In the first film, which came out in 2007, Jazz was voiced by Darius McCrary, and upon landing on Earth, he announces, “What’s cracking, little bitches? This looks like a cool place to kick it.”īut if we’re talking about racist Transformers, two other Autobots spring to mind much more prominently. When Transformers started getting their own live-action movies a couple decades later, the problem wasn’t rectified.
Is liking Jazz racist now, I haven't been a kid in like thirty years /dx1WYpk3kn Jazz was my favorite Transformer as a kid. How racist is the #transformer character #jazz? #theGoodOldDays RT What's your favorite Transformer that's not Optimus Prime? #shrinkage (Initially, he was meant to be Optimus Prime ’s right-hand man, but his role diminished over time.) And maybe kids didn’t pick up on the subtle racial coding going on in the animated show, but we sure have as adults: Maybe Jazz isn’t racist, per se, but he’s definitely a crude cultural stereotype: the super-cool, badass Black best friend. Scatman Crothers voiced Jazz, and watching those old episodes now, you want to cringe. In other words, he was the Autobots’ designated “Black” character - except I was too young to understand the implications of that. Like his name suggested, Jazz was sophisticated and suave, a lover of Earthlings’ music and able to talk in a funky street style that made him seem so much hipper than his more earnest cohorts.
#Film robot transformer series#
Back in the mid-1980s when they were a popular animated television series - basically a way for Hasbro to sell toys - one of my favorite characters was Jazz, an Autobot who transformed into a Porsche, which was obviously the coolest car around.
The Transformers always had a problem with racial insensitivity.
Or, like today, it will be a look back at one of the most offensive moments in the Transformers saga. Perhaps it will be a salute to Marty McFly’s DeLorean. Maybe it will be a celebration of an iconic film or actor.
#Film robot transformer movie#
Each Friday for the next few months, we’ll be presenting “The Ultimate Summer Movie Guide,” honoring the greatest, goofiest and most memorable aspects of blockbuster seasons gone by. Let’s face it: There is probably not going to be a summer movie season this year.