Is the Punch-Out!! series the most racist ever?

[tony_good]

I mean, what characters AREN'T offensive charicatures???

From the wimpy Frenchman Gabby Jay, the cold but weak German Von Kaiser, the alcoholic Russian Vodka Drunkenski (who was changed to Soda Popinski in a ludicrous attempt to make the game more kiddie friendly), dirty fighting Mexican wrestler Masked Muscle, effeminate Spaniard Don Flemenco, hot-tempered Irishman Aaron Ryan, the homosexual charicatures of Little Mac and Kiki Hiegero, stuck up Brit Narcis Prince, dim bulb Canadian Bear Hugger - the list goes on and on.

I used to love this series, but now that I think about it, people ought to be ashamed for allowing those titles into their childrens' lives.

Totally inimical to promoting worldwide unity.

[Push Upstairs]

Wait...Little Mac is gay?

Was he in "Ring King"?

[hezeuschrist]

I mean, what characters AREN'T offensive charicatures???

From the wimpy Frenchman Gabby Jay, the cold but weak German Von Kaiser, the alcoholic Russian Vodka Drunkenski (who was changed to Soda Popinski in a ludicrous attempt to make the game more kiddie friendly), dirty fighting Mexican wrestler Masked Muscle, effeminate Spaniard Don Flemenco, hot-tempered Irishman Aaron Ryan, the homosexual charicatures of Little Mac and Kiki Hiegero, stuck up Brit Narcis Prince, dim bulb Canadian Bear Hugger - the list goes on and on.

I used to love this series, but now that I think about it, people ought to be ashamed for allowing those titles into their childrens' lives.

Totally inimical to promoting worldwide unity.

Am... am... am I supposed to laugh? Err, I... what? You just... homosexual? I...

Wow.

[GarrettCRW]

Totally inimical to promoting worldwide unity.

It's satire-even the Japanese were lampooned in the series, with the nationalistic blowhard Piston Honda (who also bears a passing resemblance to Muhammed Ali). For fans of the Golden Age of Animation (which is rife with stereotypes), the rule is whether or not the portrayal is malicious in nature-and in Punch Out!!, little if any of the stereotypes are malicious.

[Bronty-2]

I agree - get over it! :)

[Gamereviewgod]

For the love of god man, don't give congress something else to bitch about.

[tony_good]

little if any of the stereotypes are malicious.

Vodka Drunkenski is NOT malicious???? AHEM! Making fun of the extremely high rate of alcoholism amongst Soviet citizens is OK? Making fun of a disease, for Christ's sake!


For the love of god man, don't give congress something else to bitch about.

LOL

As long as they're not burning flags or using stem cells, I'm not so sure they'd really care...

[CRV]

Vodka Drunkenski is NOT malicious???? AHEM! Making fun of the extremely high rate of alcoholism amongst Soviet citizens is OK? Making fun of a disease, for Christ's sake!

Hey, it was a different time. Everyone was making fun of the Soviets...except maybe the Soviets. Back in the 70's and 80's, there were plenty of wrestlers (yeah, I know we're talking boxing here) based on crude stereotypes, like the Iron Shiek. People still weren't as touchy as they are today...

[poloplayr]

Everyone's a comedian.

[felix]

Agreed :/
It has a lot of steriotypes.. so what. :roll:

[Rogmeister]

Even Americans are made fun of in that game series...Super Macho Man anyone? I've had tons of fun with the game (and will again). Sometimes people just read too much into it...it's all in good fun. Now if they make a new one and feature a caricature of the Crocodile Hunter, then I could get angry LOL

[-hellvin-]

Damn...

With names like Gabby Jay and Don Flemenco, I guess the only reasonable place for my complete copy is to burn in my fireplace with the rest of humanity's biggotry and intolerance.

[Rogmeister]

Send it to me...I'll burn it for you...suuuuuuuuuuuure I will...honest! LOL

[shaggy]

Get over it and grow up. It's a game for crying out loud.

