Why is Piccolo Considered "The Black Guy"?
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- Lunatic Fringe
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Why is Piccolo Considered "The Black Guy"?
Something that's kinda been, I guess, "bothering" me since I really started delving into the Dragon Ball internet fandom is the notion that Piccolo is...well, black. Your mileage may vary on what the term necessarily means but keep in mind that "Piccolo being the black guy" is basically a meme along with Krillin being the most useless, Yamcha's first death being hilariously pathetic, Popo being a racist caricature, etc so it's safe to say that it's not something that you're supposed to approach with a studious curiosity. Now, as I mentioned before, this meme "bothers" me. Not because I find it offensive but because I can't understand where or how it came about. I think about every black stereotype out there and I can't find anyway to connect the dots as to how this meme makes any sense. Is folding his arms and scowling all the time really what makes Piccolo "black"? I mean, I understand that the other memes I've referenced come about from a lack of understanding about how the original version plays out since I'm willing to bet that most American viewers that religiously watched DBZ from '99 to '03 on Toonami, like I did, had that as their first experience and therefore, didn't understand just how much Yamcha dying meant to the series or that Krillin had actually come a long way since his debut in the Dragon Ball anime. But even taking that casual, FUNi perspective into consideration, nothing comes up as to how Piccolo being "black" makes any sense. How did this come about? How did it get to be so prominent? I'm really at a loss here and I'd appreciate it if some in the know could shed some light on this cryptic concept.
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Re: Why is Piccolo Considerd "The Black Guy"?
7 feet tall, good at basketball, deep voice, is a playa, and one of the hardest muthafuckas' of the Z-Warriors.
fadeddreams5 wrote:Goku didn't die in GT. The show sucked him off so much, it was impossible to keep him in the world of the living, so he ascended beyond mortality.DBZGTKOSDH wrote:... Haven't we already gotten these in GT? Goku dies, the DBs go away, and the Namekian DBs most likely won't be used again because of the Evil Dragons.
jjgp1112 wrote: ↑Sat Jul 18, 2020 6:31 am I'm just about done with the concept of reboots and making shows that were products of their time and impactful "new and sexy" and in line with modern tastes and sensibilities. Let stuff stay in their era and give today's kids their own shit to watch.
I always side eye the people who say "Now my kids/today's kids can experience what I did as a child!" Nigga, who gives a fuck about your childhood? You're an adult now and it was at least 15 years ago. Let the kids have their own experience instead of picking at a corpse.
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Re: Why is Piccolo Considerd "The Black Guy"?
I'm pretty sure he'd be good at basketball. He wouldn't even have to move to block someone from making a shot.DBZAOTA482 wrote:7 feet tall, good at basketball, deep voice, is a playa, and one of the hardest muthafuckas' of the Z-Warriors.
On another note, that get-up MIGHT be where it all started but the way I've seen it talked about, it stems from actually examining his character and coming to the "black" conclusion.
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Re: Why is Piccolo Considerd "The Black Guy"?
I've never heard of this but of all the "black stereotypes" I've heard he really only fits one (a deep voice).
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Re: Why is Piccolo Considerd "The Black Guy"?
Well he did release that album of slow jams in that one filler episode...it was considered too hot and heavy for the English release though.
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Re: Why is Piccolo Considerd "The Black Guy"?
Because in one episode of DBZ, he dressed up like Fresh Prince Of Bel-Air:
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Re: Why is Piccolo Considerd "The Black Guy"?
I could be off base but I think it's probably due to black fans of this franchise being hard up for representation. That is to say, Piccolo's race is abstract so it's easy to project any race on him. I've heard similar diatribes about how Freeza represents the white man and how the Saiyans are black people. Art can be interpreted in many different ways. That being said I'm the whitest fucking person you'll ever meet so take my opinion on this with a grain of salt.
Re: Why is Piccolo Considerd "The Black Guy"?
Shit, if you really want to get into it, I'd venture an enormous guess it has to do with Sabat's deep voice and some really problematic stereotypes, and Piccolo being the only visually different, skin-tone-wise, character among a standard "anime-white" cast.
Those, and WeeklyTubeShow's less problematic, genuinely hilarious YouTube videos.
Those, and WeeklyTubeShow's less problematic, genuinely hilarious YouTube videos.
Re: Why is Piccolo Considerd "The Black Guy"?
This topic is rather shady because its like saying all Nameks are black.
Do you consider Kami to be black? Dende? King Piccolo? All the other Nameks? Why should Piccolo be considered black and not his entire race?
Do you consider Kami to be black? Dende? King Piccolo? All the other Nameks? Why should Piccolo be considered black and not his entire race?
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Re: Why is Piccolo Considerd "The Black Guy"?
Is this really a thing? I don't think I've ever encountered it before.
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Re: Why is Piccolo Considerd "The Black Guy"?
The only thing I've ever seen that perpetrated this was WeeklyTubeShow, and that is obviously a joke. Then again, I do not venture outside of Kanzenshuu too hard. The "I'm Just Saiyan" crowd is what I fear.
