New PCC - Stunticons, Undertow and Salvage

[kup]

The thing is, I cannot see how anyone at Hasbro could use that word to name a toy without knowing its meaning. There's no form of that word that doesn't either refer to the medical condition, or directly derive from the medical condition as an insult. What were they even going for, and how was there no-one in the entire creative process who went, "Hold on... Spastic? WTF?"

Tells you how much regard there is for the franchise at some levels over there.

[FFN]

Tells you how much regard there is for the franchise at some levels over there.

Actually, this has more to do with the fact spastic (or the more common slang abbreviation, spaz) doesn't carry with it much controversy in the United States. Apparently, it's not used in the US as a derogatory pejorative for people who suffer from cerebral palsy like it is in say, the UK.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spastic..._United_States

So it's more to do with Hasbro being an American toy company (and not being aware that term is offensive in some regions), essentially a cultural misunderstanding, than any lack of regard for the Transformers franchise.

[kup]

They couldn't do a US Google search?

http://www.google.com.au/#sclient=ps...d7755179fb1733

[Sky Shadow]

Actually, this has more to do with the fact spastic (or the more common slang abbreviation, spaz) doesn't carry with it much controversy in the United States. Apparently, it's not used in the US as a derogatory pejorative for people who suffer from cerebral palsy like it is in say, the UK.

Yeah, but it's still naming a Transformer after a medical condition. I mean, imagine the uproar if there was a Transformer called "Cancer"...

Actually, never mind.

[FFN]

ゴッドジンライ ・ キャンサーを救う!?

"God Ginrai - Save Cancer!?"

[GoktimusPrime]

Actually, this has more to do with the fact spastic (or the more common slang abbreviation, spaz) doesn't carry with it much controversy in the United States. Apparently, it's not used in the US as a derogatory pejorative for people who suffer from cerebral palsy like it is in say, the UK.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spastic..._United_States

So it's more to do with Hasbro being an American toy company (and not being aware that term is offensive in some regions), essentially a cultural misunderstanding, than any lack of regard for the Transformers franchise.

But "slag" is chiefly a derogatory term against women in the UK, and yet Hasbro USA decided to avoid using that name in fear of offending people in their non-American markets.

And also, the word "slag" has other non-derogatory meanings, which makes sense in the context of the character as a flamethrowing robot. The word "spastic" is defined as a person who has spasms (from the Latin "spasticus" meaning "to be afflicted with spasms"). So... in what context does this name suit the character? Is he prone to having violent seizures during mid-transformation? (KREMZEEEEEEK!)

What's next? A character whose Speed is 1 and always runs late... let's call him Retard!

[FFN]

Not somebody prone with seizures, but they are most likely referring to a character who is super-energetic, wound up, rapidly moving and clumsy, possibly in an amusing fashion, like Movie Frenzy. That's likely what they're going for, and generally, what North Americans refer to when they describe somebody being "a spaz".

From what I understand in discussion with (generally left-wing, politically correct) Americans and Canadians, their usual usage of spastic or its slang variety spaz is usually not referring to somebody with cerebral palsy or associated conditions, nor is it meant to be the derogatory term it is in some other countries.


It's an honest mistake, not one of malice or stupidity or, as Kup suggests, a lack of caring for the franchise. Even Gok's own cited dictionary definition doesn't suggest that it is a derogatory term at all. After all, in a culture where the word seemingly doesn't have any negative connotations (and is unrelated to serious illnesses), it would seem to be excessive to check if, on the off chance, it was offensive elsewhere?

With hindsight and coming from a different culture, we can say it's a mistake on their part, but it's not as stupid a mistake as some of you are suggesting.

[GoktimusPrime]

Not somebody prone with seizures, but they are most likely referring to a character who is super-energetic, wound up, rapidly moving and clumsy, possibly in an amusing fashion, like Movie Frenzy.

From what I understand in discussion with (generally left-wing, politically correct) Americans and Canadians, their usual usage of spastic or its slang variety spaz is usually not referring to somebody with cerebral palsy or associated conditions, nor is it meant to be the derogatory term it is in some other countries.

And "slag" isn't derogatory outside of Great Britain, and even in the UK it's still not derogatory when used in the context of referring to metals - and from a male robot character.

It's an honest mistake, not one of malice or stupidity or, as Kup suggests, a lack of caring for the franchise. Even Gok's own cited dictionary definition doesn't suggest that it is a derogatory term at all. After all, in a culture where the word seemingly doesn't have any negative connotations (and is unrelated to serious illnesses), it would seem to be excessive to check if, on the off chance, it was offensive elsewhere?

With hindsight and coming from a different culture, we can say it's a mistake on their part, but it's not as stupid a mistake as some of you are suggesting.

You'd think they'd learn to do a bit more research into names after the Nexus Maximus affair. A simple Google search (with safe mode switched off ) probably would've let them know that the word could be offensive in some regions.

Also, the issue I have with this justification is that it seems to contradict Hasbro's action/policy when they deliberately avoided using the name "Slag" and called him Snarl -- in the extremely remote off chance that someone would find it offensive, and even if they did find it offensive and tried to take legal action against Hasbro, they wouldn't have a case since in the context of a flame-throwing Dinobot it's a perfectly reasonable word. It would be like say going to a dog show and trying to take legal action against the organisers for having a sign that said "First Class Bitches" (I've actually seen a sign that said this the Royal Easter Show - for a dog exhibit). Since they're using the word 'bitch' in an appropriate context, then they're perfectly safe to do so. Likewise Hasbro would've been perfectly safe to use "Slag" for that character. After all, G1 Slag was still called "Slag" during the 1980s (and Slag made more than half of his appearances in the Marvel Comics in the UK issues).

Ya know, up until Animated Slag came along, I would happily agree with you. When Night Slash Cheetor came out, UK fans had a good laugh, but everyone understood that it was an innocent cross-sociolinguistic faux pas. Then the same thing happened again with Slapper. Then the whole Animated Snarl thing came out, which established a precedent for Hasbro USA supposedly wanting to be more "sensitive" to potentially upsetting people in other regions (even though they totally wouldn't have IMO).



Would it be possible for Hasbro's International division to give this toy a different name in other Anglophone countries? They could easily print off some stickers to put over the names on the packaging and instructions. They've done it before (not necessarily to change names, but other things on packaging).

[Paulbot]

I was just watching the first episode of the new Conan O'Brien talk show, and one of his first guests was Lea Michelle from Glee. She's the sweet, wholesome girl from the show. She talked about herself as a child and described herself as "energetic" and "spastic".

If it wasn't for this thread I would have been quite shocked with such a comment. Even having read that it's not an offensive term in the US it still seemed really odd for someone to use to describe themselves.

[Tallestblue]

For some odd Reason I'd be a lot happier if the character was called "Spazz" rather than "Spastic" Although I don't collect PCCs.