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On the Origin of Species: Jynx (view source)
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tagline=Investigating the inspirations behind Pokémon | | tagline=Investigating the inspirations behind Pokémon | | ||
blurb=In a Massive Controversy Special, we take a look at Jynx, the Humanshape Pokémon. }} | blurb=In a Massive Controversy Special, we take a look at Jynx, the Humanshape Pokémon. }} | ||
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Pokémon, like any large franchise, has attracted its share of controversies. Some have been based largely in fact, like {{bp|EP038|the seizures triggered by rapid flashes in an early episode of the anime}}. Some are based on opinion, like the argument that the games promote animal cruelty. And then there are the more... fringe objections to the series, consisting mostly of claims that Pokémon promotes Satanism, or Zionism, or Communism (I made that last one up, but I'm quite sure that there's a website ''somewhere'' putting forward that case). One of the biggest scandals of the series' history involves the design of Jynx, the Humanshape Pokémon. | Pokémon, like any large franchise, has attracted its share of controversies. Some have been based largely in fact, like {{bp|EP038|the seizures triggered by rapid flashes in an early episode of the anime}}. Some are based on opinion, like the argument that the games promote animal cruelty. And then there are the more... fringe objections to the series, consisting mostly of claims that Pokémon promotes Satanism, or Zionism, or Communism (I made that last one up, but I'm quite sure that there's a website ''somewhere'' putting forward that case). One of the biggest scandals of the series' history involves the design of Jynx, the Humanshape Pokémon. | ||
[[File: | [[File:124Jynx RB.png|200px|left|thumb|The original Jynx]]In 2000, the US cultural critic {{wp|Carole Boston Weatherford}} published an article entitled ''Politically Incorrect Pokémon'', in which she argued that: ''"The character Jynx, Pokémon #124, has decidedly human features: jet-black skin, huge pink lips, gaping eyes, a straight blonde mane and a full figure, complete with cleavage and wiggly hips. Put another way, Jynx resembles an overweight drag queen incarnation of Little Black Sambo, a racist stereotype from a children's book long ago purged from libraries."'' This wouldn't have been the first time that a {{wp|blackface}}-style character had shown up in a Japanese series: ''{{wp|Dragon Ball}}'''s Mr. Popo was another example cited by Weatherford. This article had significant repercussions within the Pokémon franchise, not least of which was the alteration of Jynx's skin to purple instead of black. | ||
So, is Jynx based on a racist stereotype? If not, what else has contributed to her design? There's no short answer to either of those questions, because Jynx most likely has no single specific origin. There are many things that ''may'' have contributed to her design to various degrees, and I'll be taking a look at each of them in turn. | So, is Jynx based on a racist stereotype? If not, what else has contributed to her design? There's no short answer to either of those questions, because Jynx most likely has no single specific origin. There are many things that ''may'' have contributed to her design to various degrees, and I'll be taking a look at each of them in turn. | ||
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It wasn't until the {{wp|African-American Civil Rights Movement (1955–1968)|Civil Rights}} era that blackface minstrel shows began to fall from favor in the US. In the UK, which didn't have a sizable black population until the post-war era, blackface minstrel shows clung on even longer. It wasn't uncommon for comedians to black up as late as the seventies, and the BBC broadcast ''{{wp|The Black and White Minstrel Show}}'' for twenty years, finally ending it in 1978 (astonishingly, it continued as a touring stage show for nearly ten years after that). | It wasn't until the {{wp|African-American Civil Rights Movement (1955–1968)|Civil Rights}} era that blackface minstrel shows began to fall from favor in the US. In the UK, which didn't have a sizable black population until the post-war era, blackface minstrel shows clung on even longer. It wasn't uncommon for comedians to black up as late as the seventies, and the BBC broadcast ''{{wp|The Black and White Minstrel Show}}'' for twenty years, finally ending it in 1978 (astonishingly, it continued as a touring stage show for nearly ten years after that). | ||
