"Tool - do you think Yank or Brit is a slur?"
No i dont, just like i dont think Jap is either. The word, Jap, Yank, Brit, etc are not nice words to begin with but i dont consider them slurs, its all in the context of how you say something.

Yes, Jap is a slur and should not be used nowadays to describe a person of Japanese descent or nationality, either in or out of their presence.
Tool - do you think Yank or Brit is a slur?

Yes, Jap is a slur and should not be used nowadays to describe a person of Japanese descent or nationality, either in or out of their presence. HOWEVER, because the word (along with Nip) was used by Americans as a universal descriptor for Japanese during World War II, I see no problem with using it in a movie like 1941 which, for all of its sophomore humor, did try to give a true sense of the mood on the West Coast in the days after the attack on Pearl Harbor.

Your completely right there, its no different to calling me an Aussie, or other people Britz, Yanks, etc.

"Jap" is not really a racial slur per se, but it certainly is when conjoined with the term "dirty Jap" or "Jap scum" or "slap the Jap". But stating that the term "Jap" is a racist term in itself is merely PC gone mad.

I'm not.
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Are Americans offended by the word 'Yank' which we in the UK use for all Americans, regardless of which part of the country they come from?
I do however find the cockney rhyming slang word for Americans offensive, which is 'Septics'. (Septic tank = Yank).
"Everbody in the WORLD, is bent"

Whether it is or isn't a bad word to use, how does it's period-correct use in this film affect your viewing?
It's at least considered impolite these days, for whatever reason. That's all ya need to really fret over.
Oh, and whoever said 'JEW' was a racial slur is wrong - A Jew is a person of the Judaic faith, who is Jewish and follows Judaism. Same as a Scot is a Scottish person from Scotland.
We have several here in my office who just confirmed this.
"It is a British assumption that everyone else in the world likes us so most slang terms for Britons are not assumed to be derogatory".
That, or we don't really mind whether they do or not!!
I do love that we hear these 'racist' remarks about us, laugh and carry on brewing up some tea, though!!
Just don't ask me the difference between British and English, ha ha!!
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Should I hate to Brits in all endearments for calling Americans "Yanks".
I have a few friends who become outright livid if they hear someone from a foreign country refer to the US as "The States." It's like, "Don't they know it's the
United
States?"
It's all I can do to not laugh in their face.
Promise me, no matter how hopeless things get, keep on trying, OK? Keep coming chin-up, OK?

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yes its a racial slur dont' try to understand it most racial slurs come from ignorance.

McHale's Navy TV scripts used 'Nip' liberally, but hardly ever 'Jap'. It's unchristian to use racial slurs, and probably unjewish as well.

Lol, and Coon is a real surname aswell.

Everytime I hear JAP, I think of a series of joke books called "Truly Tasteless Jokes part IX" JAP to me stands for Jewish American Princess. Seriously, though WWII was a horrible war and as most of tend to do, we slip to the level of name calling to try to make sense of what is going on in the world. It is not that I don't like Iraqi's, but Sand n-er's, camel jockey's, rag heads, towel heads, etc. make me feel a little bit better about George sending 3000+ troops to an early grave.

Everytime I hear the word "Jap" I start laughing because I automatically think of this movie and John Belushi.
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I totally agree, its all in the context. In Australia there is a football stadium called beep BROWN STADIUM" it was named after a guy whose nickname was beep and his last name was Brown. One person in the town wanted to have the name changed, etc cos he found it offensive, it was too bad cos the guy who had been nicknamed beep didnt mind at all and he was a dark skinned guy. Mind you the same guy who wanted the stadium changed also wanted to have the name "Coon Cheese" changed too. lololol. Im not a racist person, i have friends and have had partners from all kinds of different races, it is all in the context of how something is said.

Anyone can say Jew, it's the context inwhich they say it that makes the word (or any word) an isult. Such as:
The Jew tried to Jew me out of $200 but I managed to Jew him down to to $86.

Jap can be an insult depending how it is used and by whom, same with Jew, both are just shorter versions of the complete word, but in the right (or wrong) hands they can both be used as hateful slang., there were of course worse terms and words used to describe the Japanese after Dec. 7th 1941 and for many years after the war, now America Japan, Germany, England, Italy, are all Allies, at one time or another they were all enemies of the U.S., time tends to heal old wounds (well, in most cases anyway)
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It just is. But in Australia the Lebanese comunity call themselves Lebs.

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It's a racial/bigoted slur for sure, my Dad (American) was in WWII and he told me this term was used by U.S. sailors in a deragatory fashion. I do think, however, that racism is institutional and bigotry is personal- i.e.- Ty Cobb was a bigot, baseball (before 1947) as an institution was racist.
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Yes, I agree. Wartime propaganda used it to create a common enemy, and undermine them with ridicule or derision.
And since it was so ingrained, it is only those from that generation that still use the term (with an accepting wince from their younger friends/family) - people since understand it has become derogatory.

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