Jezebel 
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New York, 12:28 AM
Mon Nov 30
18 posts in the last 24 hours
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11/23/09
11/24/09
11/23/09
to defend those who were offended by will forte's accent, as a filipino-american who grew up in rural pennsylania (and who does not speak with a chinese accent), anyone -- regardless of color -- who dares talk in a contrived "asian" accent conjures up memories of my childhood i would rather forget. this, i believe, is what makes it so hurtful to an asian to hear any sort of "ching-chong," good or bad. while african-americans deal with the american history of prejudice, newly arrived asians must constantly -- and on a day to day basis -- deal with the social stigma of looking so distinguishably different, often of having different cultural priorities, and being stereotyped. even our role models have fallen into stereotypical molds. actresses of asian descent cannot fulfill roles specifically written for an asian woman without resorting to plastic surgery.
11/23/09
I don't know, I'm East Asian and I didn't find this sketch offensive. I'm generally over sensitive to racial issues but man, I can't rage about this. It was a dumb sketch for sure, but I don't think it was racist.
11/23/09
"ching chong" fake Chinese is a lot more obvious, while this imitation of Mandarin language had good imitation of the elongated "r"s and "tsu/shu"/xiu sounds.
Also Fred look the most like BO, while his voice is about as close an approximation as anyone else I've heard.
11/23/09
11/23/09
Also, Armisen's Obama impression sucks. There's so much to be mined from Obama's speaking style and verbal tics, but he barely even tries. I think this dude should be hired to play Obama:
11/23/09
11/23/09
11/23/09
I agree that SNL needs to be more diverse, but I can't get behind this straight-ethnic casting. By that logic, if they had an Asian guy in the cast, he would HAVE to play Hu and Kim Jong-Il and whoever else, and maybe he looks NOTHING like them, maybe impressions aren't his strong suit, and maybe his fake Mandarin is atrocious. I think that's kind of casting is racist too.
This kind of reminds me of that plus-sized French model who walked in (I think) a Jean-Paul Gaultier lingerie runway show, and everyone assumed that her appearance was intended as a joke, that it was supposed to contribute to a circus freak atmosphere, etc. Her response was that it didn't surprise her that they would think that, since the only high-profile images of fat people are either as sources of comedy or as headless bodies in news programs about obesity. Maybe because historically there has been so much mockery of Asians, their accents, their language, that we can't even see a portrayal of an Asian accent or impression of their language without assuming it's intended for mockery.
11/23/09
I also don't see why they couldn't bring in celebrities guests of different ethnicities for skits like this, as they often have random celebrities on the show, in addition to the host.
11/23/09
I think the guest-star would also highlight their lack of diversity, like when they brought on Maya Rudolph of all people to be Michelle Obama. Basically, a lot of these issues would be alleviated with a more diverse cast. But even if they have that cast, I hope they can get beyond tokenism and strict racial casting. As someone below said, if an Asian woman can do a kick-ass Paris Hilton, let her do it.
11/23/09
I know that turning out that much new material every week is insane. But SNL is supposed to attract the cream of the crop. With the talent pool in the entire country (and Canada), it just seems SNL could do better. I know obscure improvisers from here in Detroit who could make a smoother show, I’m sure.
11/23/09
Another note: the translator would not necessarily be ethnic Chinese. She'd be supplied by the State Department. Anyway, Nasim Pedrad is Asian. There are countries in Asia besides China, Japan, and Korea.
11/23/09
11/23/09
And President Hu does NOT give Press Conferences.
11/23/09
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11/23/09
Clearly this is hypothetical, since the SNL cast is not diverse. So let's criticize the lack of diversity and not the propriety of casting 'against race'.
11/23/09
If the humor had been pitch perfect, would we be complaining? Plenty of black comedians made fun of Bush without a problem. Is it only when someone is un-funny that we get to paint them as a racist?
11/23/09
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11/23/09
It's OK to be racist if:
you're talking to someone who agrees with you.
there aren't any "ethnic" people around.
it's supposed to be funny -- people should just lighten up!
you are a racial minority yourself -- proceed with a "It's OK for me to say this because I'm [race]" disclaimer.
you don't think there's anything wrong with being racist. (More common than one might think.)
11/23/09
If the point was to call out Obama for ripping China while at the same time ignoring the fact that the US owes China a boatload of money, there were better (and funnier) ways to illustrate that point without making the sketch all about "Asians sound funny when they're mad! Laugh riot!"
I know SNL is not the height of political correctness but c'mon, you couldn't have given a break to a couple of Asian comics? Did these guys not see Harold and Kumar Go To White Castle? Maybe Harold could have used the work! He's certainly good at playing seething outrage for laughs.
11/23/09
It's OK to be racist if:
you're using the "original" or Webster's dictionary definition of a slur, which totally isn't about race at all
it's just a movie/tv show/book
it's ironic
you're just giving your opinion, and we have a right to free speech in this country!
11/23/09
Not really. It's actually incredibly common.
It just depends on who "one" is.
People who say things like "You're just looking for racism and/or something to be upset about" don't get that people get racism fatigue because it's actually around all the time -- it's just that they're completely oblivious to its commonality because it doesn't affect them adversely.
11/24/09
Upon rereading this, it sounds really sarcastic, but I'm not, I promise.
11/23/09
To put it in terms they might understand: Really SNL? Really?
11/23/09
Also, in true SNL fashion, while I laughed at the first 'do sex to me' line (and, in all fairness, I came in a few seconds in half sober and had no idea who anyone was supposed to be except Obama), it became less and less funny with every single repeat.