The Office Called Out for Problematic Portrayal of Asian Women by Guest Star Kat Ahn

[hewontgo]

'The Office' Called Out for Problematic Portrayal of Asian Women by Guest Star Kat Ahn https://t.co/bZ4GK1RcTS
- Movieweb (@movieweb) March 29, 2021

Season 3 episode from 2006 of 'The Office', "A Benihana Christmas,"
It features a scene with two Asian American waitresses from the titular restaurant accompanying Michael (Steve Carell) and Andy (Ed

Comments

[missjersey]

The Dinner Party ep is also fantastic. It's so awkward and I hate it but love it lol

[hannahstarr]

Pam at Chili's is The Dundees episode in season 2 and it's my all-time favorite Office episode.

[soul_amazinn]

I loved this show when it aired and I know so many people who have just discovered it and just started watching and they love it.

I tried to do a rewatch and it has not aged well at all it has a lot of offensive moments and I couldn’t even get attempt to watch a full episode

[littleorcs]

This was an era I feel like a lot of writers used the notion of awkward or unlikeable characters for racist/stereotypical comedy, like it's a loophole where they can do these horrible jokes and people are allowed to laugh at them because Michael Scott is supposed to be a dumb dumb who would do this sort of shit and really, "we're laughing at him". No you're not assholes, you're laughing at the Asian jokes and you know it.

[lyra_loo]

yeah, I mean the basis of the joke is that Michael is super racist and sexist and he WOULD do this. but these are like the only Asian characters in the entire series (besides Randall Park I think) and they're only there to be the butt of a joke about how they all look the same... it's gross.

[weighty_ghost]

Mindy Kaling?

[lyra_loo]

wow what a brain fart on my part, jeez.

[lyra_loo]

i feel so bad for her that ppl treated her badly in her personal life bc of her role in the show. just yikes. i'm not surprised at ALL, ppl love excuses to make anti-Asian jokes, but my heart hurts for her. i wonder if Kulap Vilaysack has ever spoken about this? she's the other actress in these scenes and i'd be interested to hear her take.

[violue]

This episode was fucking disgusting and I'm getting mad just picturing the discourse if this hits reddit. "It's funny BECAUSE of the stereotype!" is how every gross thing the Office did is justified.

[violue]

actually i could swear I DID read a thread about this episode on reddit recently but i feel like the context was difference

[toxic_illusion]

he got really drunk at the benihana is the excuse they're going to use.

[modern_toilet]

Using satire is dangerous because of the satire paradox. Scientists did a study on people who watched "All in the Family" in the 70's - the show with Archie Bunker who is really really racist, hard right, piece of shit kind of guy. The idea was that it was satire and HE was the one you were laughing at, but the scientists found that most people did not realize that and that it was likely that it wasn't combatting stereotypes and was, in fact, actually reinforcing prejudice and racism.