Stereotyped Pokemon

[Biggee30]

How can you be offended by Ludicolo? I mean, I'm a latino, and I found Ludicolo to be very cool. Unles they named him something else, like... actually I won't go into it. I'd only be offended if they represented latinos in a more racist way, like if they had it eating a certain type of seed that I won't mention.

 

[OmegaRuby and AlphaSapphire]

How can you be offended by Ludicolo? I mean, I'm a latino, and I found Ludicolo to be very cool. Unles they named him something else, like... actually I won't go into it. I'd only be offended if they represented latinos in a more racist way, like if they had it eating a certain type of seed that I won't mention.

I'm latino too and I also don't see it offensive either :)

 

[Gymnotide]

Yea, really. I don't think it's fair to call a Pokemon stereotypical if it's supposed to be iconic. If I were a hippo, I'd say that Hippopotas is offensive because it learns Yawn and I certainly DO NOT eject bubbles from my mouth when I yawn.

 

[Melody]

I pull off an epic facepalm every darn time some n00b brings up "Offensive Stereotypes" existing in pokemon. Stop being an easily offended person, grow up and get some common sense. Oh, and don't forget a sense of humor too.

 

[Myles]

Not all americans are fat. Snorlax would fit more in at Japan as a sumo wrestler IMO.

No one said stereotypes were accurate. But that is an American stereotype. Not that Snorlax was an example; that was a joke. :P

Yea, really. I don't think it's fair to call a Pokemon stereotypical if it's supposed to be iconic. If I were a hippo, I'd say that Hippopotas is offensive because it learns Yawn and I certainly DO NOT eject bubbles from my mouth when I yawn.

Is ejecting bubbles from their mouths a stereotype about hippopotamuses?

Anyway, I think Pokemon based on stereotypes as long as they're not negative ones.

 

[Gymnotide]

Is ejecting bubbles from their mouths a stereotype about hippopotamuses?

It was a point to say that iconic doesn't equal representative. No, hippopotamuses do not eject bubbles from their mouth. It's like if they made a Pokemon that looked like a kangaroo and they gave it a bottle of Vegemite. That doesn't mean Australians brush their teeth with Vegemite.

That was mainly to counteract the idea that Lt. Surge was offensive because of his bellicose nature. He may be American and focused on fighting, but that doesn't make him representative of Americans in general. At the same time, there are people who are like him in certain aspects, but that still doesn't make it representative. It was also to convey the fact that given even the smallest amount of impetus, anyone could make up a reason why they should take offense to any given thing. For example, if I were a Japanese woman wearing a kimono, I could say Froslass was offensive to me because it's a Ghost-type, therefore saying that I'm a zombie. Yes, I know what it's based on, but I could still draw negative thoughts from it. That's just an example like the Jynx fiasco whenever back when.

Furthermore, I find it a bit saddening that some people feel the makers of Pokemon have any malicious feelings when they put their pens to paper to make fun new Pokemon for us. There's a point where it's discrimination, and there's a point when people feel the need to be discriminated against.

 

[Jerme]

lucario is the most racist. look its blue and wears a bandit mask, good way to stereotype blue people game freak.

 

[Gymnotide]

lucario is the most racist. look its blue and wears a bandit mask, good way to stereotype blue people game freak.

It's funny because there are actually blue people in the world.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Methemoglobinemia

 

[Calder]

lucario is the most racist. look its blue and wears a bandit mask, good way to stereotype blue people game freak.

I hate blue people... They are all no good thieves... Damn you skeet... Damn you >.<

 

[Jerme]

It's funny because there are actually blue people in the world.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Methemoglobinemia

not really, more like zombie grey.

but then white people aren't actually white, blacks aren't black.

 

[Gymnotide]

not really, more like zombie grey.

but then white people aren't actually white, blacks aren't black.

It's usually blue depending on your skin tone. If you're looking for ways to turn blue without having a crippling disease, try bathing in silver.

More on-topic? I'd also like to mention that stereotypes are a bit of a silly matter. They're things that are sensitized when they shouldn't be. The main problem that people see is the generalization aspect of it, though if people would understand that (1) not all people are the same (the stereotyping side) and (2) not all remarks are directed toward groups of people (the ones who feel stereotyped), then it wouldn't be such a problem. But people, ya know. Whatever.

 

[BleuVII]

^ Racist. Against grey zombie-like people.

Maybe we should change this thread around. What "stereotype" did you find the most funny/refreshing when you first came across it?

 

[Futebol]

Sure some people found Jynx offensive, PC idiots.
.

One isn't a "PC idiot" for being offended by something which is clearly a racist stereotype of the past anymore than you are clearly an insensitive idiot lacking knowledge.

 

[Gymnotide]

One isn't a "PC idiot" for being offended by something which is clearly a racist stereotype of the past anymore than you are clearly an insensitive idiot lacking knowledge.

