Did this scene from Jurassic World just insult Pakistanis?
Jurassic World has been a mammoth success. It is well on its way to rake in $1 billion at the box office, shattering previous records but that's not what's making rounds on social media — viewers are expressing disbelief over the supposed racial slur that they heard five to ten minutes into the movie.
One of the many species of dinosaurs that appear in the movie is the Pachycephalosaurus (pronounced pak-ee-sef-a-low-sor -us). When a bunch of them escape, one character states: "The pachys are out of containment!", which phonetically sounds a lot like Paki, the n-word for Pakistanis apparently.
A Pachycephalosaurus originates from Pakistan, says comedian Guzzy Bear. |
Although it sounds just like a short form for Pakistani, it's used as a pejorative against South Asian people, mostly in the United Kingdom. Obviously the fact that the script was penned by Americans and the movie was set in Costa Rica doesn't make a difference: the damage was done.
Some expressed mock fury, like Muslim stand-up comedian, Guzzy Bear, who has called for a boycott of the blockbuster in his latest video.
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Some people were taken aback.
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Some were confused.
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Looks like leading man Chris Pratt was well-prepared for the uproar and apologized well in advance.
What do you think?