I logged into Facebook this morning expecting the usual round up of people excited for the weekend, moaning about work and posting photos of their breakfasts.
Instead, my news feed was full of images and opinions about the Play Mobil Pirate Ship set.
The set includes this character:
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| Image courtesy of ABC News |
The mum from Sacramento, who reported the figurine, is annoyed because she says the figurine is a slave and is therefore racist. I mean you can see her point. The figurine is wearing a neck shackle.
Play Mobil responded that the figurine is actually an escaped slave, now a part of the pirate crew and in no way a prisoner.
Which is true?
I find it hard to believe that a company as big as Play Mobil would be stupid enough to make a public racist statement this way. Perhaps in their own weird way, they were trying to show the character as being liberated.
I can’t help but think if the character was meant to be a slave/prisoner, there would be a chain attached to the shackle. From a symbolic point of view, the chain has been broken.
Either way, I think it is quite distasteful and probably not a great idea.
However, there is a huge difference between being distasteful and being racist.
It does shock me how many people must have seen this prototype and not considered how it would be seen by the public.
But is it racist?
My initial reaction was yes. Then after reading a little about it, I changed my mind. I don’t think it is racist as such. Slavery was a very real thing, therefore it is historically accurate rather than racist. The company are not saying this is the way it should be, they are saying this is the way it was.
Is it distasteful?
I think it is. After all, the Holocaust was a very real thing, but it would be seen as inappropriate to have a child play with a gas chamber, and I think this is inappropriate on the same level.
Just because something is historically accurate doesn’t mean it should be made into a child’s game. I think Play Mobil really dropped the ball on this one, and think they are going to experience a huge back lash.
I realise that this is going to be a sensitive issue for some people, and I am in no way trying to trivialise racism. I firmly believe people should be judged on whether or not they are an ass hole, not on their outside appearance or cultural heritage.
Do you think the toy is racist? Would you be comfortable letting your child play with it? Let me know your thoughts in the comments 🙂
I think this issue will divide opinions and is personal to a lot of people, so please be respectful to others.
If no one has mentioned it, I honestly don't think I would of noticed as I would of assumed it was a neckerchief! I do think its a bit odd for playmobil to of made a figure with a shackle round its neck especially considering its target demographic but I don't think the intention was racist. There is a lot of these kind of racism accusations against large companies at the moment with regards to products (Tescos and the cheaper black baby doll vs more expensive white doll for example), and although its good to make sure racism isn't behind these things, I always think its wise to talk to the company first about it rather than wade right in with a Facebook post or speaking to a journalist about it, which is what seems to happen at the mo. Anyway just my 2 cents. #effitfriday
I don't think I would have noticed either to be honest! I agree that there is a lot of this in the media at the moment, and I also agree that the best way to approach it is it approach the company first. Thanks for sharing your thoughts 🙂
This isn't a new thing. We've had a fantastic pirate ship of theirs for over a year now, with 6-7 of these little guys to man it. I always considered this guy to be an "escaped prisoner." It never even occurred to me to use the word "slave." Several of the other pirates have dark skin also, but without the collar. one of them has tribal tattoos, but one of the white pirates has an eagle tat on his chest. I never looked at any of it as racist.
Ah right, that puts it into a much better perspective, that the lady who complained failed to mention. When you consider there are other dark skinned pirates without shackles then it can't be considered racist really. Thanks for clearing that up 🙂
No I don't think it's racist. It's historically accurate. If you think about it kids playing with pirates is pretty weird full stop. My kids keep asking me if pirates are real- when j say yes they get all excited then I have to explain that pirates these days are pretty bad people and pirates back in the day probably weren't much better. If my kids spotted this I would use it as an opportunity to discuss slavery with them. surely pretending something didn't happen is much worse than acknowledging it and making sure it doesn't happen again?
