How on earth this reprehensible drek actually got produced and broadcast is beyond me... but one thing is certain, FOX must hear our HOWLING PROTESTS loud and clear! A protest has already been called by Asian Americans to take place this coming Thursday in Hollywood. Everyone should join this picketline to demand that Fox immediately CANCEL this utterly deplorable and unacceptable program.

The official FOX website for "Banzai" can be viewed at:
http://origin.fox.com/banzai/

... once there, be sure to click on "Boards", you will be taken to the message board area of the site. It must have taken FOX completely by surprise to see their message board ABLAZE with protest messages calling "Banzai" racist and demanding it's immediate cancellation! Many Asian Americans are posting their opposition to the horrid show... but many non-Asians are as well. The messages are overwhelmingly against the show... and with the click of a button you can easily contribute your own comments against this racist bilge. Let FOX know what you think!

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"ModelMinority - A guide to Asian American Empowerment" website has posted a call for a protest against FOX and it's racist broadcast:

PROTEST BANZAI!
Location: Renaissance Hollywood Hotel
Address: 1755 N. Highland Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90028
Time: 8:00 a.m. Thursday, July 17, 2003

ModelMinority web is located at:
http://modelminority.com/article462.html


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The Media Action Network for Asian Americans (MANAA), posted the following article:

Have you seen the promos for "Banzai" and it angers you? Want to do something but do not know what you can do? Afraid your 2-cents from the 2-percent will be ignored? We at MANAA thought of something we can do that's very effective and you can do from the comfort of your own home!

Fox acquired the British show that will showcase the most offensive, negative Asian stereotypes and will play them through the summer every Sunday at 8:30pm starting July 13th. MANAA has tried to stop this from airing, when that failed we asked to augment it, (reducing the awful stereotypes)...and, as you can see, very little was done.

We may not have the numbers to stop this from airing nationwide, but there are enough of us living in LA, NY, San Francisco, and Hawaii to stop this show from airing in these regions. We can call this the, "Not in our house!!!" campaign. Local stations to the Fox network have the power to take this off the air in their region for fear they might suffer in ratings or political pressure. The most famous example of this was when certain stations in the Bible belt and in the south choose not to air the "Ellen" episode where she admits she's gay (due to pressure from various religious groups). Although this action was negative, we can still use this tactic to our advantage. So here what we do:

1) Write letters, e-mails, and make phone calls to the stations below. Can't do just one... must do all three.

2) Tell them, "I understand you are not responsible for Banzai, but you do have the capability of not airing this on your station. Asians constitute a huge percentage of this city's population and we will not watch your channel's programming every Sunday until you take this off your air. And tell your affiliate relations executive at Fox that your station's viewers are threatening to boycott your channel"

3) And like shampoo, repeat if necessary. Hey! A project to do over 4th of July weekend!

If this show loses its audiences in the these major markets, the overall national rating will hurt and we'll have this off the air in no time. Plus the network will finally understand DO NOT TAKE US LIGHTLY!

Here are the stations:
LOS ANGELES - KTTV FOX 11
E-MAIL: programming@fox11LA.com
PHONE: 310/584-2005
ADDRESS: Programming: KTTV
1999 South Bundy Drive
Los Angeles, CA 90022-5235

SAN FRANCISCO - KTVU FOX 2
E-MAIL: can't find email but you can give feed back at http://www.ktvu.com/contact/
PHONE: 510/834-1212
ADDRESS: Programming: KTVU
P.O. Box 22222
Oakland, CA 94623

NEW YORK - WNYW FOX 5
E-MAIL: can't find e-mail but you can give comments on www.fox5ny.com
PHONE: 212/452-5555
ADDRESS: Programming: WNYW
205 East 67th Street

New York, NY 10021-6099
HAWAII - KHON FOX 2
E-MAIL: khon@khon.emmis.com
PHONE: 808/591-2222
ADDRESS: Programming: KHON
88 Piikoi St
Honolulu, Hi 96814

The MANAA website can be viewed at:
http://www.manaa.org/

PLEASE REDISTRIBUTE WIDELY!

