![]() ![]() ![]() I'm not personally bothered by any of it, though I understand as a culture we are trying to move forward. My viewpoint may be tempered by the fact that I've never really been able to decide if Breakfast is even good the last time I tried to watch it, I even found Audrey Hepburn irritating. And honestly, even if we don't get raging portrayals to that degree these days, has the relationship of Hollywood and Asians really progressed that much in the intervening decades? It's very rare to see a cliched stereotype played to such heights in a major film, to such a degree that it backfires upon itself. That sort of directness rarely lends itself well to film characters, but since the value of Yunioshi to Breakfast at Tiffany's is dubious at best, I feel it has more positive impact in society where its notoriety sticks in the public consciousness. Cursing someone under your breath is such a cowardly thing if you're going to do it, do it so the gods above poke their heads out at the disturbance. Personally speaking, in real life I much prefer loud, raging racism/sexism/etc. I don't think it's so much anti-Japanese so much as just Asian in general. Not in terms of its use in the film, but because it's such a naked stereotype that it's eye-opening and prompts one where to question whether other more well disguised portrayals might stem from the same ignorant roots. I personally think the Yunioshi character is actually a good thing. The black main character regularly outsmarts the ignorant racists in the town he was sent to protect. The joke is that an old woman (apparently also the actress who played the mom in Leave it to Beaver) is somehow in touch with the slang used by two very different people.Īnd Blazing Saddles' racism is for the purpose of mocking racism. ![]() What I like about the " I speak jive" scene in Airplane is that the joke could work with other kinds of slang. Is it just a matter of time? Will future generations feel indifferent, if not uncomfortable, towards the brief racism in Airplane! (1980) and the thorough racism in Blazing Saddles (1974)? I'm having a tough time citing racism that I find funny that isn't against black people, which gives me pause. I wonder what makes some kinds of racist jokes okay and others not okay. There's no excuse for racism, but anti-Japanese racism is more understandable if it happened during a time when the US was at war with Japan. Only one scene towards the end comes to mind where he plays a more significant role, but creative editing could probably omit his speaking lines from that scene as well.Ī film professor pointed out to me that unlike some other racism in film and TV, Japan was not an enemy of the United States in 1961. He could have been removed from the script before his parts were filmed, or even removed in editing and little would change. ![]() Most of the jokes are based on old Asian stereotypes, old even when the film was released in 1961. He is almost entirely a comedic relief character. The character is Asian but Rooney is not. The film was also nominated for three other Academy Awards: Best Actress for Hepburn, Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Art Direction.One of the minor characters in Breakfast at Tiffany's (1961) is I.Y. Hepburn regarded it as one of her most challenging roles, since she was an introvert required to play an extrovert.īreakfast at Tiffany’s was received positively at the time, and won two Academy Awards: Best Original Score and Best Original Song for “Moon River”, which was also selected as the fourth most memorable song in Hollywood history by the American Film Institute in 2004. Hepburn’s portrayal of Holly Golightly as the naïve, eccentric café society girl is generally considered to be one of the actress’s most memorable and identifiable roles. Starring Audrey Hepburn and George Peppard, and featuring Patricia Neal, Buddy Ebsen, Martin Balsam, and Mickey Rooney, the film was initially released on October 5, 1961, by Paramount Pictures. Breakfast at Tiffany’s is a 1961 American romantic comedy film directed by Blake Edwards and written by George Axelrod, loosely based on Truman Capote’s 1958 novella of the same name. ![]()
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