4.22.2008

super don vs. import man


Okay. It's racist garbage like the commercial above that continually remind me about what's wrong with this country, and how far we still have to go when it comes to basic, everyday understanding of each other, and the proliferation of racist crap. It's one of those cheaply-made local commercials for South Oak Dodge, a car dealership in Matteson, Illinois, and it's... I can't describe it. Just watch it. You'll see what I mean.

Where do people come up with stuff? It's a few months old (it was added to YouTube last December), I think. But damn, this thing actually aired on television. Yes, that's a white dude in a sumo suit, rocking the incomprehensible, faux-Japanese growl. And then SuperDon comes along and kicks his ass (all the way back to Japan, presumably). Buy American, and kick the foreigner's ass! Selling cars, and creating anti-Asian sentiment at the same time. Awesome. That's racist!

UPDATE: According to Elaine Low of the Japanese American Citizens League, FOX Chicago (the main network airing the Import Man commercials) met with members of the JACL, the Asian American Institute, and the Organization of Chinese Americans, and have since pulled the ad after the groups relayed the community's negative response to it. The JACL and AAI also plan to meet with FOX Chicago's staff in the near future to continue the dialog on media portrayals of Asian Americans.

angry archive