Asian Americans have had a long history of suffering discrimination and persecution because of the widespread misperception that all ethnic Asians are socially and culturally un-American. Stereotypical media portrayals of manic, socially awkward Asian men with thick glasses and thicker accents reinforce this misperception, as does the near-total absence of countervailing portrayals of Asian Americans functioning as recognizable members of American society.

The FOX television network's decision to broadcast and promote the TV show "Banzai" shows a blatant disregard for the consequences and power of racial media stereotypes. Asian American children are especially susceptible to the taunts and ostracism of their peers, who are likely to be entertained by the show's simplistic comedy premises and fast pace, but are unlikely to have developed the critical facilities necessary to reject the stereotypes presented.

More generally, to date there has been no indication that FOX ever intended the viewers of "Banzai" to question the portrayals of Asian men that constitute the show's signature images. To the contrary, as a patently mindless entertainment vehicle, "Banzai" is not intended for viewing with a socially critical eye.

Some defenders of "Banzai" have suggested that the show doesn't promote stereotypes, but rather makes fun of them. The cartoon at http://www.modelminority.com/images/postcards/banzai.gif illustrates the absurdity of this premise.

Still other supporters of the show point out that it is based on game shows that were created in Japan. Of course, the show's creative history does not alter the fact that the portrayals in FOX's show are demeaning stereotypes when seen from an American audience's perspective. Nor does it mitigate the consequences of the widespread viewing of these portrayals for Asian Americans, especially our children. Finally, it does not disqualify Asian Americans from criticizing the show, because Asian Americans are no more responsible for Japanese television productions than the Japanese American World War II internees were responsible for the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.

Other defenders of "Banzai" have expressed outrage that Asian Americans should find cause for complaint about anything having to do with race relations in the United States. The voices of Asian Americans are so rarely heard in the mainstream media, and the history of Asian Americans in the United States is so rarely taught, that the relevance of race to the experiences of Asian Americans comes as a surprise to many people.

Many Americans are heavily invested in the stereotype of Asian Americans as "honorary whites" for whom race no longer creates a social stigma. They desperately cling to any anecdotal evidence they can find that will support this investment: the complicity of a few Asian actors in the production of "Banzai" or a few Asian friends who don't find the show offensive. As we bear witness in contradiction of these views, we expect to reap a whirlwind of outrage from those we have surprised with our rejection of the title of "honorary white."

We, the Undersigned, will boycott all FOX Broadcasting Company properties, including FOX, FX, FOX News Channel, FOX Movie Channel, National Geographic Channel, Fox Sports Net, Fox Sports World, and Speed Channel, for a period of two (2) months for each week that "Banzai" remains on the air. We will also support a boycott of prominent sponsors of FOX and Banzai.

For more information on the boycott, visit

http://www.modelminority.com/article464.html

It's hard to imagine but WILL YOU EVER SHUT UP? You aren't oppressed! You find hidden "biases" and "stereotypes" in every little subtle thing! Get a life, Banzai owns! Hopefully it will stay on the air for a long time, so you all can cry because it is so "hateful." You just try to find an "Intellectual" excuse to get rid of it. There are many other stereotypes on the TV today that I notice you don't mention and don't seem to care about. What about the portrayal of Jews being greedy businessmen? What about portrayal of all Blacks being "Ghetto" and speaking in Ebonics? Why don't you ever speak up about those issues, because they don't involve you? Go ahead, try and give me a made-up response.

The idea that Fox discrimminates against Asians is ridiculous. This show is just comedy. Most jokes have a target. These folks should lighten up and enjoy the humor.

How many years did Archie Bunker lead the ratings? It was lots and lots.

So did that show offend middle aged white opinionated men?

I don't think so. Was it racist against white middle aged rednecks? I don't think so.

But it was funny.

I am a regular user of the indymedia worldwide site and am well aware of many of the issues confronted but this is just a little bit too much "banzai" has been on british tv for over three seasons already and has not been battered by the protests which its american counterpart seems to have been , this for me shows the lack of sophistication and a mature attitude when dealing with certain issues , firstly in banzai the stereotypical asians are not the butt of the joke they are using this view of the bespectacled asian sarariman to ask questions of the participants and the viewers , this challenges stereotypes and sets the argument on its head . when the sketches involve celebreties and other members of the public the fact that it is an obviously foreign interviewer reveals the attitudes and hidden feeling of the subjects . it also allows the show to get away with making a mockery of the people it involves and shows how far we are willing to go to avoid causing any offense real or perceived. so really people grow up put your tongue in your cheek grasp the irony and get involved in issues that are really important , or disagree with me and post your comment america is a country with freedom of speech still isn't it ?

