July 23, 2008
Pinkberry Mandarin Citrus Juicer Sparks Outrage
Chai Park and Jin Hee Lee, a law student and a lawyer, were stuck on line at a Manhattan Pinkberry last summer when they spotted the product seen here, an Alessi “Mandarin Citrus Juicer” that the frozen yogurt chain sells at some locations. They found the designer’s characterization of Chinese men as smiling toadies whose heads are great for squeezing juice a tad offensive. Though the Korean owners of Pinkberry insist the juicer has offended "no one," according to Racked it's no longer sold at that particular location in Koreatown.
Not satisfied, Park and Lee decided to draw a line in the sand and launched a “Drop the Juicer” campaign to “eradicate all Mandarin Juicers from the planet.” They say “the ‘mandarin juicers’ are to Asians what Aunt Jemima is to African-Americans, Frito Bandito is to Latinos, and anti-Semitic caricatures are to Jewish people… The message is simple: the ‘Chinaman’ will always remain a ‘Chinaman.’” (Of couse, Chinaman is not the preferred nomenclature.) And this isn't the first Alessi product to raise eyebrows among Asian-Americans: Behold the Mr. & Mrs. Chin Salt & Pepper Set!
UPDATE: We've received an email from Weber Shanwick, a p.r. firm that does "crisis management" and claims Pinkberry as a client: "We wanted to let you know that these items are being removed from our store. We started removing them awhile ago. We understand the concerns our customers had and we always appreciate and value their feedback. They were part of an eclectic collection and we in no way ever intended to offend anyone by displaying them." When asked if by "store" they meant "stores," the rep told us that all locations have been removing the Mandarin Juicer.
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Cute!
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The world is truly coming to an end.
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I don't know if this is as offensive as Downey Jr's role in Tropic Thunder...
But if they were selling a Blackface juicer.. hoo boy.
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"They say “the ‘mandarin juicers’ are to Asians what Aunt Jemima is to African-Americans"
Probably not a great choice for that example.. since Aunt Jemima brand is still sold (yeah there was that 'makeover' 15 years ago or so, but the character still exists).
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In all fairness, Lee and Park were in my "Ethics 207: Questionably Racist Beverage Dispensers & Snack Food Cartoon Mascots" class last semester. Way to earn that extra credit guys!
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I bought a "Mr. Chin" timer. Is that weird?
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I have two adopted Korean sisters who are very into their Asian heritage, and they would both find these things adorable. As a white guy I basically can't comment on things like this without being immediately dismissed (and probably rightfully so), but I feel like there has to be some line drawn, somewhere, between "this is offensive" and "this isn't worth being offended."
I suppose the line is different for every person, but I can say that if some company created a "white stereotypes" set of juicers (perhaps a yokel in a nascar shirt, a guy in a cowboy hat shooting into the sky, and a pompous jackass driving a BMW?), I really wouldn't give a shit.
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They are cute, and I am Asian.
What's offensive are Chinese villians such as Fu Manchu and the Mandarin. China conquer the world with cheap exports, not bombastic and elaborate evil plots.
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get over yourselves.
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I'm Chinese and I always wanted one of those peasant hats. I guess I'm supposed to feel bad about that?
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Offensive white dolls aren't offensive because white people are the majority and in power.
Imagine you're a white person living in a non-white society. Imagine you are often discriminated against or called offensive names by complete strangers. *Then* you'd be offended by the white stereotype doll. There's only so much constant oppression a person can take.
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JDS with an excellent The Big Lebowski reference...I find it funny they couldn't find an example for Jewish people so they just went with "anti-Semitic caricatures"
we're turning into a country full of thin-skinned fags.
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We at Pinkberry understand the concerns regarding the Alessi juicer and we appreciate that our valued customers have shared their concerns with us. We wanted to let you know that these items are being removed from our stores. They were part of an eclectic collection and we in no way ever intended to offend anyone by displaying them.
Sincerely,
A Pinkberry representative
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Dude, the Chinaman is *not* the issue here.
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Pinkberry peed on your rug?
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Huh, where's the Lebowski ref? Can't find it.
I'm surprised we don't yet have one of those post that go "Hey assholes, you should care about [blah] and not this!"
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Ugh, dammit no. NO! FIGHT THEM!
Tell these special interest groups that claim to speak for the population that "having your easily bruised feelings coddled and protected like a precious new baby" is not a right. Grow up and laugh something off every once in a while. It's good for you.
I swear this country gets wussier by the hour.
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OK, fine, found it
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I'm offended by the stupidity of these 2 jerks ... in fact I'm going to the Alessi store to buy one. And I'm chinese...
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i forgot it's okay to make fun of asians. all those times i cried and felt empty inside was because i was thin-skinned. please tell someone who has had to TOLERATE racism and all its trappings and dressings, that they should just get over it.
those stupid things are cute, and rather impractical-looking as far as juicers go, but that's not park and lee's point.
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people are too sensitive >)
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It's the new United Colors of Alessi campaign. Italian designers can be playful with race stereotypes because Italy is such a multicultural paradise.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/the-picture-that-shames-italy-873743.html
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@ interlard
You make a good point that I certainly respect but...
Liam and me, we're gonna fuck you up.
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Actually, it was over a year ago that they started their campaign. Good sleuthing skills.
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@interlard
"There's only so much constant oppression a person can take."
Constant oppression? Seriously? Did Big Whitey commission a brand new cross-continental railroad all of a sudden?