Yes, that's a good point. The toy (and many others) does kind of glorify pirates who are famous for basically being criminals. It is a good learning opportunity and I agree that by brushing this under the carpet, it somehow dilutes the seriousness of slavery and risks it happening again. Thanks for sharing yoru thoughts 🙂
I think this is one of those things that may make someone wonder why people are finding such small things so offensive. I don't know though. I personally would not have even noticed it but I can see both sides. I can see it as distasteful while at the same time see it as an historically accurate toy that I know my son wouldn't have noticed. On one hand, why are we using toys to teach history to our children? A history that without explanation, would go over their heads. Then again, we all know that school only teaches so much then its up to us to teach our kids the rest. I really don't have a set opinion on this because while it seems like nonsense to complain about a toy, I can see why someone might get offended. Great post! Thanks for sharing! Visiting from #thebigfatlinkyoftheweek
Yes, I can sort of see why it is offensive but I'm still not convinced it's racist. I think by making a big deal out of little things like this, it actually undermines the seriousness of real racism. Thanks for sharing your thoughts 🙂
Would it be okay to include women in ripped clothing with bruises between their legs? It would be historically accurate, yet women would be up in arms about it. And rightfully so. How far does this go? Will the expansion pack include a whip and a bloody back? Slaves are not toys. There is nothing "fun" about it. This toy teaches young children that the black character is a slave with no further instruction nor condemnation of the practice. There is nothing to suggest that he is a "former slave". If he was, the instructions would be to take the collar off. Racism is not innate, it is taught in a thousand little ways until it is so ingrained that it seems natural and right.
I think the suggestion of former slave comes from the fact he is no longer chained up, although in fairness that could just be the company back tracking when they panicked about the reaction.
I agree its inappropriate, I'm just not sure racist is the right word. To use your example, if there was a woman character with bruises between her legs, it wouldn't be sexist, but it would be inappropriate. Thanks for sharing your thoughts on this, its interesting to see it from a different perspective 🙂
I don't think is racist, but why did they made it for kids?! I'm sure there are more appropriate ways to teach the little ones about slavery than this.
I agree, making a toy for young children is hardly a good way to teach them about something so important. Thanks for sharing your thoughts 🙂
Difficult one. I don't think it is racist. Is it distasteful? An unsuitable topic for children? Well, maybe. But how tasteful or appropriate is piracy itself, really, and that was long ago turned into a fun adventure game for kids! Bonfire Night & the Guy effigies come to mind as well as examples of things from history that are complex & were unpleasant, but which we let children play about with. I suppose in a way, if the point is that the toy is supposed to be historically accurate & there would have been escaped slaves, then it is worse to sanitise the aspects that are 'distasteful' from that. & we tend to portray pirates as comical bad guys to children, which trivialises some of what pirates have done, but also removes the understanding of the reasons some people may have joined the crews of pirate ships – like escaping slavery – that did not make them bad. If you consider it from that angle, it seems a little wrong to object to a character showing what some people went through to end up as pirates because what was done to them makes us uncomfortable. Maybe when you think about it, people think they are objecting to slavery here, but actually are objecting to the portrayal of someone fighting slavery because it makes everyone feel a bit uncomfortable? That's my two pence worth anyway! & it comes from someone who probably could have seen that toy & thought it was wearing a random necklace & never thought any more of it, so not sure how much weight anyone should put in my two pennies worth!
That's actually a really good point, the character is said to represent an escaped slave so looking at it that way, maybe its not actually distasteful but a symbol of freedom. I also agree that pirates in themselves are probably inappropriate if we hadn't made them a bit tamer.
Your opinion is as valid as anyone else's, thank you for sharing it 🙂
Oh wow. If it hadn't been mentioned would I have though it was anything other than clothing? I don't know! I'm kind of unsure how I feel about it. I agree with do many of the above comments. But there's attributes that make me feel uneasy. :/ I'm not necessarily offended but then I don't think it's necessary either. Thanks for linking up with us on the #bigfatlinky hope to see you there this week
I think its one of those things that kind of leave a bad taste in your mouth but your not sure why. I also think that, as is often the case, the media have massively blown it out of proportion! And I agree – I don't think I would have noticed either if it wasn't for reading articles about it! Thanks for hosting, I'll be there 🙂