He did impressions of Mexican-Americans, even in front of Mexican-Americans. What was that about? Did I miss something there? I can't even understand why that was in the film.
shareNo, I wasn't disturbed. People need to pull their politically correct heads out of their asses.
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There were several scenes in this movie to show the "political incorrectness of the times. Jose Jimeneze (sp) was one of them.
This is similar to a pre-civil war movie in which a southern land owner refers to his "property" as nig...... well you know. The actor may be a very nice guy But he is playing a part.
Yes. It is the equivalent of blackface. But, since we're talking about a mexican stereotype, there's no outrage. No surprise, we all know how racist americans are.
Gotta laugh at all the white people here saying "get over it".
I am a father and I was never offended by TV sitcoms where the father was portrayed like a moron.
Soy 'un hijo de la playa'
we all know how racist americans are.Circa 1960? And of course, it's easy to ignore the fact Sheppard was actually doing a Jose Jiminez impression, originally done by Bill Dana who had a more than passing resemblance to the great (x-15) test pilot Bill Dana (no relation). The world really is stranger than we think.
Back in the day, there were three comedy 'bits' that might have been considered racist to Mexican-Americans:
1. Bill Dana's bit.
2. Pedro Gonzalez Gonzalez Gonzalez (from one of the funniest episodes of 'You Bet Your Life' with Groucho Marx).
3. Warner Bros. Speedy Gonzalez cartoons (an Hispanic friend of mine once called it a racist Tom and Jerry).
I doubt any of the three would fly in today's PC world. OTOH, George Lopez seems to have done okay.
He was doing an impression of José Jimenez, a character done by Bill Dana. He was a popular character on many variety shows and sitcoms. Jose even got his own show, The Bill Dana Show. The "my name José Jimenez" was a catch phrase, much like "one of these day, Alice...." or "stifle yerself, Edith" or "up your nose with a rubber hose". Boy, did I just age myself. I remember him on Ed Sullivan in the early 60s, but he started on Steve Allen in the late 50s. It was a different time and you can't judge it by 2016 mores. Hell, on McHales Navy they referred to the enemy as Nips, although it's bleeped during reruns on METV. Archie Bunker said most every ethnic and racial slur imaginable adecade later on All In The Family. Don Rickels made a career out of ethnic and racial humor. Oh, and by the way, Jose no es Mexicano, el es Boliviano.
shareI thought it was interesting that the first person in the film to use the term, A-ok, is Gonzales. He tells Shepard his Jose Jimenez impersonation is A-ok. Later, Shepard uses the phrase when reporting to flight control.
shareNope, never gave it a single thought. I was as upset, as I was when I see a black comedian impersonate white people.
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