Forum - View topicINTEREST: RageOn T-Shirt Company Defends 'Pikajew,' Smoking Jigglypuff as 'Parody'
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Mr. Oshawott
 Posts: 6773 |
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Right... 
I don't see how these T-shirts are in any way funny at all... That aside, if profit is being made from these shirts, I don't see RageOn winning this battle. It also doesn't help that their reference to the [Unofficial] Pokémon PAX Party is only setting themselves up for a simple defeat, since the hosts of it were intending to make money out of it while using the franchise (Pokémon) to represent it and their alcoholic beverages. |
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ssgOverlord
 Posts: 91 |
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You see, the I could see them getting away with the Pikajew thing or the Snorlax one...if they drew their own art. Or at least traced it. More than anything, I don't think a little Photoshop is transformative enough to fall under fair use and parody.
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MysticLeviathan
Posts: 30 |
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The big issue is it's perfectly reasonable to mistake some of the clothing as official merchandise, which really hurts the Pokemon brand. I don't exactly know the laws of this, so I can't comment about the legality, but from a moral standpoint, I understand the lawsuit completley.
I'm also Jewish and find the Pikajew shirt to be hilarious. |
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Ali07
 Posts: 3333 Location: Victoria, Australia |
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Same.
Agreed. As others have mentioned, they are using official images with very slight alterations...meaning that they could easily be mistaken for official merch. Don't see them winning this one. |
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SilverTalon01
Posts: 2403 |
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Its this stupid super PC craze that is going around. It has gotten so bad that a lot of well known comedians have stopped doing colleges. I'm not a Jew, and I found that to be quite funny. I also found the first jigglypuff and snorlax ones amusing. I wouldn't buy any of them though. |
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mewpudding101
Industry Insider
 Posts: 2206 Location: Tokyo, Japan |
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I have to say, that pikachu one is pretty offensive. Especially as someone who is Jewish. So it's not like "all Jews" think it's funny.
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BadNewsBlues
Posts: 5936 |
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Someone erred on the side logic that since Pikachu is essentially a golden goose for the Pokemon brand and Jews have stereotypically been portrayed as being immensely successful financially (in America) they had to throw the two together and get what we now know as "PikaJew". |
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sokpupet
Posts: 133 |
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There ya go. |
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Desa
 Posts: 285 |
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Pikajew is so CA$H.
Yeah, reminds me of those people who care about social justice. Unlike most, I'm not one of those people who would want to live in a state where the creation of such art on t-shirts is not allowed. What, like jews can't like pokemon AND money? The nerve! Seriously though, the PC-ness is stronger here than in any other forum I can recall off the top of my head. ANN's filters are so nanny-state you can't even put the letters S and J and W together or else the thought-police "auto-incorrects" that into "people I disagree with politically". LOL inefficient much? It's not even accurate. Why exactly can't I acronymize "Super Jelly Weaboos"? People are just jelly they don't have such awesome t-shirts. |
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Mr. Oshawott
Posts: 6773 |
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Make no mistake, I'm all for freedom of expression. However, when someone decides to take the artwork of a company's franchise and use it to make a profit out of it, that's when the person has stepped into the grounds of copyright infringement. |
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Lostlorn Forest
 Posts: 544 Location: USA |
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If they were selling the Jigglypuff shirt with the marker on a site like Hot Topic or something I'd seriously consider purchasing it. The others are hilarious but not something I'd want to wear publicly. They're too try-hard.
Wait... Is the term "person who cares about social justice" derogatory? I had always thought it was what people identify themselves as. Maybe ANN just doesn't want that rubbish mentioned on their forums? |
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SilverTalon01
Posts: 2403 |
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I agree. The problem I see with the pikachu shirt is that it appears to be official art that they photoshopped stuff on top of. If this was just an image some one put on their website, then whatever, I'd buy the parody argument. Putting it on a shirt and selling it is crossing the line. |
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EricJ2
 Posts: 4016 |
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It's Snorlax on a weed background--That's why he's so laid-back, huhuh, get it, get it??
Think Lostlorn nailed it when he said these were "trying too hard"-- They're aimed at the frat/stoner demographic, that's either still core gamers or still thinks Pokemon jokes are funny or topical since 1999. Which means they try to go for as many "shock" jokes to go after the overexposed pop-culture target, making the "Jewish" joke just more lazy and pointless than offensive. There are hundreds of goofy stoner bootleg t-shirts of overexposed pop-culture targets every day, these just happened to get caught. Still, a few less at Hot Topic is always a good thing. |
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mewpudding101
Industry Insider
Posts: 2206 Location: Tokyo, Japan |
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Yeah. That's not funny. That's a really old and rude stereotype. It wasn't just America. The rumor that Jewish people were rich goes back a very long time. It was because Jews weren't allowed any other jobs other than dealing with money (at banks, loans and such). They then got hated by people because they dealt with money and "took their money." This is one of the main reasons for the holocaust in Europe, because Hitler and other radicals took advantage of the poor financial situation in Germany after World War I and blamed it on the Jews. Desperate, the people joined in in the scape goat-ing. So no. The association is not funny at all. I'm all up for parody, but using the stereotypes of certain cultural and ethnic groups as a nasty joke is not funny. |
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minakichan
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A Jigglypuff holding a black marker is in no way transformative, parodical, or commentative.
I'm all for cool fanart and stuff, but companies clearly making a quick cash grab who try to hide behind a parody defense when it's this obvious and creatively bankrupt are bootleggers. They give a bad name to the fanartists and doujin artists who already walk a fine line. |
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