Top Gear has gotten A LOT of heat this week from Mexican press and the Mexican Ambassador to Brittain. However, most of the backlash is from social media savvy Mexicans on Facebook, Twitter, blogs, etc.
If you haven't heard, Top Gear made crass ethnic jokes when reviewing a Mexican sports car. See the video on Sky News. Why play the racial card when someone can't come up with a witty retort to something?
The BBC immediately submitted a non-apology type of apology to try and calm the waters. Many reporting on this situation have clearly said that Top Gear is known to use insensitive jokes. It's part of their MO. OK. I'm a fan and I know they're crass and asinine sometimes, but why pick on an entire ethnic group rather than the manufacturer?
I didn't know Mexico had a sports car manufacturer (Mastretta), but more importantly, now I do. There are a lot of small sports car manufacturers popping up in recent years. Perhaps adding to an already busy market segment irritated the Top Gear anchors. Perhaps there's a better way of taking the Mickey out of the manufacturer?
I was a little hearbroken by the news, being a Top Gear fan. I know that these three automotive journalists are all accomplices as equal partners and friends in these typical shenanigans. It's a team effort, even though they're usually egged on by Crass Clarkson--as I like to call him.
I also hate Westernized Mexican food--it's crap. That type of slosh really is sick with cheese. Go to Mexico and try the real thing. You'll learn a thing or two. Just ask Rick Bayless.
This brouhaha may very well exemplify a change from polite society standards that used to govern England with a tight fist, for a more pedestrian and devil-may-care philosophy. Perhaps this sarcastic streak is further enhanced by a recent bad economy? Maybe. Cue posh upper class citizens' cries of: the commoners are taking over!
So after this mini let down, I am perhaps a little more sensitive to nasty jokes lately. There's plenty of fodder let me tell you. Being an avid car news and review reader, I find tons of the stuff.
This is why I was a little appalled by a review on Wired Autopia for the FIAT 500 model that's finally, after a very long time, coming to the US market. The sentences that got my goat are:
"You also never forget that it’s Italian, which means that speed and practicality take a back seat to flair and emotion. You end up laughing in spite of yourself and doing things like stopping for espresso (or a sandwich, or a nap, or an interesting art buy) even when you’re late."
Harsh words coming from the world's melting pot. Speed and practicality? Have you ever driven on an Italian highway? Ever heard of Lamborghini and Ferrari? Those aren't fast are they? This blubber sounds like it's describing someone in Los Angeles who drives a Prius, not an Italian.
Are we just a little bit sore that a foreign company bought out a decrepit and falling-apart Chrysler? Perhaps. But don't shoot the financier who swoops in, shoot those who let the company fall apart to begin with.
This is just the same stereotype that Italians complained about when Eat, Pray, Love came to Italian movie theaters. American's like their stereotypes and they stick to them with a passion.
Do you ever hear jokes about chopsticks being too long to fit in a Toyota Yaris hatchback? What about jokes about Korean car makers making crap that falls apart...much like their governments? No you don't hear jokes like that, do you?
I still think that a lot of car reviewers should arduously and continuously pursue writing to refine and focus their commentary. There's so much more that can be done with a car review than an obituary. Trust me I come from a journalism and writing background, I know!
Automotive journalists should focus more on telling a story and seducing with words--painting a picture with words that a reader will want to believe in. Try that rather than turning off entire segments of your viewers/readers/listeners, or joking around about the ethnic group belonging to the car manufacturer.
There's so much more that can be done in this industry to elevate it with audiences of all levels. It's a pity we're instead stuck spinning our wheels, slinging mud everywhere.
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