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South Korean Cartoonists Cry Foul Over Edgy Simpsons Intro
theodp writes "When asked to animate a dark commentary about labor practices in Asia's cartoon industry — the edgy title sequence for the Simpsons' episode 'MoneyBART' — staff from the South Korean production company Akom raised a rare protest. Even after being toned down, the sequence created by British graffiti artist Banksy depicted a dungeon-like complex where droning Asian animators worked in sweatshops, rats scurried around with human bones, kittens were spliced up into Bart Simpson dolls, and a gaunt unicorn punched holes into DVDs. The satire, Akom founder and president Nelson Shin argued, gave the impression that Asian artists slave away in subpar sweatshops when they actually animate much of The Simpsons every week in high-tech workshops in downtown Seoul. Still, South Korean animators make one-third the salaries of their American counterparts, and Shin declined to comment on the full extent of the work his company has outsourced to SEK, a state-run animation studio of North Korea. Some argue that the Banksy sequence's gray and forlorn atmosphere more accurately depicts the sweatshop-like conditions in North Korea."
Nobody actually thought they were using unicorns to make DVDs.
Shin was disappointed. The satire, he and other animators have since argued, gave the impression that Asian artists slave away in subpar sweatshops when, in fact, they animate much of The Simpsons every week in high-tech workshops in downtown Seoul. "Most of the content was about degrading people from Korea, China, Mexico and Vietnam," Shin fumed. "If Banksy wants to criticize these things ... I suggest that he learn more about it first."
Perhaps Shin should learn more about the First World, and what it knows about those countries. It isn't good.
Besides, if Banksy went to do his research, he'd get endless varieties of the same Potemkin Village. Not the actual conditions that Shin is wrong about on the large scale..
Twitter supports and protects racists - by smearing their critics with the "Hate Speech" label.
Sounds to me less insult and more comedic hyperbole. Not an attempt to depict
Can we stop comparing wages based on actual dollar figures, and compare based on standard of living (or something else)?
I make 25% less as a System Administrator in a small remote town than were I working in downtown Toronto.
But my house costs $200,000 as opposed to $1,000,000 for a house or condo in Toronto. Do I bitch that I don't make the same wage? No, because overall I I have the same standard of living / quality of life as everyone else (even better, I have a place to park!).
Yes, food costs about the same (maybe 3% less), cars cost the same, etc, but when a good 40% of what I spent my income on (house, property taxes) is far less, it works.
A job maybe? Oh, you still have yours, do not worry, we will ship it to asia befeore you know it.
I agree with the second part completely.
RIP America
July 4, 1776 - September 11, 2001
Even if North Korea reunited under South Korean rule, like German reunification, it would make the economic woes of German reunification seem insignificant. We're talking about a broke country, a complete basket case of an economy, a country that has lived under six decades of centralized tyranny. I wonder how many South Koreans would want to take on that burden. I know there are lot of West Germans who were, within a few years, a lot less enthusiastic about Reunification.
But I have my doubts that we'll see the two Koreas joined any time soon. North Korea has mastered a pretty good strategy using its on-again-off-again nuclear program to extort needed aid from South Korea and other nations, and as long as everyone keeps throwing it life lines, it basically underwrites the Kim Dynasty and the Generals that support it.
The world's burning. Moped Jesus spotted on I50. Details at 11.
That's the thing about the corporate system that many people fail to realize. It's very easy to get a corporation to change what they're doing if there's a coordinated effort by consumers to choose not to buy from a certain manufacturer until practices are changed.
That's the thing about the corporate system that corporate apologists people fail to realize. It's almost impossible to get a coordinated effort by consumers because the corporations have so more damn money than individuals, and can drown out any opposition to their pracices.
Apparently Americans have been liking it for the past 20+ years.
How would you like it if your job, country and culture was stereotyped into the guilt-ridden nonsense that The Simpsons aired?
I'm an American. I read about how I'm fat, arrogant, ignorant, overworked, and lazy every day. I don't even get the benefit of any of those stereotypes being that I use an old haggard unicorn to bring me my beer. I'm not very sympathetic on this one.
"I like to lick butts!" by MobileTatsu-NJG (#32700246) (Score:5, Informative)
You're right. I mean they get every single detail of American society exactly right, from the fat, lazy balding guy who loses his job every week and spends every night in a bar, to the town that has the tallest mountain in the world, a gorge comparable to the grand canyon, frozen winters, a vast desert, picturesque beaches, is landlocked, and so forth. Yet somehow, they manage to get the state of Korean technology wrong. Go figure.
If you are not allowed to question your government then the government has answered your question.
Many people in this thread are quick to decry the intro. But have they actually watched it? Take a look.
The conditions depicted are atrocious. Ridiculously so. It's clearly a joke. I mean, a unicorn being used to punch holes in DVDs? Kittens tossed into a wood chipper to make filler for toys? The terrible conditions are so over-the-top that it's pretty clearly not meant to represent reality. One could view it as social commentary regarding poor working conditions in Asian sweat-shots. Or, one could view it as commentary on the ridiculous notions that well-meaning, but ultimately uninformed, westerners develop in their heads about working conditions in Asian.
It seems to me that the satire is meant to insult at many levels (this is typical for The Simpsons, which tries to make fun of as many different people as possible). The intro is making fun of FOX for using cheap overseas labor. It's drawing attention to the comparatively worse working conditions in those outsourced labor markets. And it's making fun of people's erroneous/exaggerated notions of how bad those labor conditions actually are. And it's just trying to be silly with ridiculous depictions of misery. It's comedy, after all.
You may not think it's particularly funny. But after watching it, it should be pretty clear how absurd they were intentionally being.
You know what?
You wouldn't have batted an eyelash if he had used the same exact depictions but it was supposed to be taking place at a Walmart in Lubbock, not somewhere in Asia.
Why? The difference is that if placed in Walmart in Lubbock, it would have clearly been meant to have been judged as satire and not as a depiction of reality.
Whereas when placed in Asia, it is clearly meant to be judged as satire and not an actual depiction of reality - but the satire is missed by those blinded by a defensive reflex to whine about anything related to a place they have feelings of insecurity, self-consciousness, nationalism or racial pride in.
(Actually in the Lubbock example there would be a few whining idiots from TX complaining that "Lubbock isn't really like that!" but we've learned not give people like that the time of day.
This space available.
I think in the Australia episode (somewhere in the first couple of seasons?) the subject of ridicule wasn't so much Australia as it was stereotypical American views of Australia.
Jesus was all right but his disciples were thick and ordinary. -John Lennon
It is, every week...
I'm trying to teach myself to set people on fire with my mind... Is it hot in here?
How would you like it if your job, country and culture was stereotyped into the guilt-ridden nonsense that The Simpsons aired?
I'm Russian. I think it would be hilarious.
That survey is based on costs for American expatriates. Completely irrelevant for a local cost-of-living comparison.
Plus things get a lot cheaper being that close to China and SE Asia. Electronics in Korea can easily cost half of what they do in the west.
Paying 1/3 in wages means you cut 2/3 of the cost of keeping someone in store to sell something or to move it. The cost of manpower accounts for quite a bit of prices in the west.
Calling someone a "hater" only means you can not rationally rebut their argument.