Making Fun of Foreign Names
Table Of Contents
Conservative Trope Examples
Guru Pitka (Mike Myers) portrays a widely admired and respected figure in Indian culture by spending the entire film making fun of their accents and religious beliefs.
One of the efficiency consultant "Bobs" says, "We're going to be getting rid of these people here. First, Mr. Samir Naga, Naga, Naga, not gonna work here anymore" when talking about firing Samir Nagheenanajar.
Staff Aside
It's a funny satirical joke at the time but still stereotypical despite the consultants being depicted as idiotic foils firing their best workers while promoting the worst. To make up for it though, they also make fun of a very, very "American culture" name where Michael Bolton tells the same consultants to just call him Mike because his name is the same as the famous singer he dislikes.
Long Duk Dong is depicted as an absurd caricature of an Asian foreign exchange student attending school in the United States. As if his characters name itself isn't bad enough, a gong rings every time he appears on camera and his broken English is grotesquely overplayed.
Staff Aside
The character had a real-world impact. Many Asian-American teenage boys complained that peers called them "Donkers," among other culturally insensitive and racist taunting, for years after the film was released.
3 Tropes
3 Movies