Transformers 2 using stereotypes? Are we really that surprised?
This isn’t a review for the newest Transformers movie. This is only a response to the media blaming the new movie for being racist.
I happen to love hearing the media bash Michael Bay’s newest shitpile Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. Apparently there are a couple of robot characters whose portrayals come off as a bit racially insensitive. The characters Mudlfap and Skids are poorly educated wannabe gangsters that spew ebonics, resemble apes, and set back the black population a couple hundred years all the while sporting some bling. But really, should we be surprised that the best things Michael Bay and crew can come up with are stereotypes? None of the transformers were fully developed as characters in the first film, such as Ratchet who was the medic, and he performed all the operations on other transformers…and that’s as deep as the character gets. All the transformers had their own special gimmick, and that’s how they were identified, no character development was used for them, instead all the character development was used for the human characters…because you know, that’s exactly what I want to see when I watch a TRANSFORMERS movie…I want to see what all the humans are doing.
Every Transformer in the first film was interchangeable (and no I don’t mean that they could change shape, I mean that anyone of them could have been replaced with any other gimmicky robot and it wouldn’t have made a lick of difference) but the only reason that any viewer could identify with them was because they were already connected to the old animated show. Fans of the old show already have a reinforced idea of what to expect from a certain autobot or decepticon, but people who aren’t familiar of the old show are left with the film’s portrayals which I have already stated isn’t much to work with. The Transformers' purpose in these live-action movies is to carpile on top of each other for the sake of very expensive CGI exploding fight scenes. And millions of people in movie theaters go “Oooh” “AAaawwweee” as if they are attending a fireworks show. I’m glad that’s all it takes to entertain millions of people.
So, the second film has stereotypical autobots. What I have learned in a mass media class, stereotypes are used when there isn’t enough time to fully develop characters, and they allow audience members to quickly time relate to the characters. Some audience members will like them, and some won’t…it’s a love it or hate it situation. But where has all the time gone in the Transformers movies? It went to Shia LaBeouf’s on screen time and to all the action sequences. So then all the easily impressed morons who watch these films can go gloat to all their friends and everyone else that the Transformers movies were so awesome with their explosions and high rendered special effects and funny talking black robots.
Bottom line what I’m trying to say is the racial insensitivity felt by many caused by the Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen is a result of poor and lazy writing, but it doesn’t matter because CGI will buy millions of people off once again. And that’s what offends me. I mean honestly, who gives a shit about well developed writing anyway when you can have a bunch of shape shifting vehicles dry humping each other in what are suppose to be action scenes?
As for you people pulling the race card, just keep in mind that I don’t think the people responsible for this film were purposely trying to make a racially insensitive movie. This is what happens when a bunch of idiots try to be funny, and it turns out they end up being more offensive than funny. The result is awkward and uncomfortable for both the joke tellers and those receiving the joke. We’ve all been that person who tells a stupid joke for the sake of being funny, but it turns out the joke is rather tasteless. Just remember how much of a dumbass you felt like at that moment, and amplify that by ten and you can imagine how Michael Bay feels…all the time. Just keep that in mind…Michael Bay is a royal dumbass. Now good day.
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