Racsism in pokemon

[AtomicPokabu]

hello thar I have been looking at pokemon for the past few weeks at racsism.I'm pretty sure that they were unintended,but I think they are pretty funny.
1.Black flute makes pokemon dissapear,but white flute attracts them.
2.Zekrom is better then Reshiram?(;))
3.Yea versions black and white...I know.
4.They didnt make light type (atleast not yet)
So yea if you have anything you found you want to add please add!

 

[Green]

....how are those even /considered/ racism wtf was that

 

[Autumn]

....how are those even /considered/ racism wtf was that

this

 

[Bombsii]

well...those aren't racist at all... i'd say the most unintentionally 'racist' thing in pokemon is brock.

 

[Flora]

Firstly, spelling please. :(

1.Black flute makes pokemon dissapear,but white flute attracts them.

Simple coincidence.

2.Zekrom is better then Reshiram?(;))

Your Mileage May Vary

3.Yea versions black and white...I know.

Black and white are colors.

Well, rather the presence of all colors versus the absence of color, which makes them perfect for game counterparts.

4.They didnt make light type (atleast not yet)

I believe Dark-type was introduced solely because Psychic was overpowered. Also those two have nothing to do with racism.

As brought up time and time again (Jynx incident anyone?), there aren't many African-Americans over in Japan. I reject your reality and substitute my own.

 

[Blastoise Fortooate]

there aren't many African-Americans over in Japan.

well yeah they'd be mostly African-Japanese wouldn't they

But yeah the Dark-type is more like 'hurrdurr I stole your Dawn Stone' not 'durrhurr I'm black do u get it?'.

 

[ultraviolet]

wow. the fact that you brought up the most unlikely things to be related to racism and ignored other things (like jynx, brock, etc) makes me wonder if you're actually being serious or if you just know fairly little of the pokemon fandom. o.o

 

[Wargle]

The only things Racist were not meant to be.

Not many things are meant to be racist. It is up to you whether you see it as racist or not.

And the Brock left the anime was because the Anime peoples thought everyone would be all 'OMG A SEMI BLACK PERSON THOSE RACIST BASTARDS NEVER PLAY POKEMON AGAIN!!! D:<' so they got rid of him for a white guy. Then they realized everybody liked Brock and ditched what'shisnameArtfreak.

 

[RespectTheBlade]

the only semi-racist thing in pokemon is that, with the slight technicality of brock, I do not remember a black person, nor the option to choose your skin color.

 

[spaekle]

You could choose your skin tone in PBR, although I think that was added for releases outside of Japan.

 

[Thorne]

3.Yea versions black and white...I know.

Yeah, because when you say Black and White you always mean the skin colours, not the colours (or rather, the lack and presence of all colours) black and white.

And you seem to forget that the games are made by the Japanese, who can be targets of racism as well, effectively rendering most point moot.

 

[Minish]

And you seem to forget that the games are made by the Japanese, who can be targets of racism as well, effectively rendering most point moot.

Uh... what? Ethnocentric much? All races can be targets of racism, that's kind of the point. The Japanese actually have a notorious tendency to be generally quite xenophobic.

That being said, this thread is made of so much fail it's just... yeah. The only racist thing is the OP finding every mention of black/white/dark to be referring to race.

 

[Shiny Grimer]

The only things Racist were not meant to be.

Not many things are meant to be racist. It is up to you whether you see it as racist or not.

I don't know what you mean with that first sentence. The only racist things are things that are unintentionally racist? Jim crow laws, anyone? What about slavery?

And even if something is not meant to be racist, it can still be racist.

And you seem to forget that the games are made by the Japanese, who can be targets of racism as well, effectively rendering most point moot.

The Japanese are a majority in Japan. They are not targets of racism in Japan.
And yes, one minority can express bigotry against another. If Pokemon included a black woman that had *snaps fingers* attitude! and was always angry (and was drawn with stereotypically exaggerated features - because of course, all black people look the same!), it would still be racist even if it were made by the Ainu people of Japan.

But yeah, this topic lists concerns that really have nothing to do with race or racism.

hello thar I have been looking at pokemon for the past few weeks at racsism.I'm pretty sure that they were unintended,but I think they are pretty funny.

You find (what you think is) unintentional racism funny? what is this i don't even

 

[Minish]

I don't know what you mean with that first sentence. The only racist things are things that are unintentionally racist? Jim crow laws, anyone? What about slavery?

And even if something is not meant to be racist, it can still be racist.

