The word 'Jap'
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Archived from the IMDb Discussion Forums — 1941
Jonhny — 19 years ago(August 07, 2006 12:02 AM)
Do you think the word 'Jap' is a racial slur? This word was used fairly often in '1941'.
In my opinion, I think it is just a abbreviation for 'Japanese'.
off-topic
FYI, I've seen a cut scene in which an american spits at the Japanese flag on a submarine. -
scifi1980 — 15 years ago(June 22, 2010 12:10 PM)
I alawys figured it was in the same category as Yank or Brit. THEN, years later it was added to the "racist category" by thin skinned self esteem movers.
The Japanese are very successful, I think most of the people of Japan really couldn't give a **** about the word. They own everything, theyre not losers, so what? The only Japanese I could see taking offense are those Americans of Japanese descent who grew up in our pussed out politically correct enviroment and are conditioned to take offense.
Japanese people and those of Japanese background should be more offended over the interment camps anyway then some dumass nickname. -
Marmadukebagelhole — 15 years ago(July 24, 2010 09:40 AM)
No word is inherently derogatory unless the word was specifically created to be so. No doubt the vast majority of Americans had little reason to use the word japanese in everyday language prior to 1941 any but once war declared it is understandable that any subsequent reference to Japan or japanese is unlikely to have been sympathetic. Therefore it just so happens that polarization of the word jap was an abbreviation of japanese is inextricably linked to the emergence of the Empire Of Japan as an enemy of the United States. And yes, Japanes are of a different race from the vast majority of white european descended Americans. Of course, in peace time, it should not be too difficult for any sensible person to realise that use of the word jap invokes the despisal of the japanese that coincided with the origin of it's popular use. Best just to use the correct nomenclature to avoid being misunderstood.
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El_Jefe — 11 years ago(February 17, 2015 12:25 PM)
I remember years ago watching one of those History Channel interviews/reenactment shows about WWII. They kept muting the audio when the guy would say "Nips". It wasn't even Japs, it was Nips, short for Nipponese. Japanese people call Japan Nippon. It's my understanding that the word "Japan" comes from old Italian mispronunciation of the Chinese term for the country of Japan.
I would actually argue that abbreviating it to "Nips" is
less ethnocentric
than calling them Japanese! As for Japs vs Japanese, I'd call it a draw. I'm more concerned about
what
a person is saying than the shortened terms they're using. -
terrythomas — 19 years ago(September 18, 2006 08:46 PM)
Yes, 'Jap' is considered a racial slur.
Slightly off topic, I don't think the filmmakers were trying overly hard to avoid offending people. 1941 manages to slip in potshots at almost everything you could think of. -
DMarkwick — 19 years ago(October 02, 2006 06:04 AM)
I never knew Jap was a racial slur. Seriously. Short for Japanese right? I'm a Brit, no racial slur there. Then again I have difficulty thinking of "paki" as a racial slur for Pakistani, it doesn't make sense to me. It seems that if anyone thinks of it as a racial slur, then it's a racial slur.
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terrythomas — 19 years ago(October 05, 2006 02:02 PM)
The reason Jap is considered a racial slur is mostly because of the way it was used during World War 2, when anti-Japanese sentiments ran at a fever pitch. If someone is writing songs like "We're Gonna Slap The Dirty Little Jap", I think it's pretty clear that the feelings behind that sentiment are less than positive.
It has more to do with the emphasis behind the word than with the word itself.