Another response to Indians Shanghaied by Shanghai Noon:

>> What is going past you is the fact that when one makes fun of stereotypes, as Jackie Chan has done in the film, it is a very effective step in destroying the "popular" stereotype. <<

Several wrongheadead implications in this statement. One, your claim isn't "going past" me. I understand it; I simply don't agree with it.

Two, your opinion that the movie has either destroyed the clichés or been effective is just that, your opinion. I don't need to ask to know you have no proof of these claims. But go ahead and surprise me.

I've heard claims like this so many times that I've written and posted a rebuttal of them. It's at Equal Opportunity Offenders. If you want to be the first to tackle it, be my guest. Good luck.

In short, the idea that creators are "destroying" stereotypes by perpetuating them is ridiculous. You could justify everything from minstrel shows on using that flawed "logic." When you can point to someone whose knowledge of reality (Indian culture) vs. stereotypes (Shanghai Noon) was improved by the movie, by all means do so. Until then, your claim is a theory unsupported by fact.

>> You need to lighten up. If you don't understand what I am talking about, it proves the point even more. <<

Again, I understand. I understand you're not the person being stereotyped, which is why you can dismiss the errors so easily. And I've lightened up more than enough. In fact, I can only chuckle at answers as simplistic as yours.

I'll give you just one example to prove my point. Lakota Indians...in Nevada? Exactly how does that "destroy" the stereotype that all Indians wore buckskins and lived in tipis—like the Lakota? Exactly how many of the thousands of viewers even noticed the flaw? Five? Ten?

You're the only one who's missed the point here. You've confused humor and stereotyping. In this case they overlap, but they're two separate things. Shanghai Noon perpetuates several stereotypes while it makes fun of others (or tries to).

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