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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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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. | ||