V. sent in this commercial that features a tired Asian stereotype and also co-opts the notion of enlightenment (from Buddhist and Hindu spirituality) and applies it to, um, dried versus frozen noodles.
More examples of Asian stereotyping here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and here.
I’ve been waiting for you to comment on this one! Every time I see it, I’m so disturbed, but I couldn’t figure out exactly what was being played on (though I see the Asian-as-foreign…no wait, not really stereotype in play too when he says “I’m Eddie from accounting!”)
I remember seeing that one and groaning. How did that manage to get on the air?
He’s Eddie. From accounting.
You know, the guy who emigrated/time-travelled from… medieval Japan, apparently?
Who’s just bursting with mystical noodle-related knowledge!
Yikes. I don’t know if this stereotype has a name, but it really should. I propose: “The Magical Asian.”
For some reason, the first thing that comes to mind is the Progresso soup campaign from a couple of years ago, where they contrasted their more “adult” flavor/texture to that of Campbell’s soup, which was portrayed, condescendingly, as being “for kids”. The person who chose the Progresso was depicted as more enlightened— in the modern Western sense: “highly educated; having extensive information or understanding; free from illusion,” (as opposed to the Eastern* sense: “having knowledge and spiritual insight”). There was no stereotypical Rennaissance-era Italian yelling “mangia!”
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* That is, the “Eastern-through-Western-eyes” sense; frankly, I’m not sure exactly what that word connotes in other places.
The Confusious-like Asian stereotype should have some sort of name, but “magical Asian” is way too close to “magical Negro” to hold up.
Wikipedia entry on the magical negro: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magical_negro
I couldn’t believe it, either.
I can’t believe this is still on TV. It seems to air repeatedly on the channels I tend to watch, right next to the equally disturbing Jim Beam commercial with all of the men and puppies.
As an illustrator, I feel really sorry for whatever 3D artist was asked to make and animate that offensive, stereotyped, CG model. I don’t know what I’d do if I were put in a similar position.
Yeah, every time I see this ad I wonder who okayed it. It’s just so…obviously racist.
As others have noted, this commercial is obviously problematic and cringe worthy. However, many of these comments are slightly off.
1. To the person who thought that Eddie has travelled from medieval Japan: Eddie’s ‘outfit’ and hairstyle are not Japanese, of any period. I am not sure where you could have gotten this idea (American movies?).
2. Everyone else: you are missing the broader point here in that Nissin is owned by the Japanese. It’s true that they used an American marketing firm, but Nissin most likely had to approve the commercial in the end. The Japanese have been superb at taking the stereotypes it has been given to a logical extreme, and then marketing them (I am not saying this is at all a conscious strategy, but there seems to be a pattern.) So the larger question here is how can we tell when a non-American firm is using (negative) stereotypes of its nation/ethnicity strategically vs. when it is using such stereotypes b/c it has been socialized into the mindset of the hegemonic culture. Are both situations equally as problematic?
In addition, while I am reluctant to condone the usage of grab-bag Asian cultural features in a way that makes the peoples of that continent seem monolithic, the ‘enlightenment’ concept used here is not entirely off in terms of Japanese history. The invention of instant noodles was kind of a god send for the Japanese in the early post war period when many found this cheap, non-perishable food product as a means of survival.
I wouldn’t necessarily cut marketing like this a break just because it’s for a Japanese company. It’s being marketed in the US and therefore is presumably affecting Asian-Americans more than Japanese people — I don’t imagine that Japanese-run companies in Japan care about Asian-Americans much more than a white-run American company would. If the ads were designed by Asian-Americans and were then run in the US it would be a little more appropriate to see it as done by the group that it is stereotyping, I think.
It seems like the character is intended to be Chinese from the clothing, but given the hornet’s nest of relations between the Chinese and Japanese I wouldn’t say that it’s entirely unproblematic to have a Japanese firm produce an ad like that, and that’s all I’ll say on the matter to avoid starting a flame war.
Random:
I’m well aware that “Eddie” is from no clear time or place! I was trying to describe (sarcastically) what I supposed they were half-assedly trying to evoke in the viewer’s mind. Eddie has a bit of a “whatever, close enough!” feel. The ad is clearly aimed at (not to mention probably created by) clueless Americans. That is: people who are both American and too clueless to see anything icky about this.
At any rate, you raise an interesting point. My gut reaction is a bit like Bagelsan’s. I’m not sure Nissin gets off the hook, even if they are purposely doing… something with their advertising. (Which I doubt.) Ironic minstrelry usually has the same effect as straight minstrelry.
Karinova: Sorry for not catching the sarcasm… I can be dense sometimes.
What’s most offensive to me here is not the weird ethnic stereotype. It’s the assumption that we adult viewers will be so distracted and delighted by the stupid cartoon that we won’t even notice how unappetizing and fake the noodles look.
Most ads and entertainment think you’re really stupid, but by and large the majority of people quite happily tolerate the condescension. When you raise your hackles at the crass stereotypes and little ‘isms that pop up in the subtext…well, you don’t make us look any smarter.
One day, when you’re old and decrepit, you’ll realize how precious and finite the hours of your life really were, and you’ll feel utter shame and regret at how many of them you spent watching TV commercials.
If that were true, I doubt we’d see the same type of media illiterate trolls show up here again and again, arguing that entertainment can’t possibly mean anything. The sermonizing is also unnecessary – I’ve seen death and I know how precious life is, and I’ll never regret analyzing, questioning and understanding the world I live in.
A sermon would’ve been a lot longer.
Congratulations to you for the analyzing and questioning. I don’t know which part of the post you were referencing in the “if that were true” bit, but there’s no disputing this – when the overwhelming subtext of an ad is “you are so stupid that if I feebly attempt to entertain you with 90 seconds of cornball fluff you’ll waste your money on stuff you don’t need,” I personally don’t need Eddie From Accounting to feel insulted.
Happily, I’m reminded of how glad I am not to have a TV in the house. I don’t lack the faculty to analyze and question it, but when uninvited and annoying people keep insulting me in my living room, it makes sense for me to simply not let them in. There’s plenty more in the world to examine, little of it any less rewarding.
And of course, Eddie works in accounting because all Asians are good at math. I mean, obviously.
Ahhh thank you for finally addressing this! I was starting to think I was the only one in the world who was seeing this commercial… Good lord, what a mess.
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