[Raedon]

Here we go again with the PC americans who bought GTA3 for their kid then complained to Congress.

WON'T SOMEONE THINK OF THE CHILDREN!!!?

[jajaja]

The most racist game ever must be that First Person Shooter game for PC where you can shoot black people and they make monkey sounds. Dont remember the title.

[segagamer4life]

Wait...Little Mac is gay?

Was he in "Ring King"?




LMAO... nice....

[WanganRunner]

Vodka Drunkenski is NOT malicious???? AHEM! Making fun of the extremely high rate of alcoholism amongst Soviet citizens is OK? Making fun of a disease, for Christ's sake!

Yes, it's ok to do that. It's also ok to throw a grenade at an ambulance in GTA3, or to shoot a man who's begging for his life in Rise of the Triad, or to tell a fucking dead baby joke, or whatever, so long as it's all in fun/jest/etc...

Get over it.

[joshnickerson]

Where's Carlos Mencia when you need him?

[Mianrtcv]

Racist. Nah. Its stereotyping in fun. I did hate that game though. Why? I was hooked. Hell, I stil dust em off abd have a go at it sometimes.

Now breathe deep and forget this ever came up.

[Cmosfm]

Everyone needs a little sterotyping in their life, it's fun! :D

No really, if this offends you, you really need to get out more. :roll:

Oh, and the French are pussies, so I don't see a problem.

[Slimedog]

Back then, political correctness wasn't as big an issue. This kind of lampooning was pretty common and nobody really cared. Now, unless every character has a college education and junior executive job, they are a stereotype.

[stuffedmonkey]

It could have been worse though - they could have had the end boss be a black guy that had served a long prison sentence for rape, and says crazy stuff about eating your children!

[tony_good]

Yes, I can see that point. Somebody on one of the I love the 80's shows pointed out about the Japanese man in 16 Candles that when characters were done back then, there was a certain innocence about it that made it much less offensive than it would be today.

I suppose it's slightly better that nearly EVERY race is made fun of (even some that don't exist, like King Hippo).

I can't see too much wrong with Bald Bull or Mr. Sandman.

Kid Quick was one of the forgotten characters, but I wouldn't exactly call him a charicature. Same with Piston Hurricane.

Pizza Pasta, on the other hand...

[GarrettCRW]

Yes, I can see that point. Somebody on one of the I love the 80's shows pointed out about the Japanese man in 16 Candles that when characters were done back then, there was a certain innocence about it that made it much less offensive than it would be today.

Long Duck Dong represents a bit of a gray area, though-sure, no one would be able to get away with it today, but compared to Mickey Rooney's role in Breakfast at Tiffany's some 20 years prior, it's totally innocent.

The '80s were the last decade that people could partake in stereotypes, and not catch hell for it. The Bugs Bunny/Road Runner Hour still featured Speedy Gonzalez (who for my money isn't a negative stereotype by any means) as a major player, and had shorts like "China Jones" (which has some heavy Chinese stereotypes) on the "OK to broadcast intact" list. The Honeymooners was still widely syndicated, and no one even blinked when it came to Ralph's tirades. The concept of a funny drunk and/or homeless person were still fair game. I'm not saying that everyone approved, but unless it was something ugly (like Stepin Fetchit), it wasn't treated as pure evil.

Contrast that with today, where All in the Family and The Jeffersons could never get started up. A true shame when you consider that Archie Bunker and George Jefferson proved week in and week out how foolish prejudices were, simply by being bluntly prejudiced.

[kainemaxwell]

The game(s) were made at a different time before political correctness hit everywhere. It's a satire and a fun game, get over it and have fun.

[poloplayr]

Am I the only one who love stereotypes and prejudices? Nowadays, everyone is so overly frightened to be offended by almost everything. What a bunch of pu**ies!

[daikaiju]

I'm sick of the swiss

[Milk]

It's-a me, Mario!

[Push Upstairs]

It's-a me, Mario!