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Re: Why is Piccolo Considerd "The Black Guy"?
It could be his English voice that give people the idea.
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Re: Why is Piccolo Considerd "The Black Guy"?
I've encountered it a lot, and I'm not just including things like WeeklyTubeShow which is just meant to be random humour.Herms wrote:Is this really a thing? I don't think I've ever encountered it before.
I've always been confused why this is, but it's probably to do with representation. Piccolo's also idealized a lot by fans, so I'd guess it's not because he's particularly black but because fans apply all these labels like "badass" "strategist" and the like to him which makes him appealing to identify with.
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Re: Why is Piccolo Considerd "The Black Guy"?
He's known as "Big Green" on the streets.
Big Green: Do whateveryoulike, Ghos
Broly: haha He calls me a goohst, but IMMMD DA DEVVVVAAALLL! RAHAHAHAHA!
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Trunks: "Dhe computer selffishy intesnafiy dosuementos."
Android 13: Yum Boy
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Vegeta: The Legendary Warrior of SpaZe.
Broly: haha He calls me a goohst, but IMMMD DA DEVVVVAAALLL! RAHAHAHAHA!
-----
Trunks: "Dhe computer selffishy intesnafiy dosuementos."
Android 13: Yum Boy
-----
Vegeta: The Legendary Warrior of SpaZe.
Re: Why is Piccolo Considerd "The Black Guy"?
I always thought it was because his skin was like the only one that wasn't white
Re: Why is Piccolo Considerd "The Black Guy"?
Do people really see the cast as "white?" Aren't they all, you know...Japanese?
I think Bulma, Android 18, and Mr. Satan are some of the few characters who are likely "white" and not Asian.
I think Bulma, Android 18, and Mr. Satan are some of the few characters who are likely "white" and not Asian.
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Re: Why is Piccolo Considerd "The Black Guy"?
Goku (manga), Vegeta, Krillin (manga), Yamcha, Goten (manga), and Trunks aren't white.s841 wrote:I always thought it was because his skin was like the only one that wasn't white
fadeddreams5 wrote:Goku didn't die in GT. The show sucked him off so much, it was impossible to keep him in the world of the living, so he ascended beyond mortality.DBZGTKOSDH wrote:... Haven't we already gotten these in GT? Goku dies, the DBs go away, and the Namekian DBs most likely won't be used again because of the Evil Dragons.
jjgp1112 wrote: ↑Sat Jul 18, 2020 6:31 am I'm just about done with the concept of reboots and making shows that were products of their time and impactful "new and sexy" and in line with modern tastes and sensibilities. Let stuff stay in their era and give today's kids their own shit to watch.
I always side eye the people who say "Now my kids/today's kids can experience what I did as a child!" Nigga, who gives a fuck about your childhood? You're an adult now and it was at least 15 years ago. Let the kids have their own experience instead of picking at a corpse.
Re: Why is Piccolo Considerd "The Black Guy"?
I said their skin not race. Is their skin not white?DBZAOTA482 wrote:Goku (manga), Vegeta, Krillin (manga), Yamcha, Goten (manga), and Trunks aren't white.s841 wrote:I always thought it was because his skin was like the only one that wasn't white
Sorry what do you want me to call them? Black? Orange? Blue? Their skin is white. Picolo's isn't. That's my theory on why he's considered "black".
Last edited by s841 on Sun Nov 29, 2015 1:02 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Why is Piccolo Considerd "The Black Guy"?
Yess841 wrote:I said their skin not race. Is there skin not white?DBZAOTA482 wrote:Goku (manga), Vegeta, Krillin (manga), Yamcha, Goten (manga), and Trunks aren't white.s841 wrote:I always thought it was because his skin was like the only one that wasn't white
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Re: Why is Piccolo Considerd "The Black Guy"?
Black people are shorter than whites on average.DBZAOTA482 wrote:7 feet tall
The Monkey King wrote:It was actually Beerus disguised as Zarbon #StayWokeRandomGuy96 wrote:He's probably referring to the Bardock special. Zarbon was the one who first recommended destroying Planet Vegeta because the saiyans were rapidly growing in strength.dbgtFO wrote: Please elaborate as I do not know what you mean by "pushing Vegeta's destruction"
Herms wrote:The fact that the ridiculous power inflation is presented so earnestly makes me just roll my eyes and snicker. Like with Freeza, where he starts off over 10 times stronger than all his henchmen except Ginyu (because...well, just because), then we find out he can transform and get even more powerful, and then he reveals he can transform two more times, before finally coming out with the fact that he hasn't even been using anywhere near 50% of his power. Oh, and he can survive in the vacuum of space. All this stuff is just presented as the way Freeza is, without even an attempt at rationalizing it, yet the tone dictates we're supposed to take all this silly grasping at straws as thrilling danger. So I guess I don't really take the power inflation in the Boo arc seriously, but I don't take the power inflation in earlier arcs seriously either, so there's no net loss of seriousness. I think a silly story presented as serious is harder to accept than a silly story presented as silly.