Space Jews: Difference between revisions

 

{{examples}}

* ''[[Gintama]]'' has the premise that rather than the [[Gunboat Diplomacy]] of history, Edo-era Japan experienced an [[Alien Invasion]]. Thus, actual aliens take the place of "nasty gaijin" in wielding disproportionate power over the country.

 

* The Dominators, in DC Comics' ''Invasion'' and subsequent appearances. Yellow skin, huge sharp teeth, bony clawed fingers, they resemble nothing so much as the [[The Golden Age of Comic Books|Golden Age]] [[Yellow Peril|Yellow Claw]] except they have red circles on their foreheads.

* In the [[Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles IDW|''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'' IDW]] comic book series, the [[Proud Warrior Race|Triceratons]] are a race whose [[Everything's Better with Dinosaurs|triceratops]] ancestors were [[Alien Abduction|taken from]] Earth's past [[Ancient Astronauts|millions of years ago]] to [[Another Dimension|Dimension X]] and enslaved by the Utrom Empire, facing ages of [[Trapped in Another World|displacement]], forced military service, and even a holocaust that almost completely wiped out their race. After [[Big Bad|General Krang]] and his Utrom Empire were defeated, they entered a temporary alliance with [[Reasonable Authority Figure|King Zenter]]'s Planet Neutrino. In issue #75, in exchange for honorably helping defend the [[Human Aliens|Neutrinos]] from an invasion by the [[Hive Mind|Malignoid swarm]], Zenter not only promised the Triceratons a homeworld of their own, but secured their entire race's space fleet passage through an [[Portal Door|interdimensional portal]] to their actual ancestral homeworld Earth for immediate resettlement. Zenter hoped that, if Earth's other inhabitants were anything like the [[Protagonist|mutant turtles]] he'd befriended, the Triceratons would find a happy homecoming, but it was immediately clear to the reader that he [[Did Not Do the Research|hadn't gathered quite enough intel on the matter]]. In issue #76, the Triceratons did initially [[I Come in Peace|arrive in peace]], but many of the local human inhabitants, especially the [[Fantastic Racism|openly speciesist]] [[The Men in Black|Agent Bishop]] of the Earth Protection Force, did not react at all well to the entire Triceraton race's [[Stranger in a Familiar Land|abrupt unannounced return]]. After Bishop tried to [[We Come in Peace, Shoot to Kill|ambush and annihilate]] the Triceratons' [[First Contact]] delegation and killed one of its members, declaring the Triceratons an abomination on an Earth that [[Persona Non Grata|belonged only to humans]], in issue #77, Triceraton [[Iron Lady|Commander Zom]] ordered a [[This Means War|full-scale invasion]], [[I Choose to Stay|swearing that the Triceratons would never again]] be [[You Can't Go Home Again|separated from their only homeworld]]. Issue #75's publication coincided just days before the 100th anniversary of the real-life [[w:Balfour Declaration|Balfour Declaration]], a very similar diplomatic proclamation whose equally rosy intentions ultimately could not prevent the [[Arab-Israeli Conflict|tensions and prolonged conflict that would follow]].

 

 

* The ''[[Star Wars]]'' universe, [[George Lucas Throwback|being love-letters to films that didn't know any better]], contains a few examples:

** Watto, from the prequel films, [[wikipedia:Watto#Controversy|raised concerns about being a Jewish caricature]], being a hook-nosed, penny-pinching merchant and slave owner. His raspy accent sounds vaguely Yiddish, but the voice actor was actually going for Italian. It doesn't help that in the second film, Watto even wears a beard and black hat vaguely similar to a style favored by Hasidic (ultra-Orthodox) Jews. Perhaps to dissuade these accusations, in ''[[Star Wars: The Clone Wars]]'' the king of Watto's species has a vaguely British accent, and despite his small stature is depicted as a [[Proud Warrior Race Guy|proud warrior]]. Although Toydarians are all [[Planet of Hats|grasping and unpleasant]], they are rarely portrayed as outright villains.

* Deliberately played with in [[Mel Brooks]]' ''[[History of the World, Part I]]'', with its [[Preview Piggybacking|alleged preview for the sequel]] including a segment called [[Punctuated! For! Emphasis!|''Jews In Space!'']]

 

* [[Terry Pratchett]]'s ''[[Discworld]]'' series frequently uses Dwarfs and Trolls as stand-ins for any and all oppressed or angry minorities. This can cause much confusion and debate among fans as to which groups they ''really'' represent (see the discussion for about two pages of such).

** In "The Art of Discworld", Pratchett mentions that there is a (mostly Jewish) group of fans who compare the dwarfs quite favorably to Jews. The author insists that this was not a deliberate parallel, though he has now got used to fans telling him they spotted it. To quote ''The Art of Discworld'': "I was just trying to come up with dwarfs that fitted the modern fantasy tradition but ''worked''.