Exactly.

[Zap!]

Vodka Drunkenski is NOT malicious???? AHEM! Making fun of the extremely high rate of alcoholism amongst Soviet citizens is OK? Making fun of a disease, for Christ's sake!

If proven true, it's not a stereotype. Russia probably does have the highest rate of vodka alcoholics.

As for the rest of what you said in your original post, the games feature characters from around the world, and all seem to have problems. No one race/nationality was singled out.

And Little Mac is in no way gay. Nor is he a racist, as his trainer is black!

BTW, you must be a Democrat. :)

[pkupstixx]

There was nothing in the game that was too malicious. Ok so it had stereotypes but they hit most groups. As South Park does now to stay under the radar. They pick on everyone not just one group. Plus there is still a couple of groups they didnt hit on that we may have had growing uo in the 70's. ie.. The slow mexican ( represented by the slow speaking and walking mice in the sppedy gonzales cartoons) People have just way too much time to complain about issues that have no real affect on their life other than the fact that they can be a voice to raise a stink. I think people need to grow some skin.

An example of this is I live in Philly and we love cheese steaks. There is a Steak and hogie place called chinks. Some college student decided to fight this name as she was asian and supposedly offended. But this place was founded in the 50's long before she was born and this was the guys nick name and had nothing to do with the asian slang term.

I think people just need to grow up and smile about it and go on with their business as its been here before all of us were born, before the internet.

[Cmosfm]

Vodka Drunkenski is NOT malicious???? AHEM! Making fun of the extremely high rate of alcoholism amongst Soviet citizens is OK? Making fun of a disease, for Christ's sake!

If proven true, it's not a stereotype. Russia probably does have the highest rate of vodka alcoholics.

As for the rest of what you said in your original post, the games feature characters from around the world, and all seem to have problems. No one race/nationality was singled out.

And Little Mac is in no way gay. Nor is he a racist, as his trainer is black!

BTW, you must be a Democrat. :)

Little Mac is the white guy who overcomes adversity and beats all his opponents, proving that America is the greatest country in the world and that all other countries are full of slobs and drunks and other stereotypes.

In the mean time, Little Mac's trainer overcomes his oppressive past.

Or some shit, I dunno, I'm just being stupid.

[evildead2099]

For the love of god man, don't give congress something else to bitch about.

LOL

Ever play the Punch-Out! ROM hack which has you fight in the nude? Seeing that would probably make Lieberman's head explode, based on his irratic reaction to just virtual violence.

[evildead2099]

Vodka Drunkenski is NOT malicious???? AHEM! Making fun of the extremely high rate of alcoholism amongst Soviet citizens is OK? Making fun of a disease, for Christ's sake!

If proven true, it's not a stereotype. Russia probably does have the highest rate of vodka alcoholics.

As for the rest of what you said in your original post, the games feature characters from around the world, and all seem to have problems. No one race/nationality was singled out.

And Little Mac is in no way gay. Nor is he a racist, as his trainer is black!

BTW, you must be a Democrat. :)

Little Mac is the white guy who overcomes adversity and beats all his opponents, proving that America is the greatest country in the world and that all other countries are full of slobs and drunks and other stereotypes.

In the mean time, Little Mac's trainer overcomes his oppressive past.

Or some shit, I dunno, I'm just being stupid.

LOL LOL LOL

[GarrettCRW]

BTW, you must be a Democrat. :)

BTW, I'm likely more liberal than the person who started this thread, and I've come down strongly against this game being stereotypical.

I humbly suggest you increase your knowledge. ;)

[poloplayr]

...and stereotypical things are bad? if so, why?

[tony_good]

BTW, you must be a Democrat.

Nice guess, but I am registered as an independent.

IF either party puts up a candidate worth voting for, and they haven't since I've been eligible to vote, I could vote either way, or even Green or Libertarian.

I just felt that Little Mac running around in a pink jumpsuit was an inkling that he may be gay - not that there is anything wrong with that, mind you, but with every other stereotype in the game, I think Nintendo did that on purpose.

