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 Post subject: Despicable Me
PostPosted: Wed Jul 14, 2010 1:22 am 
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Bull Moose
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Despicable Me is a very silly cartoon, lots of fun, nothing to take seriously, and it jumps the shark continuously - which is part of the fun.

I laughed, frequently. I needed that.

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PostPosted: Wed Jul 14, 2010 8:07 am 
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Oh yeah!

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 Post subject: Re: Despicable Me
PostPosted: Wed Jul 14, 2010 9:23 am 
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Micheal wrote:
Despicable Me is a very silly cartoon, lots of fun, nothing to take seriously, and it jumps the shark continuously - which is part of the fun.

I laughed, frequently. I needed that.


Excellent, that's exactly what I wanted from it. Now it's on the "must see" list.


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PostPosted: Wed Jul 14, 2010 10:11 am 
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IT'S SO FLUFFY!

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PostPosted: Wed Jul 14, 2010 11:33 am 
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Took the kids to see it at the drive-ins, I thought it was a little short but really funny.


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 Post subject: Re: Despicable Me
PostPosted: Mon Jul 19, 2010 4:50 pm 
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Any truth to this comment:

Quote:
Throughout the scene where Gru steals the shrink ray my jaw was on the floor - the henchmen in the top secret facility are Asian cartoon stereotypes straight out of U.S. World War 2 propaganda. They have monkey-like features, with mouths that split their entire faces, small pig noses, and beady slanted eyes. They are wearing nondescript uniforms that are also evocative of World War 2.

I haven't been able to find an image from this scene in the film, but the soldiers depicted do not look radically different from the World War 2 propaganda poster at right. In the movie the characters aren't smiling so we don't see large teeth, and their features are even more monkey-like. Their inspiration is undeniable: these are clearly based on racist wartime cartoons.

Image

I'm guessing the comment is b.s., but I probably won't get to see the movie until it comes out on NetFlix, so figured I'd ask here.


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PostPosted: Mon Jul 19, 2010 5:04 pm 
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See for yourself...I guess they're talking about the minions...

http://www.cinemablend.com/new/Another- ... 16264.html

Image

Another trailer:

http://thetvrealist.com/gossip/Despicab ... 52472.html

Looks like fun to me.

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PostPosted: Mon Jul 19, 2010 7:23 pm 
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No, the author refers to Gru's minions separately.


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PostPosted: Mon Jul 19, 2010 7:54 pm 
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There is one short scene where Gru steals the Shrink Ray from what I took to be blue suited Chinese Communists. They were short, yellow skinned, most wore glasses, one was chubby. They were each different. If you are offended by the depiction of any humorous stereotypes of ethnic Asians, you will probably be offended by these, though I think your reviewer went overboard with being offended by the appearance and missed the fact that these were brilliant scientists with a brand new invention that no one else had come up with yet.

How do you present a subject such as a Chinese Scientist in a short clip in a comedic cartoon where pretty much everything is an exaggerated stereotype without resorting to such a depiction?

I did not find it particularly offensive. They were depicted as going about their business in a mostly professional manner (it is a cartoon) up until the shrink ray was stolen, then they disappeared from the cartoon.

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PostPosted: Tue Jul 20, 2010 1:00 am 
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I saw this the other night. I noticed that scene, but wasn't overly offended. If this had been made in, say, 1985, they probably would have been some form of Russian caricature. Hate to say it, but filmmakers/scriptwriters don't have that much imagination, or maybe just not that much ability, to go beyond the bounds of what we as a society expect to characterize as evil. It was sort of a Bond ripoff - evil communists, if you will, even though that's no longer the dominant image in our national psyche. So, we'll just make 'em evil Asians, which is pretty much the same thing if you go back far enough.

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 Post subject: Re: Despicable Me
PostPosted: Wed Jul 21, 2010 12:47 pm 
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Cool; figured it was something like that. Thanks for the info.


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