[[File:Mrpopo.png|200px|left|thumb|Mr. Popo of ''Dragon Ball'']]And what of Japan? Well, post-war Japan took many cues from American media, and blackface was among them. And it's still there to this day. You can still sometimes see blackface on Japanese television, for example, to the astonishment of Western observers. As often happens when cultural concepts cross oceans, the original context has been lost. In most cases, it seems to be a way of portraying black people (albeit for comedic purposes) rather than invoking the mannerisms of Jim Crow. There is even a Japanese pop group, the Gosperats, who perform their whole act while blacked up. The band seemed perplexed that anybody would find their act offensive. Japanese blackface, | [[File:Mrpopo.png|200px|left|thumb|Mr. Popo of ''Dragon Ball'']]And what of Japan? Well, post-war Japan took many cues from American media, and blackface was among them. And it's still there to this day. You can still sometimes see blackface on Japanese television, for example, to the astonishment of Western observers. As often happens when cultural concepts cross oceans, the original context has been lost. In most cases, it seems to be a way of portraying black people (albeit for comedic purposes) rather than invoking the mannerisms of Jim Crow. There is even a Japanese pop group, the Gosperats, who perform their whole act while blacked up. The band seemed perplexed that anybody would find their act offensive. Japanese blackface, one could argue, doesn't carry the connotations that made the Western version so vile. And yet, at the same time, it ''does'', at least to us. It's likely to make the average Western onlooker rather uncomfortable because of the genre's history... a history that would be largely unknown to a Japanese onlooker. | ||
''Dragon Ball'''s Mr. Popo is undoubtedly a product of this: even though he isn't a human in the context of the series, his origins seem quite obvious. The original Jynx shared many of his features: the black skin and prominent lips bearing a startling resemblance to the "darky" iconography now largely abandoned in the US. Mr. Popo has since been edited in Western versions of the series to tone these elements down. With Jynx, {{bp|Game Freak}} went a step further and revised her design permanently, and in all regions. Whether or not the claims were accurate, they were enough to provoke the creators into taking action. So... was Jynx a blackface caricature? | ''Dragon Ball'''s Mr. Popo is undoubtedly a product of this: even though he isn't a human in the context of the series, his origins seem quite obvious. The original Jynx shared many of his features: the black skin and prominent lips bearing a startling resemblance to the "darky" iconography now largely abandoned in the US. Mr. Popo has since been edited in Western versions of the series to tone these elements down. With Jynx, {{bp|Game Freak}} went a step further and revised her design permanently, and in all regions. Whether or not the claims were accurate, they were enough to provoke the creators into taking action. So... was Jynx a blackface caricature? | ||
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Frequently associated with Jynx is the ''{{wp|yama-uba}}'' (山姥), or 'mountain crone'. The yama-uba's traits included white-blonde hair, a tattered red kimono, a large, prominent mouth and a penchant for entrancing and seducing unwary travelers. In some versions of the legend, she was also a ''[[On the Origin of Species: Mawile|futakuchi onna]]''. Given the similarities in appearance, I'd rank the yama-uba very highly on the list of Jynx's likely influences. In another twist to the tale, there is actually an extreme variety of ganguro known as ''yamamba'' (ヤマンバ), a corruption of yama-uba... but this trend's origins are quite recent, thus relegating this particular connection to the realm of coincidence. | Frequently associated with Jynx is the ''{{wp|yama-uba}}'' (山姥), or 'mountain crone'. The yama-uba's traits included white-blonde hair, a tattered red kimono, a large, prominent mouth and a penchant for entrancing and seducing unwary travelers. In some versions of the legend, she was also a ''[[On the Origin of Species: Mawile|futakuchi onna]]''. Given the similarities in appearance, I'd rank the yama-uba very highly on the list of Jynx's likely influences. In another twist to the tale, there is actually an extreme variety of ganguro known as ''yamamba'' (ヤマンバ), a corruption of yama-uba... but this trend's origins are quite recent, thus relegating this particular connection to the realm of coincidence. | ||
