Possible Racism? (Bobby Ologun on The Housou wo Soshi Seyo)

I wondered if anyone saw this programme The Housou wo Soshi Seyo (ザ・放送ヲ阻止セヨ) on TBS 9th January.

The only reason I'm curious is that there was a suggeston that the presenter Imai Koji made a racist comment regarding Bobby ologun's interest in the Stock Exchange by saying “I just found it funny that you were doing stocks. I thought you only eat bananas and harvest corn.”

Full article here: http://www.japaninc.com/node/2858

If anyone has a copy, please upload it as it'd be interesting to see exactly what he said and what context!

Cheers,

Colaar

Posted: Wed Jan 23, 2008 4:11 am Post subject: Post Rating: 0

colaar, i hope you don't mind, but i edited your title slightly to give the benefit of the doubt. hopefully, the new title can invoke a discussion, rather than a fight.

Posted: Wed Jan 23, 2008 5:24 am Post subject: Post Rating: 0

To be perfectly honest, it probably wasn't intended to be racist, but yeah, I agree that it can definitely be construed as such.
I'm not condoning the comment, but there are a couple things that might be considered as "context":
1. In homogenous societies, oftentimes, they are just completely clueless as to what racism is.
2. Japanese comedians often make jokes that can be pretty offensive in general... ^_^;;;;
3. Bobby Ologun has cultivated his variety persona (character) to be a bit of an ignorant country bumpkin who happens to be from Nigeria. Look in contrast to his younger brother Andy who brings himself off as calm, level-headed, and intelligent.

here · Posted: Wed Jan 23, 2008 5:39 am Post subject: Post Rating: 0

^I would add that while such a comment would never be considered appropriate in the politically correct US, I doubt the average Americans' view of Africa and Africans is that far removed from Imada Kouji's. The only time any of us hear anything about Africa is in the news, and it's about civil war, apartheid, AIDS, natural disaster, or some other negative image.

EDIT (accidentally pressed save):
If you ask me what are the first things that pop into my head when I think of "Kenya":
1. the savanna
2. the Masai
3. fast, fast people who win every damn marathon

I mean, whose fault is that? Can you blame the person if those are the images that pop up first? Or do you blame the media whose only coverage of Africa and Africans is the nature shows on PBS?

Ask people in Japan what they think of when they think of Africa, they'll probably come up with similar answers (nature, tribal culture, or some famous African person in Japan, like Bobby).

Posted: Wed Jan 23, 2008 10:51 am Post subject: Post Rating: 0

@ jholic, thanks. Sorry about that.

@ mizune. I agree with your first point and add that most people who say these kinds of things in Japan aren't bing vindictive but just generally ignorant. I guess I'm lucky to have lived in many countries with lots of people from different parts of the world. It certainly educates you that people are individuals and not a stereotype. And (re point 2) Japanese comedy is all about put downs - but did he need to go that far? (re point 3) I find Bobby Ologun's character extremely offensive. He is doing African people no favours. It is plain to me that he is only interested in making fast cash and not care about the damage he is causing.

@ quashio. People need to be educated differently. TV News focuses too much on what people *want* to see. They much rather show starvation in Africa than show some festivities there. Perhaps more people need to look for themselves...

Posted: Thu Jan 24, 2008 3:19 am Post subject: Post Rating: 0

Racism (especially against Africans/African-Americans) is a touchy, touchy subject in western countries such as the U.S. mainly because of a history of injustice towards various racial groups, and simply because of the large racial diversity. Japan has no such history and no such diversity, so they are not as sensitive to racism in general.

I also agree with mizune in that Japanese humor is often very harsh and insulting. I have seen many instances of Japanese comedy that would be considered crude and distasteful here (I live in the U.S.) on TV. Imada Koji's comment would just be one of many. However, it sticks out to us, because we have been made sensitive towards those kind of remarks. To the average Japanese viewer though, it's just another insult thrown in the name of comedy.

I guess my point is that there are plenty of examples of prejudice on Japanese TV, racism is just one. The issue isn't whether or not a Japanese comedian went too far, but the fact that viewers laughed at him, without giving it a second thought.

Please understand that I am not supporting his comment, just elaborating on some points I agree with. I just don't think we can complain about racism on Japanese TV without questioning Japanese Media and its influence as a whole.

As the wise man once said, don't hate the player, hate the game.

PS I know this post is too long already but i just thought of something interesting to think about: the repercussions probably would have been greater if a Japanese comedian made a racist remark towards a Chinese or a Korean.