They certainly rely heavily on stereotypes for their characterization and I will concede that they can be read as racial caricatures, but they can also be interpreted as generic thugs. Nothing about them definitely ties them to any race in my eyes.

No matter how you see them, I don't think anyone involved in the making of the movie actively set out to create racist characters.

 

Well, I guess I'll need to ask what you consider racist. Would you say a white person wearing black face and "acting black" would be considered racist?

 

People are trying to have a discussion. I don't know why you and a few others feel the need to come in here and do this kind of thing. If you can't bring something substantial to the discussion, then why not just click back on your browser and go on with your day?

 

Sense I am close to being completely banned and I don't wanna prove this other edge lord on here right and let it happen. I am just gonna stray from conversations like this and stick to toy and show discussions not relating to political stuff.

 

No.

Just leaving it at that. Too lazy to say anything else.

 

From what I recall Reno Wilson came up with Mudflap's voice on his own and Tom Kenny just bounced off it with his own impression. The only places where I find the Twins really delved into dangerous territory was Tom Kenny's portrayal of Skids, plus the fucked up "we don't read" line, which I can't believe got through the censors without someone pointing out what a bad idea that'd be to leave it in the movie. Even then I really can't imagine Kenny doing the impression without consulting Wilson first.

 

I remember once ROTF trailers started popping up that featured Skids' dialogue, people were expecting "Larry the Cable Bots" instead of this

 

You got all that from my 2 emoticons huh?
Additionally, I am within forum rules to post "this kind of thing" or else it wouldn't be available for use.

The topic of this thread is a highly sensitive and repetitive  subject. So If you can't take some form of resistance, take your own advice.  

 

Well, yeah. You posted a beating the dead horse emoticon and I don't really know what that other one was supposed to mean, but there was really no reason to post that other than to get a rise out of people. I didn't say you couldn't do what you did.

And the last thread was locked, so it's not repetitive to everyone. Besides, it was going pretty well for the most part (except for that comment that was deleted). And my advice didn't have anything to do with not being able to take resistance, so I don't know what you're talking about there. Let's just keep this civil, please. I'll do my best as well.

 

You seem like a cool person, so I'll just leave it at that and refrain from posting here.

 

while i agree the twins do have bay's humor in mind (juvenile & quirky) id have to disagree with the last few sentences...id invite you to watch all of bay's films & you will come up with a number of positive examples for women & blacks..i mean, the guy's first movie was bad boys with martin lawrence, will smith, & tea leoni as the main protagonists..

 

Putting black people in main roles does not necessarily mean he doesn't have racist tendencies. The way most people of color in his films are written usually make them very stereotypical. I have not seen all of his films, but I will tell you that when black people are on the screen, there's usually some dialogue or behavior that lets you know "hey that's a black guy there!".

Racism does not always manifest itself in obvious examples, like saying the n-word. If you haven't already, watch the film "Get Out". It's absolutely fantastic and it highlights those minor forms of racism that many people don't realize they are doing.

And just to make this clear, just because a person isn't offended by something, doesn't mean it's not racist. I mean, I'm not really offended by the Twins, why should I be? I'm not black. But I can recognize why it's racist even if it doesn't apply to me. I even know black people who aren't offended by the n-word, so is not racist then?

So are the Twins a negative, offensive stereotype of black people? Yes.

Do people find their characters funny and interesting? Yes.

Does it make someone a racist for liking the characters? No.

 

If you think the twins can only be stereotypes of black people other than cultural stereotypes it probably says something about you. Play Revenge of the Fallen to somebody from Ethiopia and I would be willing to bet that they don't immediately jump on racist stereotypes.

 

have yet to see get out but ive heard good things

idk what to tell you brother..this isnt really a reply to what i was saying..ive already answered everything you bring up in previous posts of mine...& while i do not know bay personally, i havent seen anything in his work that leads me to believe he is some kind of racist or sexist...so in short what we both agree on is the twins coulda been better handled...if you find them racist, that's ok...if you don't, that is also ok...at the end of the day they really arent worth all the trouble...in my head canon the sacrifice they made to protect bee & co. was well worth some of the cringe in 2 (& those new alt modes in dotm were beautiful in my opinion!)

 

That's because people from Ethiopia probably don't understand the racist tropes for black people in America. I really don't understand this argument, because I'm not projecting my racism onto the Twins just because I can recognize those stereotypes. Seriously, their dialogue, their facial features, their behavior are all stereotypes of urban American black people, and if you don't see that, then I guess there is nothing I can do to convince you.

 

Well, half of that response was not really directed towards you, sorry. But the question was asked, so it was answered. Its not a matter of whether it's worth the trouble or not, just answering the question is all. Anyway, again, it's not a matter of opinion. If you don't think it's racist, that's fine, I guess... But it doesn't mean it isn't.

 

no apology necessary, i am enjoying this & you are not being rude at all..its just a tough subject to talk about without talking about some uncomfortable stuff so, its understandable..

see now here's the thing...the twins very well may be a caricature of some urban american black people...now we can ignore them completely (which is kind of racist i guess) or we can include them as they are...not every representation of blacks has to make them look like saints & the same goes for any other race, you know? it's a touchy subject i get it but they already kind of explained why the transformers act the way they do multiple times...is it so unbelievable that the twins clung to that culture much like drift did to samurai or hound to an american vietnam solider? you know what im saying? its kind of damned if you do, damned if you don't in a sense.

personally, i never looked at them as representing all blacks but rather i recognized that there are some people who act that way & some of them are black..i dont think that's racist really...but like i said, i always projected bumblebee as 'black' & he did not act like the twins at all, nor did jazz..i always viewed the twins as teens of sorts..or at least younger than the other bots & they were trying to act what they thought was 'cool'

i totally get the complaints but that doesn't mean i necessarily have to agree with them & likewise for those who see otherwise