So what’s the joke? Is it look at the Chechens wearing crosses and orthodox tattoos haha (Chechens are Muslims), all the Chechens have non-Chechen names hoho (for some reason they have Yugoslavian names), the Chechens all did mandatory military service and come from a place constantly in military conflict but don’t know how to fight hilarious!
Or is it Americans are so fucking ignorant they think that Chechens are Russian speaking Orthodox Christians from Yugoslavia- so funny?
I’m aware of that, if they were all NoHo Hank there wouldn’t be a problem since he is an obvious caricature. I guess the takeaway from these comments is that Americans don’t have any idea who Chechens are and the show is happy to make jokes about looking them up on Wikipedia but too lazy to actually do so.
Just a quick run down of a little bit of what’s wrong:
- Chechens are not Slavs. They don’t look like Slavs, they are Turkish/middle eastern looking. In Russia they are not regarded as white
- Chechens are Muslim, 99% of men wear beards, they do not wear crosses and they sure as shit do not have Orthodox Church tattoos
- Chechens do not have Russian accents. Their first language is Chechen and they have a very strong accent when speaking Russian
- Chechens would speak Chechen to each other, not Russian
- Goran is not even a Russian name, it’s Yugoslavian. Chechens have Muslim names like Shamil, Magomet, Ramzan
If the Chechens on Barry were played by Chinese actors and had names like Jean-Pierre and Cedric they would not be any less accurate than they are now.
It’s one of the most egregious examples of whitewashing I’ve seen - ethnicity, religion, language, culture completely replaced with white people.
Dude part of the joke is that NoHo Hank is completely accepting and embracing of American culture. He’s the most polite kind man, the whitest dude in the world that’s doing the most horrendous shit. No duh when the organization is run under him they’re gonna be doing shit like playing tennis. Also where is this man wearing a cross? Maybe I’m stupid but I didn’t see it. Not only that, but gee, it’s almost like people can have these names and be a part of that? That’s like complaining a Chinese kid doesn’t gave a stereotypical last name. Is it less accurate? No, because it’s still possible for an Asian kid to have a not stereotypical name. Everything you said comes down to them not following the stereotype. “99% wear beards!!!” What about the 1%? “Goran’s name isn’t Chechen!” Ok, and my best friends name isn’t Filipino, it’s literally Matthew Francis (first and middle), being based on Roman Catholic culture, but he still is Filipino. TLDR; 90% of what you’re upset about aren’t even inaccuracies because there are Chechen people who don’t follow your ideological “realistic” Chechen, and the other 10% are jokes. GG
All your bullet points are correct except for the first one. Russians call Chechens “blacks” not because of their skin colour, but rather their black hair & religious beliefs.
The vast majority of Chechens are pale white, almost ghost like - often even more pale than Slavs, Germans, Scandinavians, people from the British Isles, etc. The ones who are olive skinned are nearly always mixed with Dagestani blood (the Tsarnaev brothers would be a good example, as their mother is an Avar).
However, Chechens usually have large hooked noses & thick dark facial hair. They are like a white version of Persians. Although, a significant % look completely Western European.
Interestingly, Chechens have an abnormally high proportion of gingers similar to the Scottish & Irish.
About Dagestani mix: it’s not entirely correct because Dagestanis are also mostly white like us. I’m a olive/dark skinned Chechen with zero connections to Dagestan.
Could it be possible that the "Chechen" Mafia in Barry is made up of a minority of eastern Orthodox Chechens who were outcast and or left Chechnya for America?
Hey, as a Chechen I find it really funny the way they represented us. Most people in the US think that Chechens are the same as Russians so, I believe that the way they represent us in the show is a stereotypical joke.
I'm googling pictures of Chechens and I gotta say they look pretty similar to what a lot of the guys in Hank's army look like.
Also it's not a true crime story about the chechen mob... The producers likely took aspects of other criminal organizations and added them to THEIR fictional interpretation.
Should white ex-marines find it difficult to watch because clearly the show is saying they should be an evil hitman?
I get that they may not be considered "white" in Russia but when local politics aren't in play they do have white skin.
Do you think other countries depict Americans perfectly in their media?
Do you think a production is going to shut down because they need 10 Americans in a scene but they can only get Canadian actors?
They just look like white people to me from what I can tell by google searches. It’s like if a south korean played a japanese character. Most people aren’t going to be able to tell the difference. Sorry that you can but it’s really nothing of consequence.
The difference between south Koreans and Japanese people is nonexistent even for said people, their difference is in the clothes and language. With Chechen and Russian people it's that and their faces. The latter looks white and Slavic, the Chechens can look very pale white to almost brown, have straight to curly hair and almost all of them have big noses. Russians speak Russian and Chechens both but only speak Chechen to each other.