More to the point, nobody mentions that Little Mac may be offensive to midget boxers.

The fact that Mario, clearly a racist portrayal of an Italian is the referee makes it even less family-friendly.

At least GTA made no qualms about its racism.

Punch-Out!! is not a good series for kids. Adults, teens, I can see that. But that is far more offensive than most people realize.

[pragmatic insanester]

The most racist game ever must be that First Person Shooter game for PC where you can shoot black people and they make monkey sounds. Dont remember the title.

ethnic cleansing. it was made by a white supremacist company, go figure.

[jerkov]

An example of this is I live in Philly and we love cheese steaks. There is a Steak and hogie place called chinks. Some college student decided to fight this name as she was asian and supposedly offended. But this place was founded in the 50's long before she was born and this was the guys nick name and had nothing to do with the asian slang term.

That place fucking rules BTW. I love going there to get a steak and shake, although it can be rough on the stomach.

I think I agree with the statement about South Park; if the series makes fun of everyone equally, where is the big harm?

[pkupstixx]

If you grew up the the 70's / 80's stereotypes were everywhere especially in cartoons. Looney tunes had em, Scooby doo ( shaggy and scoob were pot heads),johnny quest had hadji. But the strange thing is it seemed like everyone got along better than they do today. With the way everyone gets so upset there could never be a All in the family, jeffersons type show as some group or out of work individual would ( I say this because if you work 40 to 50 hours a week and have a family you dont have the time or the energy to complain about such useless issues)make a stink.

[MarkMan]

I think you're looking a little too much into it. x_x

[monkeychemist]

2 things

1) the ending ski suggest poland, not russia. the russian ending is skY

2)its not racism if it makes fun of everyone

[njiska]

2)its not racism if it makes fun of everyone

It's not racism if it's in jest. See things have gotten so damn overblown today that most people can't take a fucking joke. The few people who posted saying stereotypes are bad you wouldn't happen to be fans of Dave Chappelle would you?

See stereotypes are funny, plain and simple. Punch-out chose to use those stereotypes because we all know them and they're hilarious.

Hell i'm a canadian and i'm use to shitty stereotypes all the time (like that french-canadian on Xplay). The american's on here should be use to it too. Hell we all should. but as long as it's in jest it's ok.

If you're offended by Punch-out then you've got a big stick up your ass. Punch-out wasn't intended to hurt anyone, it was intended to be funny and it was. but thanks to the PC police no one can take a joke.

I know this has all been said before but i really needed to let off some steam. People who are offended by things like this really make my blood boil.

[ddockery]

If proven true, it's not a stereotype. Russia probably does have the highest rate of vodka alcoholics.

Actually, it IS still a stereotype, just one that happens to be correct. Not all stereotypes are wrong.

[Wavelflack]

I would argue that most stereotypes are correct. They may be unflattering, but they are formed from a repeated set of observations.

There are always exceptions to every stereotype. This is to be expected.

The fact remains that uptight, sensitive types are offended by stereotypes indicates there is a germ of truth to them.

[imanerd0011]

I agree with the above poster that most stereotypes have a bit of truth to them, or at least did in some point in time.

I remember I had a sociology teacher who was talking about stereotypes one day, and some kid said something about Native Americans being alcoholics, and the teacher got all pissed and told that was not true at all. I am pretty sure that N.A do have a high rate or alcoholism, but I didn't say anything cause I didn't want to offend anyone.
For some reason people are VERY easy to offend no adays. I don't think I personally would be offended by anything at all.

[monkeychemist]

For some reason people are VERY easy to offend no adays. I don't think I personally would be offended by anything at all.

actually, they aren't really offended. They call you out and say OMG i am like soooooooooo offended because then other people look at you like you are a jerk and at them like the savior for pointing it out. This way for 5 min they give themselves a little ego boost for having saved the day and go back to their pathetic lives.