There's definitely racism directed at Asians, but let's not go nuts. The kind of nuts where a juicer intended to be a sweet and cute design counts as a racist attack proliferating the constant subjugation of an entire race.
No one here is saying racism is okay. All I'm saying is that sometimes, people need to roll with a punch. You can't spend your entire life outraged at silliness.
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that's what some of us used to look like
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The difficult part is drawing a line at the proper point. It is better to err on the side of caution and get these things off the market before the line is drawn at, say, a Panda ad with a Panda speaking english in a chinese accent.
The proper way to view this is to replace the juicer image with a black face and a big nose and big lips and determine whether that's offensive. (I find this change of circumstance to be offensive, and I'm not even black!)
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I have an asian friend who says this is okay so it's alright. I also have a black friend who says it's okay for me to call him "N*gger" so that's also alright. see how that logic makes sense?
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I have an asian friend who says this is okay so it's alright. I also have a black friend who says it's okay for me to call him "N*gger" so that's also alright. see how that logic makes sense?
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sinisterteashop: zing! I give you a gold star.
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there has never been any great outrage against racism directed towards asians. it's always been allowed in one form or another, and we've always been expected to take it no matter the degree of offensiveness. the moment anyone speaks up for asians, they're accused of being oversensitive and p.c.
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lol, babyH. My black friend hates blacks. So I guess it's okay to hate blacks.
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gotta love white washed asians who want to appeal to the ignorant american masses.
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Can't wash yellow.
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This is completely absurd. Alessi is a company that is known for letting artists go crazy and create products that are little pieces of art that they can have in their homes. It may be mass produced, but it's art, and this is far from racist. Everyone needs to leave the crusade at the door and take it down a notch.
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Like I told you guys before. Asians are like the Robear-berbils on Thundercats. The mutants are always picking on them and the caucasian thundercats have to save their asses all the time.
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People need to start getting over their themselves. If you don't like it then don't buy it. I might have to go buy one now.
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hahaha I've seen fake versions of these juicers at the Xujiahui subway station in Shanghai.
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Seriously. Asian cultures, whether Chinese, Japanese, Korean, etc, are some of the most racist and xenophobic in the world. And not just towards non-Asians, even amongst themselves. My Korean buddy told me that the word for Chinese people in Korean translates to English as "dirt people." So please, all you whiners, STFU.
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SP must be white.
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didn't the japs try to exterminate the gooks?
japs or nips=japanese gooks=koreans
I'm sure you guys have more terms for them, some can even mix and match. such a wonderful dynamic language we have.
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I'm offended by Alessi's poor design. People shoudln't buy the stuff because they are sucky industrial designers. I have salt and pepper shakers from them and the S&P *falls out* when put on their holders.
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Yup. Do you have a point?
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SP, I think GOP's point is you're a white asshole using "your korean buddy" to justify your own prejudices. But that's just my interpretation.
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They are terrifying and guaranteed, I will have nightmares about these juicers coming at me. Thanks, Gothamist.
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Yeah, and anyone who knows some old-school Koreans knows that they are NEVER racist. Except against the Chinese, Japanese, etc...
Geez, these two need to grow a spine!
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SP is right about other cultures often being no enlightened liberals. and it's not bigotry to point it out, it's for a better world. notice how GOP needed to make it an racist anti-white issue.
i think the main issue about this product design is the eye shape. are these two guys gonna take on disney for the mushrooms in fantasia? for all we know that eye design might have been originated by one asian culture to mock a rival asian culture a thousand years ago.
humans are very sensitive to facial features in drawings of faces (mullah: "that's not my nose"). overreaction and underreaction in relation to the moving target of social balance will never end, we can only hope that the battles stay within reason in terms of money, power, and violence.
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I think it's a bit racist to bring up the racism of the home countries of the complainants. Are all Chinese accountable for the backwards opinions of people in China? No, just like all white people are not racists because some white people are racist. You people bitching about people bitching about racism need to get a grip, maybe you should ask yourself why you're so offended by their being offended.
Also, this clearly isn't a race issue but a lawyer issue.
@dm10003: Do you remember this image from Fantasia?
http://www.triptronix.net/ishbadiddle/images/sunflower1.jpg
Suckas.
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fantasia? you mean a film made by walt disney, the walt disney, who's a bigot, anti semite and white supremest? made during the time BEFORE the civil rights movement?
and it sucked. the only part people remember was mickey mouse and the brooms.
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My Ecuadorian mother and grandmother, and all my Ecuadorian relatives LOVED the Frito Bandito! He made us laugh, and we all used to do imitations of him and giggle away.
I always wondered what ever happened to him! So, political correctness killed the Frito Bandito? All we have to say to that is: ¡Caramba!
That said, I was at Pinkberry on 71st street the other day and wondered how long those citrus squeezing fellas would last.
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How exactly does pointing out cultural hypocrisy make me a racist, you fucking moron?
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(I just realized, however, that not all Hispanics are alike -- so maybe the Frito Bandito made fun of Mexicans and not Ecuadorians? Which would mean my Ecuadorian family was laughing about a Mexican stereotype -- which was not nice of us, so we apologize for that! -- and not a "hispanic" stereotype encompassing all hispanics. Hey! That also means Park and Lee are grouping all Hispanics into one little bandito! Shame on them!)
What do they have to say for themselves now?
PS - my mexican friend Milly liked the Frito Bandito just as much, though.