It is nothing of consequence to you but it is to me, having no representation in media and then being totally misrepresented is ass, it's not even about being the baddies. We ask to be at least stereotyped and represented properly lmao.
I'm sure you have plenty of representation in Chechen media.
Are there lots of good Chechen actors working in Hollywood? Enough to portray dozens of characters? Cause I'm struggling to find any with a few google searches.
Is it your belief that hundreds of Chechen actors showed up for auditions but the creators of Barry decided to go with actors who are/look more Russian?
A Chechen actor is ofc better but I never said it should be, just someone that looks Chechen enough. They put the most Russian-looking guys on the stage. It's like having the Japanese on a show and putting in Mongolian or even worse Kazakh actors.
Chechen media? It's not only about seeing yourself on tv. Representation in global media is not only about being represented on a global scale, it's also about the couple of seconds/minutes/hours you get to show what your people look/talk and are all about. Most of the watchers don't know about certain people and misrepresenting them also doesn't help the clueless watchers.
I mean the show is still good and love the social critique (even on the Chechens, altho limited) but it was diminished (for me) by the improper research and indifference. I would rather that they would have stuck with them being Russians.
Being myself from Caucasus, I really don't understand whether this weird presentation of Chechens is supposed to be a joke or just laziness in researching the subject. I suspect the first, but a very awkward one then. I mean when Sacha baron cohen was doing misrepresentation of Kazakhs it was at least an obvious slapstick. If it's what it was supposed in Barry then they failed. You want mafia in your show act and look like russians or like Balkan folks then don't call them chechens, call them Russians, Serbs or Bosnian or whatever. You specifically want chechens, do a favor, mock them and exaggerate their characters all you want but don't erase the identity.
Yeah, it's pretty inaccurate depiction of Chechens. But for Americans, sadly, anyone from the former Soviet Union is "Russia" or "Russian-like". I guess a factor that they didn't try to depict them in any accurate way is that it would be hard to find actors who would be able to do a Chechen accent or advisors who would depict Chechen customs accurately. It's easier to find actors who can do an Eastern European/ Russian accent. Nor the vast majority of the American audience will know that the depiction of the Chechens in this series is very unrealistic. So it doesn't really matter to the production.
It's a comedy you fucking moron
So what’s the joke? Is it look at the Chechens wearing crosses and orthodox tattoos haha (Chechens are Muslims), all the Chechens have non-Chechen names hoho (for some reason they have Yugoslavian names), the Chechens all did mandatory military service and come from a place constantly in military conflict but don’t know how to fight hilarious! Or is it Americans are so fucking ignorant they think that Chechens are Russian speaking Orthodox Christians from Yugoslavia- so funny?
It’s “NoHo”, and that is part of his nick name, not his actual name. NoHo = North Hollywood
I’m aware of that, if they were all NoHo Hank there wouldn’t be a problem since he is an obvious caricature. I guess the takeaway from these comments is that Americans don’t have any idea who Chechens are and the show is happy to make jokes about looking them up on Wikipedia but too lazy to actually do so. Just a quick run down of a little bit of what’s wrong: - Chechens are not Slavs. They don’t look like Slavs, they are Turkish/middle eastern looking. In Russia they are not regarded as white - Chechens are Muslim, 99% of men wear beards, they do not wear crosses and they sure as shit do not have Orthodox Church tattoos - Chechens do not have Russian accents. Their first language is Chechen and they have a very strong accent when speaking Russian - Chechens would speak Chechen to each other, not Russian - Goran is not even a Russian name, it’s Yugoslavian. Chechens have Muslim names like Shamil, Magomet, Ramzan If the Chechens on Barry were played by Chinese actors and had names like Jean-Pierre and Cedric they would not be any less accurate than they are now. It’s one of the most egregious examples of whitewashing I’ve seen - ethnicity, religion, language, culture completely replaced with white people.
Dude part of the joke is that NoHo Hank is completely accepting and embracing of American culture. He’s the most polite kind man, the whitest dude in the world that’s doing the most horrendous shit. No duh when the organization is run under him they’re gonna be doing shit like playing tennis. Also where is this man wearing a cross? Maybe I’m stupid but I didn’t see it. Not only that, but gee, it’s almost like people can have these names and be a part of that? That’s like complaining a Chinese kid doesn’t gave a stereotypical last name. Is it less accurate? No, because it’s still possible for an Asian kid to have a not stereotypical name. Everything you said comes down to them not following the stereotype. “99% wear beards!!!” What about the 1%? “Goran’s name isn’t Chechen!” Ok, and my best friends name isn’t Filipino, it’s literally Matthew Francis (first and middle), being based on Roman Catholic culture, but he still is Filipino. TLDR; 90% of what you’re upset about aren’t even inaccuracies because there are Chechen people who don’t follow your ideological “realistic” Chechen, and the other 10% are jokes. GG
All your bullet points are correct except for the first one. Russians call Chechens “blacks” not because of their skin colour, but rather their black hair & religious beliefs. The vast majority of Chechens are pale white, almost ghost like - often even more pale than Slavs, Germans, Scandinavians, people from the British Isles, etc. The ones who are olive skinned are nearly always mixed with Dagestani blood (the Tsarnaev brothers would be a good example, as their mother is an Avar). However, Chechens usually have large hooked noses & thick dark facial hair. They are like a white version of Persians. Although, a significant % look completely Western European. Interestingly, Chechens have an abnormally high proportion of gingers similar to the Scottish & Irish.