That is exactly what the original poster wanted....some attention and he sure got it.

[Damon Plus]

double post

[Damon Plus]

To whoever said that Don Flamenco is effeminate. It is not, it just represents the myth of the "latin lover".

Now, I hate how he dances before every match. Nobody dances like that on Spain, just at the south of the country.

[Wavelflack]

I've mentioned this anecdote elsewhere, but it remains amusing to me:

About a year ago, Channel 12 news ran a segment about local asian culture, etc. The reporter on the story was obviously of asian descent.

The next night, during and "answer back 12" segment, the station aired a bunch of callers complaining about how racist it was to make the asian reporter cover the asian story.

The asian reporter came on and announced that the story was her idea, she produced the report, and therefore saw no problem with being on camera for the report.

Pointing out "racism" and "bigotry", as well as "stereotypes", is just an attempted intellectual game for people who have nothing more significant to attach their lives to. It's like a petty version of showing off how you catch the references on Simpsons or MST3K.

[Wavelflack]

To whoever said that Don Flamenco is effeminate. It is not, it just represents the myth of the "latin lover".

Now, I hate how he dances before every match. Nobody dances like that on Spain, just at the south of the country.

Maybe he is a latin buttlover?

"Don Flamingco"

[Damon Plus]

Then why does he say "Carmen, my love, I dance so sweet for you"? Well, it looks pretty gay..

[Wavelflack]

"Carmen" is obviously a euphemism for "rectum".

[Necromutant]

WTF... bottom line is: Punch Out kicks major ass! :D

[tony_good]

It's not racism if it's in jest.

Really? I guess since Bugs Bunny Nips the Nips was all in jest about the Japanese, it's not racist. Neither is Coal Black and de Sebben Dwarfs, Mexican Joyride, Injun Trouble, You're a Sap, Mr. Jap, Speedy Gonzalez, Pepe LePew, Der Fuhrer's Face, Sopranos, Mario, Dora the Explorer, or the Punch-Out!! games.

Political correctness is a step in the right direction. I'm not saying it should be banned (perhaps Mario, but that was another topic), but eliminating conventional, simplistic views of people from other cultures and foreign nations is never a bad thing.


This way for 5 min they give themselves a little ego boost for having saved the day and go back to their pathetic lives.

That is exactly what the original poster wanted....some attention and he sure got it.

An ego boost to my pathetic life. An ad hominym attack against me personally. I think I'm going to cry.



If you're offended by Punch-out then you've got a big stick up your ass.

Well, I must say that I am not an expert on the subject of having a big stick up the ass.

Hopefully I am just ahead of my time.

Go on and enjoy Punch-Out!!

I am now going to try to beat Dragon Chan in under 10 seconds. 11.39 is my best time...

[digitalpress]

My opinion on this post:

There should be more like it. Forums exist for exploration and discussion amongst diverse opinions. Tony is one of the best at coming up with controversial topics. If most can manage to discuss it - agree or not - in a mature manner, they make for the most thought-provoking conversations. If you posted in this thread, it's not likely you'll forget this topic. And that folks, is what it's all about.

I'm glad most everyone has handled this in a mature manner!

As for the game, I agree with the concensus here: EVERYONE is equally offended in this game. It's like South Park... eventually they're going to hit YOU. Did you laugh before? Are you laughing now? It really all depends on how thin your skin is, not the color of it.

[NESaholic]

Come to think of it he is right about some of that stuff,only thing is that i do not see it as racism but more sarcasm, i can enjoy it till a certain level.

[Raedon]

It's not racism if it's in jest.

Really? I guess since Bugs Bunny Nips the Nips was all in jest about the Japanese, it's not racist. Neither is Coal Black and de Sebben Dwarfs, Mexican Joyride, Injun Trouble, You're a Sap, Mr. Jap, Speedy Gonzalez, Pepe LePew, Der Fuhrer's Face


haha! Those are some funny/entertaining shows! Don't forget Breakfest at Tiff's! That Japanese guy was all about pictures!

