You'd think I'd take offense at this bit of weirdness dug up in Korea by a fellow named Newley Purnell, but for some reason the only feeling I get from it is one of amusement.
"Keep it real. Keep on faith. Keep on going. Piece! Stay real! WE are all brack people"!!! This is one of the funniest things I've seen in ages; then again, by laughing at it, aren't I passing up a golden opportunity to go on a Korean embassy burning spree under cover of my hurt feelings?
Good thing for the Koreans that I don't share an appreciation for the pleasures to be had from such activities ...
Tee Hee! This is freaking funny. Sort of. What I dont get is whether the Panther thing is supposed to evoke Africans or African Americans.
Jeez...I just cant stop laughing. I can imagine dozens of Korean youths playing "black" in bed...LOL.
Posted by: Chuckles | February 05, 2006 at 11:12 PM
I had to think this one over a bit - then it dawned on me - there's nothing derogatory in these pictures. They are just attractive and happen to be colored black, although the facial characteristics are as generic and pan-human as possible.
I think the panther thing is supposed to evoke cats - feline grace and power and so on.
Chuckles,
Thanks for your approval of my comment in the thread next below. I decided to drop out - it's like wrestling with a pig. The issue seems to center around what therapists keep dinning into drug addicts and other losers - "internal locus of control" and "boundaries", meaning you and your feelings are your business, not someone else's responsiblity. "Oooh, someone offended me; I can't help but get all hysterical!" It is psycho-babble, I know, but this time it is valid psycho-babble.
Posted by: Jim | February 06, 2006 at 04:36 PM
The "brack people" thing - if you get a chance, watch "Crash". One of the encounters turns on one immigrant mocking another immigrant's mispronunication of English.
We don't need no stinking Academie Anglaise to enforce norms in English; we are all quite vicious and childish enough to manage it on our own.
Posted by: Jim | February 06, 2006 at 11:02 PM
The "brack people" thing - if you get a chance, watch "Crash". One of the encounters turns on one immigrant mocking another immigrant's mispronunication of English.
We don't need no stinking Academie Anglaise to enforce norms in English; we are all quite vicious and childish enough to manage it on our own.
Posted by: Jim | February 06, 2006 at 11:06 PM
Sorry for the double post - I got a box asking me to copy what appeared in the box - nothing - and then post. It resulted in a double post, since it turns out the initial post had posted.
Posted by: Jim | February 06, 2006 at 11:08 PM
Why is it in English?
Posted by: Ross | February 07, 2006 at 12:58 PM
"Why is it in English?"
Yeah! To the extent it is in English....Because English is hip and sophisticated. English is the new French. Remember when calling a dessert "mousse" made it sound so much more elegant than "foam". Well, now that I think of it.....
The use of Englsih for branding is out of control in Japan. Tiem for Korea to catch up.
Posted by: Jim | February 07, 2006 at 03:51 PM
More proof, again, of just how much cultural currents in Asia take their cue from Japan.
Anyhow, for things of that sort, the www.engrish.com website has products, goods and other delicacies of that nature.
On the flip side, kanji mutilation in the West seems to have gotten stuck somewhere between tattoos and T-shirts.
Posted by: Chuckles | February 07, 2006 at 03:57 PM
Kanji mutilation! I love it! What a perfect term. The new thing here is to tell someone with a kanji tattoo, which they clearly cannot read, that it means something ridiculous or sick, and then watch them struggle to disbelieve you.
Posted by: Jim | February 07, 2006 at 07:07 PM