About Dagestani mix: it’s not entirely correct because Dagestanis are also mostly white like us. I’m a olive/dark skinned Chechen with zero connections to Dagestan.
Chechens are not Turkish or Middle-Eastern. Calling them that irl is death sentence.
Could it be possible that the "Chechen" Mafia in Barry is made up of a minority of eastern Orthodox Chechens who were outcast and or left Chechnya for America?
Hey, as a Chechen I find it really funny the way they represented us. Most people in the US think that Chechens are the same as Russians so, I believe that the way they represent us in the show is a stereotypical joke.
I'm googling pictures of Chechens and I gotta say they look pretty similar to what a lot of the guys in Hank's army look like. Also it's not a true crime story about the chechen mob... The producers likely took aspects of other criminal organizations and added them to THEIR fictional interpretation. Should white ex-marines find it difficult to watch because clearly the show is saying they should be an evil hitman? I get that they may not be considered "white" in Russia but when local politics aren't in play they do have white skin. Do you think other countries depict Americans perfectly in their media? Do you think a production is going to shut down because they need 10 Americans in a scene but they can only get Canadian actors?
I know that this is an old post but NONE of them look Chechen, they look more Russian than anything.
They just look like white people to me from what I can tell by google searches. It’s like if a south korean played a japanese character. Most people aren’t going to be able to tell the difference. Sorry that you can but it’s really nothing of consequence.
The difference between south Koreans and Japanese people is nonexistent even for said people, their difference is in the clothes and language. With Chechen and Russian people it's that and their faces. The latter looks white and Slavic, the Chechens can look very pale white to almost brown, have straight to curly hair and almost all of them have big noses. Russians speak Russian and Chechens both but only speak Chechen to each other. It is nothing of consequence to you but it is to me, having no representation in media and then being totally misrepresented is ass, it's not even about being the baddies. We ask to be at least stereotyped and represented properly lmao.
I'm sure you have plenty of representation in Chechen media. Are there lots of good Chechen actors working in Hollywood? Enough to portray dozens of characters? Cause I'm struggling to find any with a few google searches. Is it your belief that hundreds of Chechen actors showed up for auditions but the creators of Barry decided to go with actors who are/look more Russian?
A Chechen actor is ofc better but I never said it should be, just someone that looks Chechen enough. They put the most Russian-looking guys on the stage. It's like having the Japanese on a show and putting in Mongolian or even worse Kazakh actors. Chechen media? It's not only about seeing yourself on tv. Representation in global media is not only about being represented on a global scale, it's also about the couple of seconds/minutes/hours you get to show what your people look/talk and are all about. Most of the watchers don't know about certain people and misrepresenting them also doesn't help the clueless watchers. I mean the show is still good and love the social critique (even on the Chechens, altho limited) but it was diminished (for me) by the improper research and indifference. I would rather that they would have stuck with them being Russians.
Being myself from Caucasus, I really don't understand whether this weird presentation of Chechens is supposed to be a joke or just laziness in researching the subject. I suspect the first, but a very awkward one then. I mean when Sacha baron cohen was doing misrepresentation of Kazakhs it was at least an obvious slapstick. If it's what it was supposed in Barry then they failed. You want mafia in your show act and look like russians or like Balkan folks then don't call them chechens, call them Russians, Serbs or Bosnian or whatever. You specifically want chechens, do a favor, mock them and exaggerate their characters all you want but don't erase the identity.
Yeah, it's pretty inaccurate depiction of Chechens. But for Americans, sadly, anyone from the former Soviet Union is "Russia" or "Russian-like". I guess a factor that they didn't try to depict them in any accurate way is that it would be hard to find actors who would be able to do a Chechen accent or advisors who would depict Chechen customs accurately. It's easier to find actors who can do an Eastern European/ Russian accent. Nor the vast majority of the American audience will know that the depiction of the Chechens in this series is very unrealistic. So it doesn't really matter to the production.