[Zap!]

[quote]Speedy Gonzalez

Wow, so even positive stereotypes (implying Mexicans are fast) bother you?


Dora the Explorer

I don't see what the big deal is here. She's an explorer that just happens to be spanish, no?

[gepeto]

In my opinion in order for something to be racist there must be an intent to portray a race in a mean sprited way. The key word intent. I believe punchout was simply a bubble gum game with bubblegum fighters. I would gladly invite the dissapearing indian to be a part of my race as well as all the fighters. You got to admit the move was super cool. Nintendo has had a good track record of trying to be sensitive to values. Ex look at Pacman / Puckman.

Racism is a powerful word that can actually be tied to any situation depending on whose looking. I had a friend who was always looking for racism stuff in everything actually he was looking so hard he couldn't see where he was going or turning into himself. The same thing he was looking for.

[pragmatic insanester]

i thought dora was asian.

yeah, and the native americans are/were getting creamed by alcohol. you have to remember they have been isolated from the rest of the world for so long, that tolerance for alcohol and foreign disease is almost nil. the latter have pretty much leveled out in the past few hundred years, but since alcohol is such a slow killer, it doesn't get the same kind of natural selection.

[YoshiM]

It's not racism if it's in jest.

Really? I guess since Bugs Bunny Nips the Nips was all in jest about the Japanese, it's not racist. Neither is Coal Black and de Sebben Dwarfs, Mexican Joyride, Injun Trouble, You're a Sap, Mr. Jap, Speedy Gonzalez, Pepe LePew, Der Fuhrer's Face, Sopranos, Mario, Dora the Explorer, or the Punch-Out!! games.

I ain't gonna sugar coat it: some of the stuff you mention is racist. No doubt. But it's how the cartoon/joke is constructed along with why it was made that determines if the item is "bad" or "okay".

Some of the cartoons you mention were WW II propaganda films. Nips the Nips, You're a Sap, Mr. Jap., Der Fuhrer's Face were pretty much made to boost civilian morale and get people involved in helping the war effort by poking fun at the enemy. If you wanna get real technical, the Nazis were white, so is that racist or culturalist (is that a word?)? So, given the time frame and the events going on, are these cartoons really all that bad?

I've never seen Coal Black but what I've been reading (so I'm not sounding like a total ass) is that it was "considered a harmless film at the time and was representative, nay, typical in its portrayal of blacks. Audiences of both races ate it up with great relish, seemingly never thinking twice about racist content. This was a snapshot of America in 1943, distorted through the lens of Bob Clampett's frenetic imagination, and should be viewed as such." (http://www.toontracker.com/coalblack/coalblack.htm) According to the linked site, Clampett went out of his way to make sure he got black actors, musical talent, etc. which put a racist Hollywood on its ear. I dunno know about you, but this cartoon now has a bit more historical importance than just some off color flick making fun of someone just saying "mammy".

I don't know why you have "The Sopranos" in there as "racist". I don't know if calling it "stereotyped" is correct either. If anything it's accurate as there have been Italian mafias since at least the 1920's when Italian immigrants took up the bootlegging industry during Prohibition. How are these people supposed to act? There's trying to skirt the line of political correctness then there's trying to be authentic. I also don't know why Dora is on that little list either. I assume she's a Latina due to how she looks and that she also speaks (and teaches) Spanish words. If that's who she is, how is she a "stereotype" or a product of "racism"? Would it be better if she was pale white and teaching Spanish, French, German, Japanese....?


Political correctness is a step in the right direction. I'm not saying it should be banned (perhaps Mario, but that was another topic), but eliminating conventional, simplistic views of people from other cultures and foreign nations is never a bad thing.

Personally, I don't like political correctness. It's getting to the point where a person has to think about what they want to talk about and make sure no one in the area around you could possibly relate to what you are talking about in case they get offended. And I'm not talking about jokes or anything, I'm talking about topic stuff like the conflict in Iraq or 9/11.

