese) that Japanese sounds so beautiful. So I think for people who really listen to Japanese, they can appreciate the sounds.

[Julian]

Sorry Mari, my first post was at the first comment.
Maybe Japanese in old Samurai movies sounds similar to that but I've been studying Japanese for a while and live in Tokyo since August so I wouldn't remember. Though I remember my first time hearing someone speak Japanese and I definitly liked it.
Btw, there're two situations when I find it uncomfortable to hear it: 1st high pitched voices on TV and in Anime and 2nd the annoying へええぇぇ. But don't worry about it, I'm just to sensitive towards some things.

[mari]

hi there
I think most Japanese can't understand well and they won't think we are like that, so I don't care what he does. I wonder Japanese sounds like that.

[Julian]

I'm European and coincidentally German as well. The only point I agree with you is that this is stereotypical from the 80's and the show is indeed from Germany. But if you look carefully enough you will notice that all haircuts are from the 80's as well. My point is: This is a German show from the 80's and at that time we had the same type of stereotypes as all American allies and probably even Russian countries.
I disagree that you would not find that behavior in the US (don't know how different New York is). I heard enough bizarr stories about Muslim racismn after 9/11. Wait, didn't just someone say Obama is an Arab? Europe is not better than the US in that aspect...

[Marco Bresciani]

Even if you're busy, your topics are always good! :-) 仕事がんばってね。

[Apple Otaku]

That was a good soramimi episode. It's amazing the kind of crap they can get away with on that show though. So much shimoneta! :-)

[Michiko]

The "comedy act" of the guy "acting Asian" was so absolutely dumb I couldn't watch much of it. I noticed the German words going across the screen, so I was relieved to find out it wasn't an American show! I think that comedians who imitate people of other nationalities or cultures can actually be funny, but only if they study their mannerisms and get it right. This guy was just out there making a fool of himself.

[Luke Loughead]

Mari, I think I speak for most of your readers when I say we are embarrassed that this comedian is still doing racist schtick like that in this day and age. It was wrong when our grandparents did it and it is wrong today, no matter whether he intended irony or not. It is really not comedy if he is hurting people's feelings.

You will find that most of the people who read your blog do not think that Japanese people look like that. Most of us will find such a comedy act offencive and shameful.

Those are very common stereotypes of Japanese, I would expect, worldwide. Anyway, in America, comedian wouldn't be able to do this kind of act for long. That kind of stereotype was more common in 1980s but people are more careful now. Whenever I think America is still racist and backward society, I see something like this that reminds me that America is still far ahead of Europe in terms of this type of thing.

I even read that people on London subway are frightened of Muslim women getting on in their veils and want to ban the wearing of that kind of traditional outfit. That would never happen in New York City. I wonder how Japanese feel about "Arab terrorist"-looking people getting on the shinkansen. Do they change seats?