I love you! Please watch Fox's new series "Vagina Auction" debuting this fall.

Summary: People lighten up, it's a funny show.

I protest the way Irish people are stereotyped as green-wearing, guinnes drinking, red-haired shillelagh waving fighting drunkards. Protest against St. Patrick's Day - it is RACIST.

Real Irish people don't look and act like that. Irish people everywehre, get out on the streets and protest!

Why is everyone so sensitive to racial issues here on the mainland. in HI things are so different. chill out! people are just trying to have a good time. if you wanna see a good show ... go to Hawaii and watch Frank De Lima. We love every race there, that's why we can make fun of everyone - including ourselves. again, chill, and enjoy the show! :-)

Hahahah, there's something seriously wrong if we are taking offense to something an Asian thinks is funny. Good job for having a sense of humor Asian Man.

I think it's funny how censorship on TV is getting more and more lenient, but political correctness is becoming stricter. We can show the South Park movie uncut on a regular cable channel, but we can't show a non-vulgar comedy game show that happens to have Asians speaking broken English in it? I'm Jewish and I wasn't offended at all by yesterday's segment with the rabbi lifting buckets of prayer books, I thought it was funny. This isn't hate-based comedy, it's light-hearted and fun. Get over it and enjoy the show.

Blow me, you head queen.

I'm fresca.

FOX airs tasteless garbage, and are a phoney conservative group. The owner, Murdoch, is a leading porn seller, and has the rights to the corrupt NIV bible. So what do you expect from a group like this. What's really weird is he has his offices in Tel Aviv??? Some say he has a statue of Stalin on his desk??? He is a One World Order person.

This show is total trash. I for one am definitely NOT a fan of political correctness, but this show goes way too far. The show's producers say that it makes fun of the stereotypes, and not the ethnic group themselves. That is totally ridiculous. We as Asians must boycott this show and show our outrage.

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Seriously, you people are the same to believe that the show is racist. Mr. Banzai does nothing but referee, Chappy hardly does anything, Hand shake man is self explanatory and Ms. One Question does nothing because she is told to.

And you white people better stop acting like your asian because you're not. They're fonts of turning english letters into fake katakana but you don't see a protest about that.

When I say asianophile I mean the kind of people who claim to be asian when they are clearly white people who probably hasn't even got laid.

Oh boo hoo wahhh, Bonzai is offensive. Tell you what, we'll all just hand over the television program directing to you. That way you can be in complete control of what is aired on TV regardless of anyone else's personal taste. Would you like that?

The show Banzai belongs in the realm of the "joke world". In the joke world, things can get rough. Some people can take it in stride, and other people are pussies. If you're a pussy, then by all means don't watch this dreck. It ain't for you. Don't watch it. If enough people don't like it, then their ratings will collapse and the show will be no more. That's how it works. If it's a success, then guess what? Tough shit for you.

As of this writing I have no idea if the show is still airing anyway.

It didn't do so well here. I think people found it offensive, protests or not. It's not "political correctness" so much as common politeness. People are touchy about racist stereotypes.

Blacks, Jews, and whites get ribbed a lot on TV, but, there are a lot of representations for those groups. You don't see that many Asians on TV, so, it's harder to poke fun. Usually, they're in stereotyped roles, or are extras with no lines.

The argument that there aren't that many Asians around doesn't really hold water. Asians comprise between 5% to 30% of the big cities on the coasts, and in CA, they outnumber African Americans. American media is like Apartheid.

Banzai was originally shown over here in the UK and as far I’m aware no one had any problem with it. I think it happened to be a great programme and made Asia cool again. The whole shows hosted by Asians, don't you think that if it was racist and stereotypical these people would refuse to film it. Have you even seen the programme yet ? It takes the piss out of the contestants throughout who aren't Asian.

Here’s my advice to you CHILL OUT