Also, why can't views be simplistic? Why must everything be complicated? I think one's views all depend on one's frame of mind. If you see Russians as robotic drones with a severe drinking problem, either you're looking for that culture's negative aspect (as some of us have pretty much been brought up to think thanks to the "Cold War", movies and such) or your just goin' with the flow of what other people say.

[The Manimal]

i must say that stereotypes would not exist if there was no factual examples to back them up.

face it everyone, most stereotypes are real. look from the outside at others. look from the outside at yourself. accept differences and don't be so freaking sensitive.

[qbertandernie]

i think part of the point of this game was to ridicule the player. 'look, you just got your ass kicked by a drunk russian!' kind of thing.

the more recent topics i read, the more i realize that i dont really belong here anymore(if i did). when 'punch out is racist' is lauded as an intellectual topic worthy of discussion, seems to suggest i should stick more to the 'finds of the week' threads...

[The Manimal]

dont' worry, man. i figure a good portion of this board is from good ol USA/Canada and political correctness is shoved down everyone's throats so much that everyone is ashamed to offend anyone. it even affects me. i feel bad when i offend someone LOL

but afterwards when i think about it, i think "that's not a big deal. why did i feel bad. that's their problem, not mine".

[Aussie2B]

Some of the cartoons you mention were WW II propaganda films. Nips the Nips, You're a Sap, Mr. Jap., Der Fuhrer's Face were pretty much made to boost civilian morale and get people involved in helping the war effort by poking fun at the enemy. If you wanna get real technical, the Nazis were white, so is that racist or culturalist (is that a word?)? So, given the time frame and the events going on, are these cartoons really all that bad?

Well, they're damn hilarious, I can tell you much. :) Sometimes I break out into singing the songs. o_O Anti-America WWII propaganda is often pretty funny too.

There's nothing racist about Dora the Explorer, considering I think the show was CREATED by Spanish people. However, what does bug me about the show is how it's just another example of how the Spanish are slowing taking over America and forcing their culture on everyone. o_O I mean, think about it, is Dora really targeted at Spanish children who already know Spanish or American children of other nationalities who don't know anything about hispanic cultures but the Spanish think they SHOULD? If someone wants to enrich their lives with learning about another culture, wonderful, but Dora is borderline subliminal brainwashing to me. I guarantee you that if they made a similar show in a different language (other than English, since it's the national language of this country and kids need it for public school) and hispanic kids were watching it and starting using the words now and then, their Spanish parents would be like "Why are you watching this stupid show? Stop talking in that dumb language, and speak Spanish/English!"

[Aussie2B]

Oh, and the French are pussies, so I don't see a problem.

I know you're just joking, but anybody who thinks the French are pussies needs to read up on some WWI history. ;) The French have had bigger balls as far as their history goes than most countries. Heck, we wouldn't even have modern day democracy if the French didn't go nuts and start chopping off everybody's heads. :P Plus, considering what they went through in the last century, it's perfectly understandable if they want to avoid conflict at the moment.

Anyway, to finally get to the topic of Punch-Out. I think the characters are great, and if you find them offensive, heaven help you if you ever import Japanese games and manga. :P Punch-Out is extremely tame compared to some of the stereotypical characters they use in other stuff. However, the Japanese aren't malicious about it. I can tell that they love just about everybody and absorb other cultures like there's no tomorrow. They don't live in a hyper-sensitive country like us Americans.

By the way, Zangief was originally named Vodka as well, before Capcom decided to change it prior to the game's release. Maybe they were worried about being offensive.

[Yago]

This post gets me thinking. How come Pacman and Mrs. Pacman never appeared in the same game at the same time, as well as Jr. pacman? maybe... Because there IS NO Mrs. pacman. It is Pacman himself, meaning, he is a transvestite (SP?) And as for Jr. Well, he could have been adopted or spawned from a test tube, we'll never know. I think it is about time Pacman came out of the closet. And just where did the concept of eating dots come from? maybe they are not dots???

