Cross-Cultural Kerfluffle: Difference between revisions

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A [[Cross Cultural Kerfluffle]] is sort of meeting between a [[Funny Aneurysm Moment]] and [[Values Dissonance]]. It's different from [[Values Dissonance]] in that it isn't a case of different cultural values which makes for the potential wince, but rather when an accidental reference to something negative and well known in one country or culture is made unknowingly by a program from another.

One of the most famous examples could be the [[No Swastikas|swastika]] - in Buddhist countries it's a benevolent symbol of the sun. In the West... not so much.

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* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=si-lSLv9b4E This Japanese mobile phone ad] depicts an Obama rally with red 'Change' signs and the company's mascot, a monkey, on the podium. [[Rule of Cautious Editing Judgment|And that's all that needs to be said about this.]]

** In a similar vein, a German frozen food company launched a product named after Barack Obama following the 2008 elections. The actual food item being named after the new President? [http://www.spiegel.de/international/zeitgeist/0,1518,612684,00.html Fried chicken.]

* Recently an [http://www.news.com.au/national/australian-kfc-ad-labelled-racist-by-us-commentators/story-e6frfkvr-1225816754881 Australian KFC ad] caused a bit of a kerfluffle in the United States. It showed an awkward white Australian fan surrounded by hundreds of cheering black West Indies fans (who were the upcoming opposition) before he offered them all fried chicken. The ad was from a series of "cricket survival guide" ads showing the Australian solving various problems with KFC so he could enjoy the cricket. So the Australian train of thought was simple - being surrounded by supporters of the opposing team is awkward, [[Tastes Like Friendship|offer KFC, everyone has a good time]]. When the ad was leaked internationally, American commentators saw a white guy placating scary black people with fried chicken, and called racism. This confused the Australians, since the "black people like fried chicken" stereotype is not widespread there.

* Australia's "[[wikipedia:Where the bloody hell are you|So where the bloody hell are you?]]" tourism campaign. The British did not like the word "bloody". The Canadians did not like the word "hell". The Singaporeans did not like either. Overlaps with [[Did Not Do the Bloody Research]], as "bloody hell" is a fairly mild oath in Australia.

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== Music ==

* Rock singer [[Meat Loaf]] wanted to show a German audience that not only did he enjoy performing for them, but he enjoyed being a guest in their country. Since the only German he knew was limited to sausage related words, he decided to fly the red, black and gold at his concert. He didn't realize that Germans aren't as gung-ho about their flag as Americans are.

* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=z2ChJDNI4RI This] Arab Israeli patriotic song is really infamous in Russian internet. It is called "Bladi" (Arabic for "my country"), which sounds like "whores" in Russian. The first words of the chorus - "Ya bladi, jawwek hadi, ma ahlaki, ya bladi"(O my country, your climate is soft, what is more beautiful than you, o my country?) - sounds rather close to "Where do whores live, yeah, the whores, the furry whores?" in Russian. The rest of the song sounds no better, what with misheard "Russian" lyrics someone provided. Given that around half of Israeli Jews are Russian-speaking, it's a wonder no one in audience burst into laughter.

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== [[Bite the Wax Tadpole]] ==

Cases where the translation or logo could have caused offense:

* The Mitsubishi Pajero, although named after an Argentinian mountain range, had to be renamed "Montero" in certain countries, as in some dialects of Spanish, this makes it the "Mitsubishi Wanker."

** Likewise, the Toyota MR-2 had to be renamed in France since "MR-2" in French is pronounced ''exactly the same way as'' "est merdeux", in other words "(It) is shitty".

*** It's for exactly the same reason that French-speaking people in the UK are highly amused when they find out there's an (apparently) popular soap opera entitled ''[[Emmerdale]]''.

* Umbro and Siemens have both had to apologize after releasing products called Zyklon - it is the German word for cyclone, but also nearly the name of the poison gas used by the Nazis in the Holocaust, and unsurprisingly, the Germans and Jewish groups are somewhat touchy about this.

** An amusement park in Tipton, Pennsylvania used to have a roller coaster called Zyklon.

* IKEA's Gutvik bed was named after a town in Sweden, but German speakers were somewhat amused. ("Gut Fick" is German for "good fuck". That it was a children's bed made this all the more unfortunate.)

** Another IKEA example: The storage box Knep (meaning 'trick' in Swedish) caused quite a few giggles in neighboring Denmark, since the name literally means 'fuck' in Danish.

*** This is one of many jokes that hinge on the differences between Swedish and Danish, which are so close together that we can't decide whether they go in [[In My Language, That Sounds Like...]] or [[Separated by a Common Language]].

** A bin full of "Trampa" ("crap" in Portuguese, "tread" in Swedish) doormats were spotted in an IKEA store. Said doormats were even brown. Whether they are still being sold remains unknown, though.

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* As noted on the [[Bite the Wax Tadpole]] page, a German company released an [[MP 3]] player called the "i.Beat," in a range of colors with [[Xtreme Kool Letterz]]. The black one was labeled "Blaxx," making the full name "i.Beat Blaxx." This naturally caused a stir among American observers over the possible racial connotations of the name.

* English dialect case: [[wikipedia:Electrolux#Slogan|"Nothing sucks like an Electrolux."]] Though this bit of [[Double Entendre]] was intentional.

** [http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_MPVFXHtCKsA/Suy2jBU928I/AAAAAAAAAoc/fe50Kwah_f8/s400/FILE0905.JPG Similarly...]

* The American [[Syfy]] changed their name to [[Syfy]], which in Polish slang is a colloquialism for syphilis and is also used as an derogatory indicator of extremely low quality, an equivalent to English 'crap'.

** Something not at all lost on Americans who dislike the change, some of whom have taken to calling it the "Syphilis Channel".

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[[Category:Unexpected Reactions to This Index]]

[[Category:Cross Cultural Kerfluffle]]

[[Category:Alliterative Trope Titles]]