** The Xylien Society are [[Magical Native American]]s with [[Magitek]] and [[The Men in Black|Men in Black]] attire.

** Viola is a Space [[Jive Turkey]].

** Markerterion is basically [[Planet England|Planet Spain]]. Or [[SoCalization|Southern California]]. Or [[The Big Easy|Southern Louisiana]]. Or Kalamazoo. [[Culture Chop Suey|Whichever of the four it needs to be for that episode]].

** Mikloche Warriors in training on Whixtitout may have very Minshan (Christian) beliefs about the universe, yet, they tend to live lives with only limited contact with their surrounding culture, fearful of overattachment; and they [[Everybody Was Kung-Fu Fighting|practice martial arts]] of the sort expected [[All Monks Know Kung Fu|more of Buddhist or Shinto monks]]. Made worse when their countryside looks like [[Medieval Japan]].

* ''Submicroscopic'' by S.P. Meek and its sequel have three factions of aliens [[Color Coded for Your Convenience|differentiated by skin color]]. One forms the heroes, one's a group of giant but stupid savages that constantly attack them, and one is technologically advanced but ethically stunted. Guess which correspond to which colors? (Admittedly, one of the technologically advanced folk who had a grandparent from the heroic faction is portrayed as a [[Worthy Opponent]], but the protagonist {{spoiler|doesn't hesitate to kill him, saying that his death was saddening but [[I Did What I Had to Do|necessary.]]}}

* [[H. Beam Piper]]'s ''Space Viking'' has the Gilgameshers, a mercantile people for whom [[Jews Love to Argue|haggling appears to be the planetary sport]] (one reviewer noted, "sadly, we are not given glimpses of the Gilgameshers accusing Trask of wanting to starve their wives and children"). It's specifically stated that they deserve admiration for having rebuilt a space-going civilization from the ground up, and "[[Reluctant Warrior|they had religious objections to violence, though they kept these within sensible limits, and were able and willing to fight with fanatical ferocity in defense.]]" However, they are also noted for their "maze of dietary and other taboos in which they hid from others," which makes them generally disliked. Lampshaded when the remarks that "everyone was in favor of running out the Gilgameshers" reminds Trask of Hitler, who got into power in the First Century Pre-Atomic "because everyone was in favor of running out [[Future Imperfect|the Christians or the Moslems or the Albigensians or something]]."

* The [[Stars Wars Expanded Universe]] develops a number of species seen or unseen in the films into this trope:

** Also in the Expanded Universe, come the Ryn, which are basically Space [[Roma]]. They travel a lot, love to sing and dance, some fortune telling. The one that Han befriends for a while is even named Droma, which is Roma without the D.

* Blackjack, Percy's [[Winged Horse]] and [[Sapient Steed]] from the ''[[Percy Jackson and The Olympians]]'' series. A comical, dark-colored [[Jive Turkey]], who constantly refers to Percy as "boss," named ''Black''jack of all things, ''whom Percy rescued from slavery''...[[Sarcasm Mode|Surely he's not the equestrian version of a stereotypical African American?]]

* ''[[Martian Time Slip|Martian Time-Slip]]'' by [[Philip K. Dick]] has Martian Bleekmen, who resemble and are thought to be genetically similar to Earth's African Aboriginals.

 

* ''[[Star Trek]]'' has a few of these:

** The lumpen-nosed, big-eared, insatiably greedy Ferengi are seen by some as antisemitic characters, and their earliest appearances were criticized as being ''Japanese'' stereotypes. In reality, the Ferengi were meant to be strawmen for American ''capitalists'' in general, and were compared to "Yankee Traders" in their first appearance. The [[Unfortunate Implications]] comparisons to Jewish stereotypes came in after they were ditched as villains and became comic relief. However, it should be noted that in later series, the trope could [[Your Mileage May Vary|by some]] seen as an inversion, as the four most notable Ferengi characters, Quark, Nog, Rom and Zek, are [[You Have to Have Jews|all played by Jewish actors]]. Likewise, that their name 'ferengi' is derived from an Arabic and Hindi slur for [[Acceptable Targets|white people.]]

** The Klingons started out as obviously based upon [[Cold War]] stereotypes of Russians or Chinese. The original description for them in the script for their debut episode, "Errand of Mercy", describes them as "''Oriental'', hard-faced". Their original appearance includes pencil mustaches and a dark complexion. Roddenberry having been a police sergeant in Los Angeles during the 1950s may have something to do with it.

