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Thread: European Union's 'racist' martial video

  1. #31
    Greetings.

    That video had absolutely nothing to with stereotyping. It promoted an US vs THEM mindset within their own borders and the eradication of THEM, creating a better EU.

    mickey

  2. #32
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    I read the last few posts too quickly and became amused with the idea of Gene eating indo-chinese babies as some form of specialty cuisine....


    carry on...


    carrion...
    Kung Fu is good for you.

  3. #33
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    Two things I don't understand about this video,

    1. How it cost 106 grand

    2. How is it even slighly racist?

    I think people have forgotton what racism is.... Its a big problem with todays societies that we don't know.

    They chose 3 iconic martial arts and had the person of correct ethnicity performing them. It doesn't have to be taken as 'Vs' it can be seen as uniting. They don't fight, they all sit down together.

    In my opinion people who see racism where there is none are the ones who are racist.

    I mean, it shows that the EU can be as strong as huge places lie China, India and Brazil if it stands together. They could have added a Russian for good measure, you know some guy like Zangief from street fighter.

    Or Dolf! that would've been cool.

    Last edited by RenDaHai; 03-08-2012 at 10:47 AM.

  4. #34
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    Indo-Chinese baby mushu masala

    Right. Well, to get back OT, here's what the Atlantic has to say on the matter.
    The European Union's Racist and Unintentionally Revealing TV Ad
    By Heather Horn
    Mar 7 2012, 9:53 AM ET 3

    Before the EU was forced to pull the ad, it offered the world a glimpse into two fundamental problems with the European project.

    By now, the viral disaster of a European Union TV ad, wherein various non-Western martial artists confront a white brunette, who symbolizes Europe, has made its way around the internet a few times. The European commission recalled the ad Tuesday and apologized for any offense. Here it is, above, an ugly masterpiece of stereotypical dualities. Male to female. Armed to unarmed. Barbaric to civilized. Brute force to intelligence (the men menace with sword and muscle; the woman thinks herself into a circle).

    This ad isn't just racist. It's also totally incoherent. What is a lady in a yellow and blue jumpsuit (the colors in the EU) being threatened by foreigners, beating them back by multiplying herself in a ring around them, supposed to mean? Stand unified so we can keep the evil immigrants in? Don't hang out in abandoned train stations? Thank God we shelled out for the Kill Bill costumes?

    The European commission's explanation was as follows: "The clip featured typical characters for the martial arts genre: kung fu, capoeira and kalaripayattu masters; it started with demonstration of their skills and ended with all characters showing their mutual respect, concluding in a position of peace and harmony."

    A position of "peace and harmony" where the identical white brunettes seal off all the dangerous non-white men, apparently.

    Idiocy and breathtaking racism aside, this ad highlights two real and pretty serious problems in the European Union right now. The first is one of identity. With the proposed entrance of Turkey and now the possible exit of Greece from the euro, the E.U. is having to decide what it's actually about. The traditional narrative, the one politicians are eager to promote, is that it's all about politics and prosperity -- state-based, in other words, rather than nation-based. This ad is, whether intentionally or not, part of a certain identity-based trend. Opposition to Turkish entrance and the nasty north-south rhetoric in the sovereign debt crisis both suggest, in fact, that it's about ethnicity, or at the very least a common culture. It's normal, if not particularly pretty, for ethnic tension to surface in times of economic hardship, as I've pointed out before, but eventually the E.U. is going to have to resolve the politics-versus-ethnicity question. This ad was a sharp veer off course for a commission whose message, up until now, has been more about harmony and cooperation.

    The second problem this ad hilariously and unintentionally draws attention to is one of money. This is not an ad that suggests much of a budget for political consultants. In fact, it barely suggests a two-tiered editing process. I'd be interested to know how such a concept got past the brainstorming phase, and, even more amusing to contemplate, what ideas it beat out (something with turbans and the Marseillaise, perhaps?).

    As an attempt to distract from Europe's current financial mess and highlight the union's strengths, this ad is a disaster. The picture we're left with is of political leadership that can't even toss together a couple of bucks and an extra pair of eyes for a decent storyboard, let alone deal with its race problem.
    Gene Ching
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  5. #35
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    Quote Originally Posted by RenDaHai View Post

    I mean, it shows that the EU can be as strong as huge places lie China, India and Brazil if it stands together.
    it hints at europe nations enveloping the darkies and making them disappear. but because they are giant poosies, they are scared to show it openly so the video ends up vague and confusing.
    Last edited by bawang; 03-08-2012 at 10:59 AM.

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  6. #36
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    Quote Originally Posted by RenDaHai View Post
    Two things I don't understand about this video,

    1. How it cost 106 grand

    2. How is it even slighly racist?

    I think people have forgotton what racism is.... Its a big problem with todays societies that we don't know.

    They chose 3 iconic martial arts and had the person of correct ethnicity performing them. It doesn't have to be taken as 'Vs' it can be seen as uniting. They don't fight, they all sit down together.

    In my opinion people who see racism where there is none are the ones who are racist.

    I mean, it shows that the EU can be as strong as huge places lie China, India and Brazil if it stands together. They could have added a Russian for good measure, you know some guy like Zangief from street fighter.

    Or Dolf! that would've been cool.

    Dolph is Swedish.
    Psalms 144:1
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    He trains my hands for war, my fingers for battle !

  7. #37
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    And it's in British pounds. Double the number for the USD =.
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  8. #38
    Quote Originally Posted by GeneChing View Post
    Right. Well, to get back OT, here's what the Atlantic has to say on the matter.
    "The second problem this ad hilariously and unintentionally draws attention to is one of money. This is not an ad that suggests much of a budget for political consultants. In fact, it barely suggests a two-tiered editing process. I'd be interested to know how such a concept got past the brainstorming phase, and, even more amusing to contemplate, what ideas it beat out (something with turbans and the Marseillaise, perhaps?)."*—The Atlantic
    There's more to it than that, sadly. From my understanding of how things like this work in the EU, the contract to conceptualise and produce the film was almost certainly awarded to some firm on the basis of cronyism. There would be a play-pretend bidding process, and then the company with the contract would boost their profit margin by play-pretending to do the work correctly.

    Not unique to the EU, but rampant here I'm afraid.

  9. #39
    Greetings,

    I dedicate the first 18 minutes to all the people in the EU. I sat through this. It was not easy. And through watching this I resolved to continue to move forward and away from the ills of the times presented towards a better world for all. And it is something we all must do.

    Forever keep love in your heart:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WR83E...eature=related


    mickey

  10. #40
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    Quote Originally Posted by David Jamieson View Post
    Fear of the brown horde is equally as strong in North America.

    Unfounded, stupid, racist and ignorant...but there it is in all it's glory.

    yeesh.
    Uh Dave, I know you're a Cannuck but where I'm from, it has become the brown horde. The thing I'm digging down here is that it's getting harder and harder to tell what ethnicity people are....my own little melting pot, and zee ladies are fine!

    As far as I'm concerned they're aren't enough Brazilian women here as it is...

    It's hard to imagine any racism stemming from Europe strictly based on past performance.
    Last edited by Hebrew Hammer; 03-11-2012 at 11:49 PM.
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