And what of Jynx's {{ | And what of Jynx's {{type|Ice}}? Might she also be somehow related to the ''{{wp|yuki-onna}}'' (雪女), a legend often conflated with the yama-uba? I'll discuss the yuki-onna in more detail on another occasion, as there is another Pokémon directly inspired by the legend. But might it have informed Jynx's concept as well? Certainly, the yuki-onna's ability to incapacitate people with a {{m|Lovely Kiss|kiss}} suggests that it may have. | ||
[[File:Zwarte.png|200px|thumb|Zwarte Piet]]There's another icy legend that bears certain similarities to the original Jynx. Meet {{wp|Zwarte Piet}}, the companion of {{wp|Santa Claus}} in Dutch folklore. In essence, Zwarte Piet fulfils the same role as Santa's elves in other versions of the Christmas mythos, and the character seems to have been based at least partly on a Moor (Santa himself originating from Spain in Dutch traditions). Whether or not this figure had an influence on Jynx's original design, it was almost certainly a major factor in the anime special ''{{bp|Holiday Hi-Jynx}}'', which depicted Jynx as Santa's assistants at the North Pole. | [[File:Zwarte.png|200px|thumb|Zwarte Piet]]There's another icy legend that bears certain similarities to the original Jynx. Meet {{wp|Zwarte Piet}}, the companion of {{wp|Santa Claus}} in Dutch folklore. In essence, Zwarte Piet fulfils the same role as Santa's elves in other versions of the Christmas mythos, and the character seems to have been based at least partly on a Moor (Santa himself originating from Spain in Dutch traditions). Whether or not this figure had an influence on Jynx's original design, it was almost certainly a major factor in the anime special ''{{bp|Holiday Hi-Jynx}}'', which depicted Jynx as Santa's assistants at the North Pole. | ||
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I do wonder how on earth Jynx escaped the attention of Nintendo of America, though. During the entire localization process, did ''nobody'' bat an eyelid at her design and think there might be unfortunate implications? It's all the stranger since Nintendo have a history of – if anything – over-cautiousness in this area. It's one thing for Nintendo of Japan not to realize that Jynx could be perceived as racist, but for Nintendo of America to miss it... I consider that to be quite a failure. | I do wonder how on earth Jynx escaped the attention of Nintendo of America, though. During the entire localization process, did ''nobody'' bat an eyelid at her design and think there might be unfortunate implications? It's all the stranger since Nintendo have a history of – if anything – over-cautiousness in this area. It's one thing for Nintendo of Japan not to realize that Jynx could be perceived as racist, but for Nintendo of America to miss it... I consider that to be quite a failure. | ||
This very week, a trailer has revealed that the {{bp|Generation V}} games will, at long last, introduce a black character to the franchise (Brock, {{bp|Phoebe}} and {{bp|Dahlia}} would be best described by what TV Tropes would call "[http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/AmbiguouslyBrown Ambiguously Brown]"). I'm sure many will have the Jynx debacle in the back of their heads as more information on this character surfaces, something that Game Freak are undoubtedly aware of | This very week, a trailer has revealed that the {{bp|Generation V}} games will, at long last, introduce a black character to the franchise (Brock, {{bp|Phoebe}} and {{bp|Dahlia}} would be best described by what TV Tropes would call "[http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/AmbiguouslyBrown Ambiguously Brown]"). I'm sure many will have the Jynx debacle in the back of their heads as more information on this character surfaces, something that Game Freak are undoubtedly aware of too. The Jynx controversy is one that still haunts the fandom to this day. As we've seen, there are no easy answers: no watertight argument we can invoke in order to shield the series from claims of using racist imagery (however innocently). But there is a lesson in all of this; a lesson that what's harmless fun to one culture can be deeply offensive to another... and that both cultures can be equally baffled by this gulf of understanding. | ||
{{Origin}} | {{Origin}} | ||