"Outrage in Washington over Obama's Japan bow"
"WASHINGTON (AFP) – News photos of President Barack Obama bowing to Japan's emperor have incensed critics here, who said the US leader should stand tall when representing America overseas.
'We don't defer to emperors. We don't defer to kings or emperors. The president of the United States -- this coupled with so many apologies from the United States -- is just another thing,' said Bennett.
While most of the commentary about the bow in Japan was decidedly negative, some political observers, like longtime Democratic activist Donna Brazile, came to the president's defense.
'I think it's a gesture of kindness," she told CNN, adding that the bow appeared intended to show 'goodwill between two nations that respect each other.'"
The second:
"According to England's The Daily Mail, a Universal spokesman said the updated ad was released 'to simplify the poster to actors who are most recognizable in international markets.'
In the U.S. version (above, left), all eight principal stars, including Hawk and Love, are seen standing knee-deep in water with their names displayed above. For the UK version (above, right), a different backdrop is shown with only the six (white) actors and actresses on display.
For its part, Universal has acknowledged the omission, saying it regretted offending anyone and is abandoning plans to use the revised poster in other countries.
But you have to wonder: If they regretted offending anyone, why would they alter the poster in the first place?
It's not uncommon for movie studios to alter promotional materials of U.S. movies for foreign markets. Of course, the title and tagline often is changed to reflect the respective country's language (sometimes to detrimental effect). But as opposed to clarifying the meaning and story of the movie, deleting any mention of Love and Hawk from the film's advertising is, at the very least, a highly bizarre decision. It's hard to imagine Brits staring at a poster with a black couple, scratching their heads and thinking, 'How did they get on the island?'"
What do you think? Is Obama out of line for bowing? Is the "Couples Retreat" poster racially motivated?
Article 1 - I think that Obama made a good move by bowing to the Japanese Emperor. Bowing is the cultural norm there, and to disregard that would be extremely offensive to not only the Emperor but to the Japanese people. With world-politics it is important that we are aware of the cultural norms of the countries that we deal with. The only faux pas that President Obama made was shaking hands while bowing. I think in Japan it is one or the other, not both at the same time. Either way, I'm glad he at least tried to show the Japanese Emperor respect.
ReplyDeleteArticle 2 - I looked at the two different posters and my first impression about the original poster was that it looked crowded, and the black couple sort of looked like an afterthought. I think that taking them out of the second version of the poster was definitely a bad move, but perhaps more out of ignorance than malice. Does that make it okay? No, but I think that the executives at this particular movie studio (or maybe execs at all movie studios) need to be more aware about the messages they send when making a choice like this one. I think a better option would have been to redesign the poster entirely so that all the major actors could be represented without it looking so awkward and crowded.