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The Big [Censored] Theory

(pudding.cool)
1444 points feross | 1 comments | 29 Aug 22 17:34 UTC | HN request time: 0.211s | source
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lwansbrough ◴[29 Aug 22 19:05 UTC] No.32642164[source]▶
Interesting to see what passes for a joke on The Big Bang Theory. I knew the show was bad but wow. Perhaps just as surprising is the author's suggestion that a xenophobic remark about a Chinese restaurant is "harmless". I'm not even particularly sensitive when it comes to race relations, but that's just such a negative stereotype it's hard to ignore.

I despise Chinese censorship, but I would support the Chinese government blocking The Big Bang Theory purely on the grounds that it stinks.

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concordDance ◴[29 Aug 22 20:53 UTC] No.32643423[source]▶
> xenophobic

It's interesting how politically charged words mutate over time.

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lwansbrough ◴[30 Aug 22 02:03 UTC] No.32645851[source]▶
Xenophobia is about prejudice. The joke in question relies on underlying prejudice towards the image of Chinese restaurants in America in order for the joke to land.

If you don’t understand the stereotype of Chinese restaurants the joke wouldn’t be funny to you.

Is it bad or legitimately harmful to perpetuate those types of stereotypes? Probably not. But I don’t think the quality of the joke makes up for it in this case.

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1. int_19h ◴[30 Aug 22 23:24 UTC] No.32656464[source]▶
FWIW the notion of unscrupulous food vendors serving dog/cat meat is pretty common in other cultures, and it doesn't exclusively apply to Chinese restaurants. I've heard it in just about any context where meat is served.

To give a specific example, there's an old Soviet joke about a guy buying meat pierogi from a street vendor; after closely inspecting them, he asks: "So, did this meat bark or meow?", to which the seller replies, "Neither; it asked too many questions."