Quote:
Originally Posted by JK47
Always seems like folks who aren't the subject of an purportedly offensive term are the first to say that the term isn't offensive. Even acting with indignation that anyone could think the term could be viewed as offensive and arguing that, given how long that term has been used, it should be exempt from change as a result of our evolving understanding of how that term may be offensive.
"It’s not offensive because it’s not talking about a person."
Except it is. The theater's name is tied to its fanciful/fictional depictions of scenes from the Far East (or East Asia to use a more modern term). Scenes that would, whether they are visible or not, be inhabited by the people therefrom.
"I wonder if they’ll rename Occidental College next? Because that’s the same fucking thing."
You are, if memory serves, living in London which is virtually the epicenter of Orientalism and you think "Occidental" is somehow equivalent? Sure in an alternate history where Oriens and Occidens were only ever used as Latin geographic terms. However that is not nearly the case especially after two or three centuries of colonial efforts in Eastern Asia.
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I'm pretty persuaded by these points. None of this seems like snowflakery to me. It seems like a thoughtful understanding of the issue and why the term might be offensive when applied to a theater. I find the point that 'theater' is inextricably linked to 'people' and depictions of humanity to be quite compelling. In this context, the term really communicates an infantilized/fetishized portraiture of Asian people, and conjures images not unlike a minstrel show. Whereas when applied to a museum, "oriental" seems limited to artifacts and tools.
I do think its wise to understand these things deeply and to start from the presumption that the term is indeed offensive. Otherwise, your run the risk of letting your position of white privilege blind you to history and the present. But I'd really like to hear from an Asian American advocacy group to get their opinion and go with that.