Jynx was a light-hearted remark on a subclass of Japanese society and was misunderstood, and therefore thought to be offensive. She's not racist at all. That is what the original poster meant to convey, though it is really disheartening to see such a hypocritical post on the forums, new poster.

This is, once again, an example of a desperate outcry in an attempt to seek controversy.

 

[OmegaRuby and AlphaSapphire]

I even read that jynx was black in the original because there was nothing their it was psychic power holding the dress and wig together...as shown when you beat Jynx in Pokemon stadium 1...where the wig and dress are seen in the ground after you beat one...

 

[JakeClowd]

2 things....

First, the biggest peeve I have with pokemon forum sites is when somebody says that a certain pokemon is an "offensive stereotype" to a community. NINTENDO IS NOT STEREOTYPICAL! Would you say that Loudred is a stereotype to sound because he has a big mouth? Or that (god forbid) Magikarp is a stereotype to goldfish. They're not "stereotyped", they're based on objects, cultures, and animals in the real world.

And second: That's not even what this thread is about. It was meant to find pokemon and what they are based on. Like Mamepato is based (or stereotyped) on a pigeon. It's not something we should get all worked up about, Just think about the based pokemon that have been introduced here. For example:

Hihidaruma and the Daruma pots.

 

[Myles]

@Gymnotide: @JakeCrowd: @Other various people in this topic:

Some people seem to be not getting what this topic is about. It's about stereotypes, not political correctness. Hippos are not stereotyped as blowing bubbles when they yawn. Americans do have war stereotypes.

You can't just make up a stereotype like "all goldfish look like Magikarp" and then say that that is a real stereotype and thus Magikarp plays off stereotypes, that's ridiculous.

Only a few people have ever properly complained about Pokemon being politically incorrect (you can find a list at Bulbapedia). As dogasu put it:

The problem with these "but ___ is a negative stereotype, so why haven't they been banned!?" statements is that nobody has acted on any of these. Ms. Weatherford saw a character whom she believed was a negative stereotype, and she DID something about it. She wrote a well-researched article and got it printed on a respectable news website (instead of, say, some random Pokemon fansite). Nobody's done that with, say, Lombre, which is why the character is still around today.

 

[OmegaRuby and AlphaSapphire]

@Gymnotide: @JakeCrowd: @Other various people in this topic:

Some people seem to be not getting what this topic is about. It's about stereotypes, not political correctness. Hippos are not stereotyped as blowing bubbles when they yawn. Americans do have war stereotypes.

You can't just make up a stereotype like "all goldfish look like Magikarp" and then say that that is a real stereotype and thus Magikarp plays off stereotypes, that's ridiculous.

Only a few people have ever properly complained about Pokemon being politically incorrect (you can find a list at Bulbapedia). As dogasu put it:

That whole Hippo and Goldfish stereo type was going overboard like you said. So that's why Jynx skin was change because of that lady, huh.

 

[Gymnotide]

@Gymnotide: @JakeCrowd: @Other various people in this topic:

Some people seem to be not getting what this topic is about. It's about stereotypes, not political correctness. Hippos are not stereotyped as blowing bubbles when they yawn. Americans do have war stereotypes.

You can't just make up a stereotype like "all goldfish look like Magikarp" and then say that that is a real stereotype and thus Magikarp plays off stereotypes, that's ridiculous.

Only a few people have ever properly complained about Pokemon being politically incorrect (you can find a list at Bulbapedia). As dogasu put it:

I am aware of the thread topic and I don't believe I've said anything about political correctness, only attributes to stereotypes which cause controversy.

My original standpoint is still that even though a Pokemon resembles something, doesn't mean it represents it.

As for the "make up a stereotype" of your argument -- You absolutely can. As long as there's something being attributed to another thing, anyone viewing it from any standpoint can then generalize. That's playing off the basic definition. It's still going to be a stereotype, but maybe not to you. As long as something has a special meaning or value about something else, can be construed in that way, and has a person or group who believes it to be "standard," then something in a "stereotype." Furthermore, I still have a problem with "stereotype" as a word, since it's subjective and one thing could be a stereotype to one group of people but not to another.

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EDIT

And if you want me to extrapolate, well, almost all stereotypes are generalizations. Moreover, I think it's a bit silly to debate over it, but my first example of being a hippo wasn't that yawning bubbles was the stereotype, but that Hippopotas was a stereotype for hippopotamuses in general (it very well is because it takes the form of a hippopotamus and shares its moniker as set forth into definition by human perception and taxonomy) and that the yawning bubbles was a created, but misperceived and therefore "derogatory" remark.

 

[OmegaRuby and AlphaSapphire]

Well those are some pretty silly Stereotypes we have all identified...