Was 'Breakfast at Tiffany's' a racist movie?
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- TravG73
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Asian American activists think so, and Sacramento Vice Mayor Steve Cohn agrees – he plans to bleep out offensive scenes when he shows the film in his district Saturday.
Thursday, Cohn publicly apologized to Sacramento's Asian American community and the rest of the citizenry for including the film in his Screen on the Green free movie series.
"We were unaware of this racist content," he said.
In the movie, Mickey Rooney plays Mr. Yunioshi, the bumbling, cantankerous upstairs neighbor of Audrey Hepburn's character, country girl turned socialite Holly Golightly.
Rooney's character "conjures all the requisite 'Jap' stereotypes: grotesque buckteeth, thick-rimmed glasses, unforgivable 'Asian' accent," wrote Dr. Christina Fa of San Francisco-based Asian American Media Watch in a letter to Cohn.
Fa, a longtime Sacramento resident, called the film "arguably the most racist anti-Asian film in American cinematic history" and asked it be canceled. The movie won two Academy Awards for its music.
CAPITAL (Council of Asian Pacific Islanders Together for Advocacy and Leadership), an umbrella group for more than 90 local organizations, joined Fa in asking Cohn and the rest of the City Council not to show a film that perpetuates "offensive, derogatory and hateful racial stereotypes detrimental and destructive to our society."
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oetv
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People have completely removed the racist scenes from their minds. Its a common film disorder called, "Breakfast at Tiffany's Syndrome" - which is addressed in the attached video.
However, removing these scenes completely is a mistake.
- 1 year ago
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oetv
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dave_henry
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The short answer is "No, it's not".
The longer answer is the debate around whether the question should be asked in the first place. Should everything from the past be censored based on our current thinking. Maybe we shouldn't teach or talk about the history of slavery as that was clearly racist.
The purpose of this type of group is to ensure that racism is not happening now - I absolutely agree with ashley32, the likes of White Chicks and Dumbo should be pulled from the shelves immediately if we take the stance of Christina Fa. What value is there in using today's social and moral standpoints to criticise a movie made over 40 years ago at a very different time in history.
The key thing is did the film makers set out to be racist. The simple answer is no. It's a funny turn by Mickey Rooney, nothing more nothing less. Should we ban Tropic Thunder, after all that has an American actor cast as an Aussie. And don't get me started on the stereotypical US accent Hugh Laurie puts on in his role as House.
Breakfast at Tiffanys is an iconic movie classic. It doesn't deserve to be villified by the likes of CAPITAL nor should it be. Personally I believe that many of these groups do not stand for the majority of those they claim to be supporting. Furthermore I think at times they can be intellectually snobby. Does CAPITAL think the average US citizen cannot view the movie as a reflection of it's time and recognise that we as a society have moved on.
- 2 years ago
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dave_henry
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ashley32
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If "Breakfast at Tiffany's", which is a beautiful movie, was racist then everyone really needs to re evaluate what movies are racist. What movie does not have some sort of stereotypical thing in them. How about "White Chicks", that whole movie should be bleeped if "Breakfast at Tiffany's is going to be bleeped. Or how about we bleep the crab in "The Little Mermaid" that just so happens to have a Jamaican voice and sings about how they should stay under the sea so they don't have to work at all, sounds like disney thinks all Jamaicans are lazy. Or how about we bleep the jive talking crows that cant speak proper english in "dumbo". I mean come on people everyone says or does something that is prejudice so don't get your panties in a bunch when its on the silver screen for everyone to see. People everywhere do not need to take the few scenes in "Breakfast at Tiffanys" that may be stereotypical seriously. "Breakfast at Tiffany's" is a beautiful movie and should not be ridiculed for a few scenes that are really funny in my eyes.
- 3 years ago
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ashley32