[Zap!]

This post gets me thinking. How come Pacman and Mr.s Pacman never appeared in the same game at the same time, as well as Jr. pacman? maybe... Because there IS NO Mr.s pacman. It is Pacman himself, meaning, he is a transvestite (SP?) And as for Jr. Well, he could have been adopted or spawned from a test tube, we'll never know. I think it is about time Pacman came out of the closet. And just where did the concept of eating dots come from? maybe they are not dots???

Why do you say Mr.s and not Mrs.? At first I thought it was a typo, but you did it twice. Hmm...

[Teo]

This post gets me thinking. How come Pacman and Mr.s Pacman never appeared in the same game at the same time, as well as Jr. pacman? maybe... Because there IS NO Mr.s pacman. It is Pacman himself, meaning, he is a transvestite (SP?) And as for Jr. Well, he could have been adopted or spawned from a test tube, we'll never know. I think it is about time Pacman came out of the closet. And just where did the concept of eating dots come from? maybe they are not dots???

Why do you say Mr.s and not Mrs.? At first I thought it was a typo, but you did it twice. Hmm...

hehe I noticed too. :/

[Yago]

Fixed it. I do that all the time. My pinky always prematurely hits before it is supposed too. Well, that was just a good excuse as any. Can't believe you read that stupid post.

[Snapple]

This post gets me thinking. How come Pacman and Mrs. Pacman never appeared in the same game at the same time, as well as Jr. pacman? maybe... Because there IS NO Mrs. pacman. It is Pacman himself, meaning, he is a transvestite (SP?) And as for Jr. Well, he could have been adopted or spawned from a test tube, we'll never know. I think it is about time Pacman came out of the closet. And just where did the concept of eating dots come from? maybe they are not dots???

Didn't the whole Pac Family appear together in Pac-Man 2?

*looks up*

Picture evidence:
http://www.vgmuseum.com/pics2/Pac-Man%202%20-%20The%20New%20Adventure%20-%20Ingame%201.gif

Also, they all appeared together in the Pac-Man cartoon.

[lendelin]

I mean, what characters AREN'T offensive charicatures???

From the wimpy Frenchman Gabby Jay, the cold but weak German Von Kaiser, the alcoholic Russian Vodka Drunkenski (who was changed to Soda Popinski in a ludicrous attempt to make the game more kiddie friendly), dirty fighting Mexican wrestler Masked Muscle, effeminate Spaniard Don Flemenco, hot-tempered Irishman Aaron Ryan, the homosexual charicatures of Little Mac and Kiki Hiegero, stuck up Brit Narcis Prince, dim bulb Canadian Bear Hugger - the list goes on and on.

I used to love this series, but now that I think about it, people ought to be ashamed for allowing those titles into their childrens' lives.

Totally inimical to promoting worldwide unity.

Who promotes worldwide unity? :)

Much more troublesome than the humorous, cartoonish, and innocent use of stereotypes is the lack of ability to laugh about yourself.

Stereotypes are not bad in itself. They are troublesome when they are presented in contexts describing reality, and even then I have to see a longstanding pattern, not just criticism about a single person or event. The use of stereotypes in products that do not intend to describe reality from the getgo (like in Punch Out) they can even question the used stereotypes presenting a double layer.

Oversensitivity and political correctness is just plain dumb. It is the educational dictatorship of an overstretched minority principle.

I'm German living in America. If I can't laugh about the numerous German stereotypes I find in games and cartoons, please shoot me. :)

[Aussie2B]

This post gets me thinking. How come Pacman and Mrs. Pacman never appeared in the same game at the same time, as well as Jr. pacman? maybe... Because there IS NO Mrs. pacman. It is Pacman himself, meaning, he is a transvestite (SP?)

I have the same theory about Mickey and Minnie Mouse.

By the way, it's Ms. Pac-Man not "Mrs." Just goes to shows that sometimes game developers DO try to be PC. ;)