I think he meant that in Pokemon, the only things that were racist were not intentional (or rather that there were no intentionally racist things in Pokemon), e.g. the whole Jynx thing.

 

[Pwnemon]

I actually have learned to just completely ignore all this crap, as in my school you get called racist for saying you need a white sheet of paper. I mostly think that the people who accuse racism are mostly the racists themselves for seeing it where it isn't.

 

[Superbird]

...I know him, he isn't racist, but he does have really weird opinions.

 

[Wargle]

the only semi-racist thing in pokemon is that, with the slight technicality of brock, I do not remember a black person, nor the option to choose your skin color.

The Battle Arcade lady is either tan or somewhat african looking.

I don't know what you mean with that first sentence. The only racist things are things that are unintentionally racist? Jim crow laws, anyone? What about slavery?

l
l
V

I think he meant that in Pokemon, the only things that were racist were not intentional (or rather that there were no intentionally racist things in Pokemon), e.g. the whole Jynx thing.

Yes that is what I meant sorry. I even confused myself there for a second.

 

[nothing to see here]

4.They didnt make light type (atleast not yet)

Ignoring the whole racism thing for a moment, because the idea that entire Pokémon types are race-based is just silly... there is absolutely no reason for there to be a Light type. And unless Game Freak's programmers develop a habit of jumping over Sharpedos with jetskis, there will never be a Light-type.

First of all, the Dark type isn't a "darkness/shadows/night" type to begin with, despite what the name might suggest. Ghost pretty much has all of that stuff--it has all the "dark is scary" attacks (like Astonish), "black magic" attacks (Curse, Grudge, Destiny Bond), attacks that involve literal shadows (Shadow Sneak/Shadow Punch), and even those that said to be "made of shadows/darkness" (Shadow Ball/Shadow Claw.)

The Dark-type is actually more of a "sneaky/dishonorable battle tactics" type. That's why the type is mostly made up of moves like Thief, Knock Off, Sucker Punch, Fake Tears and so on. Even Dark Pulse isn't a "darkness/shadow" based attack; it's just an energy blast (along the lines of Aura Sphere or Focus Blast) infused with negative thoughts.

Plus, Normal and Fighting pretty much cover the "opposite counterpart of the Dark-type" slot already. The Normal type has all the healing and "nice" moves, as well as moves that are sneaky but not viewed in such a bad light because they're "cuter" or less menacing than their Dark-type equivalent (like Covet vs. Thief, or Me First vs. Snatch.) The Fighting type has the honorable, martial-arts style fighting techniques, as opposed to fighting dirty and making up techniques as you go like Dark-types do. So there's really no room for another "opposite of Dark type" type.

 

[Karkat Vantas]

Well, Aloe can be seen as a racist stereotype.

Pokemon Black and White aren't named after skin colors. Obviously, they're Michael Jackson references.

 

[Pwnemon]

Ignoring the whole racism thing for a moment, because the idea that entire Pokémon types are race-based is just silly... there is absolutely no reason for there to be a Light type. And unless Game Freak's programmers develop a habit of jumping over Sharpedos with jetskis, there will never be a Light-type.

First of all, the Dark type isn't a "darkness/shadows/night" type to begin with, despite what the name might suggest. Ghost pretty much has all of that stuff--it has all the "dark is scary" attacks (like Astonish), "black magic" attacks (Curse, Grudge, Destiny Bond), attacks that involve literal shadows (Shadow Sneak/Shadow Punch), and even those that said to be "made of shadows/darkness" (Shadow Ball/Shadow Claw.)

The Dark-type is actually more of a "sneaky/dishonorable battle tactics" type. That's why the type is mostly made up of moves like Thief, Knock Off, Sucker Punch, Fake Tears and so on. Even Dark Pulse isn't a "darkness/shadow" based attack; it's just an energy blast (along the lines of Aura Sphere or Focus Blast) infused with negative thoughts.

Plus, Normal and Fighting pretty much cover the "opposite counterpart of the Dark-type" slot already. The Normal type has all the healing and "nice" moves, as well as moves that are sneaky but not viewed in such a bad light because they're "cuter" or less menacing than their Dark-type equivalent (like Covet vs. Thief, or Me First vs. Snatch.) The Fighting type has the honorable, martial-arts style fighting techniques, as opposed to fighting dirty and making up techniques as you go like Dark-types do. So there's really no room for another "opposite of Dark type" type.

These are all great points, except low kick. That move is pretty sneaky.

Anyway, I just wanted to add to this, the actual Japanese translation of "Dark Type" is actually "Evil Type."