Difference between revisions of "Jynx (Pokemon Red and Blue)"

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[[Category: Black Racism in Video Games]]
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Latest revision as of 09:31, 15 March 2021

Jynx purple.png

Well-known as Rougela, Jynx is one of Pokemon species. The Pokemon was created by Ken Sugimori in Pokemon Red and Blue, a digital video game. Later it appears on spinoffs, merchandise, printed, and animated adaptations [1].

The character is only available through trading with an NPC in the game. A second generation Pokemon game introduces Smoochum. At level 30, it evolves to Jynx. Jynx appears in a lot of Pokemon games: Pokemon Platinum, Pokemon Black and White, Pokemon Ultra Sun, and Ultra Moon. Also, it appears in a lot of spin-off titles like Pokemon Snap, Pokemon Pinball, Pokemon Mystery Dungeon, Pokemon Ranger, and Pokemon Go [2].

When Jynx moves, it walks wiggling its hip like dancing. It dances to communicate, and speaks the language only other Jynx would understand [3] The type is physic with kissing or orb attack. It can create a barrier to protect itself.

Jynx was the first generation Pokemon FireRed and LeafGreen, which is known outside of Japan as Pokemon Red and Blue. The design was inspired by mythical creatures Yamauba and Yuki-onna [4]. The female species Pokemon, Jynx’s skin was cahnged after receiving critics that the character was associated with racism. Because of the controversy in the skin color, the skin appearance is changed into purple in Pokemon Stadium and all subsequent games.

Black jynx.jpg

The Controversy

Jynx was a female-only type of Pokemon. Its appearance is like a human. It has fingers, hair, round eyes, lips, body shape, and dark skin. Without the visibility of its feet, Jynx wears clothing that covers its body, resembling a circular bra and skirt. The humanoid design was criticized by western media including Carole Boston Weatherford, a cultural critic. He accused that Jynx had represented blackface of American-Africans[5]. Weatherford reacted by publishing an article in Greensboro News & Record. She further criticized Jynx in Advertising Age magazine, comparing it to Little Black Sambo. Because of that, Game Freak changed his skin color from black into purple. [6].

The controversy continues. 1UP.com called Jynx “the infamous blackface Pokemon” [7]. Marry C Morton, Washington Post staff, stated that Jynx represented grossly caricature woman portrait [8]. Retronauts said that the design was creepy and carried racism. Carolyn Gudmunson compared the design with Gothita Line and said Jynx was creepier [9]. IGN accused the character of a "transvestite midget in racially offensive makeup" [10].

Aftermath

The initial release of Jynx Pokémon was controversy-free. But after the game was released in America, Jynx received criticism for its skin color [11]

After the issue of racism arose, Game Freak changed the design of the game. As mentioned, the skin color was changed from black to purple. Later on, the episodes with the older Jynx were censored or removed by Warner Bros televised syndication. The changes on the game are implemented on the future Pokemon series as well [12]. Despite the controversy, the poll in Serebii.net showed that 86.9% of the voters did not agree that Jynx was racist. While 4.7% voted yes it is racist, and 8.4% did not know what to say about the issue. The vote was carried out on Aug 1, 2005, with 107 voters [13].

References

  1. Jynx. Wikipedia. Retrieved on Jan 28. 2021
  2. Pokemon Location Listing. IGN. Retrieved on Feb 6, 2021.
  3. Pulliam-Moore, Charles. How Nintendo Changed this Racist Pokemon’s Design for the Better. Archived on Mar 3, 2016. Retrieved on Feb 2, 2021.
  4. [1] Madsen, Hayes. Why Jynx Is Pokémon's Most Infamous Design. Retrieved on Feb 6, 2021.
  5. Jim Crow Museum. Racism on Pokemon – September 2009. Retrieved on Feb 2, 2021
  6. Carole Boston Weatherford. Pokemon phenom harbors racist image; Jynx character is a stereotype comparable to Little Black Sambo. Advertising Age. Crain Communications, Inc
  7. Chris Buffa. Top 10 Weirdest Looking Pokémon. GameDaily. AOL. Archived from the original on Apr 15, 2021. Retrieved on Jan 28, 2021
  8. Mary C. Morton. "Pokemon: The Dark Side". The Washington Post
  9. Carolyn Gudmundson. The most overused Pokemon designs, Pokemon HeartGold / SoulSilver DS Features. GamesRadar+. Retrieved Jan 28, 2021
  10. DeVries, Jack. Pokemon Report: Do Not Want. IGN. News Corporation. Retrieved Jan 28, 2021
  11. Blinkoff, Alex. The 5 Biggest Controversies in Pokemon History Infographic. Retrieved on Feb 2, 2021.
  12. DeVries, Jack. Pokemon Report: Do Not Want. IGN. News Corporation. Retrieved Jan 28, 2021
  13. Ethereal. Do you think Jynx is a racist Pokemon? Archived on Aug 1, 2005. Retrieved on Feb 2, 2021.