** Kivas Fajo, from the ''Next Generation'' episode "The Most Toys," is a greedy, amoral trader who specializes in collecting—by whatever means necessary—especially rare and precious items. Fajo was played by the very Jewish [[Saul Rubinek]]. This was the result of a last-minute recast after the original Jewish actor, David Rappaport, [[Real Life Writes the Plot|committed suicide]].

** While Vulcans are not strongly based on any single human culture, [[Leonard Nimoy]] did suggest a few Jewish traditions that have become canon aspects of Vulcan culture. The famous [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jmkDOzjfSSY "live long and prosper" Vulcan hand gesture] was taken from a gesture made during the Priestly Blessing in some Jewish services. The expressions "live long and prosper"/"peace and long life" also resemble the Jewish "peace be upon you"/"upon you be peace".

** The Vulcans and their cousins the [[Space Romans|Romulans]] together fit the longstanding stereotypes about the ancient world, as well: the scientific and philosophical Greeks, who invented logic, are the Vulcans and their less-refined militaristic offshoot culture is Rom(ul)an.

** Like the Klingons, the Romulans have bounced from allegory to allegory over the years. In the past they have been equated with North Korea as a cold militaristic society that have both common links with and gross differences from their Japanese/Vulcan counterparts. Some have argued that their Roman-like aspects made them an allegory for the Nazis/fascists who also stole aesthetic elements of the Roman military for their own. In the new Star Trek canon, the Romulans seem to fill the roll of terrorists in general, with the main antagonist <s>declaring Jihad</s> seeking revenge against the Federation and its members.

* In ''[[Firefly]]'', the Reavers are a race of violent and savage raiders who inhabit the frontier regions of the solar system in which the series takes place. They're known for mutilating and raping their victims, as well as using [[Tribal Face Paint]] and [[Savage Piercings]]. Since ''Firefly'' is a [[Space Western]], Reaver territory is analogous to Injun Country in old-fashioned Westerns.

 

* The ''[[Star Wreck]]'' [[Role-Playing Game]] takes a stab at Space Jews:

{{quote|''The Ferrets are a disgusting culture who look like chimpanzees made up as Prince Charles. They dress in scarves, gold jewelry, vests, and caftans, and often act as travelling thieves, peddlers, or money-lenders. The PR department of the Ferret Corporation is quick to point out that they have no connection with any possible stereotypes of any ancient Earth cultures. None whatsoever. The very idea is insulting. Then they will try to cheat you out of your money, the little bastards.''}}

{{quote|"Together, we will eat them all!"}}

 

* A literal example is in ''[[Fallout: New Vegas]]'' with the Repconn ghouls, a band of mutants on an exodus, seeking a "promised land" with a leader who proclaims to have divinely inspired visions.

* In ''[[Mass Effect]]'', the volus are a race of short, weak, and nasally speaking people who live as a "client race" amongst the taller, more militaristic turians. The turians allow the volus to run their finances and commerce in exchange for protection. This is all pretty analogous to the way Jews were viewed in early Christian and Muslim cultures. Several volus are quite shady, feeding into the stereotype of greedy Jewish bankers and crooked merchants. The [[The Faceless|quarians]] also seem to be a [[Fantasy Counterpart Culture]] blend of Jews and Roma, but (despite enduring more in-universe [[Fantastic Racism]]) without the [[Unfortunate Implications]].

** On the other hand, this might be ''intentional'': it's set in the 19th century, and reads rather like a novel from that time, when pinning such things on the Jews would have been [[Moral Dissonance|perfectly acceptable]].

* The Gerudo from ''[[The Legend of Zelda]]'' series are this (for Bedouin culture) combined with [[Amazon Brigade]]. On one hand they are patriarchal and Dark skinned thieves who live in the desert and are considered lower than the Hylians who are "chosen by the gods" they use a moon as their symbol ([[Bowdlerise|later changed into a random squiggly thing]]). On the other hand most of the Gerudo are women, who posses [[Honor Among Thieves]] save for the [[Big Bad]].

 

 

* The ''[[South Park]]'' episode "Cancelled" features a literal version in a race of aliens known as the Joozians, a [[Planet of Hats]] people characterized by their gigantic noses, wealth, and control of the intergalactic entertainment business. Kyle, the Jewish kid, is implied to be related to Joozians after discovering that he's the only human in the group who likes their cuisine.

* ''[[Squidbillies]]'', rather obviously, is about squids who display hillbilly stereotypes.

* The two titular gophers of the "Go Go Gophers" segments of ''[[Underdog (animation)|Underdog]]'' are portrayed as stereotyped Native Americans.

* The Goodfeathers and the Godpigeon in ''[[Animaniacs]]'' are portrayed as Italian-Americans.

 

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