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mungeeman
Reviews
Crashing (2016)
Disappointed by the racism - spoiler alert
In a world where current events show people of colour fighting to be treated with dignity and equality, it is somewhat disappointing to see Phoebe Waller Bridge resort to Indian accent mocking. While there is some attempt to deconstruct WHY it might be racist, and the presence of a South Asian in the cast is used to make the blows land softer, I think white actors, actresses and writers don't come close enough to justifying why they need to do this.
No one who speaks in that accent is represented in the show. All we have is British people, who represent an empire that killed millions of Indians, mocking an accent that is only considered funny in the first place because it is different from theirs. All done while culturally appropriating 'curry'. This is something the British should have kicked off years ago - but sadly some in the film industry feel it can still be milked for comedic effect.
I have nothing but the highest respect for what the UK is trying to achieve as a culture. But this isn't the right way forward - and it is genuinely demeaning. Which is a shame because the show itself wasn't too bad till it decided to mock people who will never 'get the joke.' Phoebe Waller-Bridge - I believe you can do better than trying to justify racism.
Pacific Heat (2016)
Australians making fun of OTHER accents? Now that's a laugh!
This show is terrible. Full disclosure, i am not white, but at the same time I can take a well crafted race joke that doesn't knock people down. Archer (the series to which this show is most compared to) manages to be clever, dumb in all the right ways, insightful and also just plain funny. You are never in doubt as to whether it is satire or not.
Pacific heat is TIRED and unfunny. The jokes fall flat about 75 percent of the time, and when they do work, they are voiced without any feeling whatsoever.
I had to laugh though when Australians, who you know, pretty much mangle English such that most of us can't understand them, have to make up entire bouts of foreign language to make non-white characters sound even more stupid and foreign. If that sounds offensive to you, then you've hit the nail on the head. The show is so unaware of its own ridiculousness that it's the only thing worth laughing at.
Watch it if you have the stomach for it - but it's dated, ignorant, racist and a product of a feeble mind. None of which makes me angry, just sorry for people that have to think at that level.