Sweden is a place where whacko bizarre ideas are created and then disseminated throughout the rest of the world, and they should be seen and ridiculed as such. There is nothing remotely ‘racist’ in the character, they are seeing things that are simply just not there.
NOTE: The Swedes’ heads would be spinning if they had Finnish children’s card game, ”Musta Pekka” (Black Pete) to contend with.
“We wanted to do the exact opposite and we are very sorry if some have felt offended or felt that we were reinforcing a racist image,” said the film’s director and author of the book, Stina Wirsén, to the Dagens Nyheter newspaper (DN).
“We don’t want to fight it at all, and therefore we’ve taken down the posters which have caused the reactions.”
The film, Little Pink and Brokiga (Liten skär och alla små brokiga), based on a book of the same name, is set to hit Swedish cinemas on September 22nd.
But one particular character in the poster – Hjärtat – has roused the public’s attention with her black face, braided hair, white eyes and oversized, full white lips.
And many are not amused by the character’s appearance.
“Showing a picture like this is like saying the N-word,” argues history of ideas scholar Mikela Lundahl of the Gothenburg University to Sveriges Radio (SR).
One of the characters is white with scary teeth. I’m offended. That’s like calling me ‘white trash’. I’m going to move to Sweden, complain and demand compensation. By the way, I won’t be commenting on your blog again for at least er….. twenty minutes.
I’m too upset!