Ghettopoly Crosses the Line
By Jabari Asim
Monday, October 13, 2003; 10:22 AM
It sounds like something out of a white supremacist's dream: Ghettopoly, a twisted parody of Monopoly in which contestants vie for control of an inner-city neighborhood by trafficking in drugs, prostitution and other illegal enterprises. The game pieces include a pimp, a ho, a machine gun and a marijuana leaf.
Appearing to burst through the center of the game board is Ghettopoly's mascot, a kerchief-wearing thug who looks like the bastard son of Aunt Jemima and Uncle Ben. Instead of their beatific smiles, he wears an intimidating, bug-eyed grimace and brandishes both an Uzi and a bottle of malt liquor. The manufacturer's Web site lists a $29.95 price for Ghettopoly, which is designed for two to seven "playas" ages 13 and up.
The game has touched off protests by black groups in various cities where Urban Outfitters, a hipper-than-thou clothing chain, demonstrated a stupendous lack of good judgment by stocking the game on its shelves. Last Thursday, the company pulled the game from its 61 stores.
Ghettopoly is the brainchild of 28-year-old David T. Chang of St. Mary's, Pa. He defended his creation in an Oct. 4 article in The Seattle Times. "It's not just focused on blacks," said Chang, who came to the United States from Taiwan when he was 8. "I'm not trying to single a race out. The whole point of me doing this is not so much stereotyping people, it's poking fun at stereotyping. It's meant to be satirical."
Chang promises to introduce additional games soon, including Redneckopoly and Hiphopopoly. He's already spun off an apparel line called Ghetto Gearz, available from his Web site. A "classic thong" with the Ghettopoly logo emblazoned across the front sells for $10.99. A romper for your favorite infant will set you back $12.99.
I've seen Chang's game only as it is depicted on his Web site, which displays its various components in considerable detail. Despite strenuous effort, I found no humor there. Neither did Hasbro Games, the company that holds the Monopoly trademark. "We find this game to be reprehensible and a violation of our intellectual property rights," the company said in a statement. Hasbro's attorneys have sent a "cease and desist" letter to Chang, but he has yet to respond.
"Malcum X" and "Martin Luthor King Jr." are among the characters decorating the game board. More satire, says Chang. He told The St. Petersburg Times, "If you're going to say my game is offensive, then take a look around, there's a lot of offensive things out there."
Quite a lot, that's true. Such as Pimp Juice, a new energy drink sold by the rapper Nelly, or just about any lyric by just about any self-proclaimed "gangsta" rapper. But it's not the same thing, according to Carl Mack, president of the Seattle chapter of the NAACP, who is leading the protests in that city. Mack told me he refuses to compare Chang's handiwork to rap "because rap music deals with the whole culture, the whole experience that blacks have lived."
I don't see how that justifies the worst excesses of hip-hop, but I understand where Mack is coming from. He sees Chang's venture as the latest example of a long tradition of having fun -- and gaining profit -- at blacks' expense.
In contrast, Chang implies that the controversy is merely another instance of free enterprise threatened by the forces of political correctness. Unfortunately, his careless send-ups of black slang and grotesque racial caricatures undermine his argument. Satire succeeds only when it's funny, not merely foolish.
What's more, he should be aware that game manufacturers have a lengthy and excruciating history of ridiculing black Americans. Milton Bradley Company used to make "The Darky's Coon Game" and the "Jolly Darkie Target Game," which encouraged players to throw a wooden ball at a black figure's open mouth. McLoughlin Brothers made what was probably the most disturbing of such diversions, a puzzle game called "Chopped Up Niggers," introduced in 1874. A "super rare" Australian "Nigger Game" was listed on eBay the day I wrote this column, as were 57 copies of Ghettopoly. Perhaps Chang's customers already envision the day when his notorious racial parody joins its predecessors as a collector's item to be savored and traded.
Carl Mack has little patience with such considerations. To him and his allies, Chang and Urban Outfitters have committed an unpardonable sin. "With racial dignity, there comes a point when you have to draw the line," he said. "The line has been drawn."
By Jabari Asim
Monday, October 13, 2003; 10:22 AM
It sounds like something out of a white supremacist's dream: Ghettopoly, a twisted parody of Monopoly in which contestants vie for control of an inner-city neighborhood by trafficking in drugs, prostitution and other illegal enterprises. The game pieces include a pimp, a ho, a machine gun and a marijuana leaf.
Appearing to burst through the center of the game board is Ghettopoly's mascot, a kerchief-wearing thug who looks like the bastard son of Aunt Jemima and Uncle Ben. Instead of their beatific smiles, he wears an intimidating, bug-eyed grimace and brandishes both an Uzi and a bottle of malt liquor. The manufacturer's Web site lists a $29.95 price for Ghettopoly, which is designed for two to seven "playas" ages 13 and up.
The game has touched off protests by black groups in various cities where Urban Outfitters, a hipper-than-thou clothing chain, demonstrated a stupendous lack of good judgment by stocking the game on its shelves. Last Thursday, the company pulled the game from its 61 stores.
Ghettopoly is the brainchild of 28-year-old David T. Chang of St. Mary's, Pa. He defended his creation in an Oct. 4 article in The Seattle Times. "It's not just focused on blacks," said Chang, who came to the United States from Taiwan when he was 8. "I'm not trying to single a race out. The whole point of me doing this is not so much stereotyping people, it's poking fun at stereotyping. It's meant to be satirical."
Chang promises to introduce additional games soon, including Redneckopoly and Hiphopopoly. He's already spun off an apparel line called Ghetto Gearz, available from his Web site. A "classic thong" with the Ghettopoly logo emblazoned across the front sells for $10.99. A romper for your favorite infant will set you back $12.99.
I've seen Chang's game only as it is depicted on his Web site, which displays its various components in considerable detail. Despite strenuous effort, I found no humor there. Neither did Hasbro Games, the company that holds the Monopoly trademark. "We find this game to be reprehensible and a violation of our intellectual property rights," the company said in a statement. Hasbro's attorneys have sent a "cease and desist" letter to Chang, but he has yet to respond.
"Malcum X" and "Martin Luthor King Jr." are among the characters decorating the game board. More satire, says Chang. He told The St. Petersburg Times, "If you're going to say my game is offensive, then take a look around, there's a lot of offensive things out there."
Quite a lot, that's true. Such as Pimp Juice, a new energy drink sold by the rapper Nelly, or just about any lyric by just about any self-proclaimed "gangsta" rapper. But it's not the same thing, according to Carl Mack, president of the Seattle chapter of the NAACP, who is leading the protests in that city. Mack told me he refuses to compare Chang's handiwork to rap "because rap music deals with the whole culture, the whole experience that blacks have lived."
I don't see how that justifies the worst excesses of hip-hop, but I understand where Mack is coming from. He sees Chang's venture as the latest example of a long tradition of having fun -- and gaining profit -- at blacks' expense.
In contrast, Chang implies that the controversy is merely another instance of free enterprise threatened by the forces of political correctness. Unfortunately, his careless send-ups of black slang and grotesque racial caricatures undermine his argument. Satire succeeds only when it's funny, not merely foolish.
What's more, he should be aware that game manufacturers have a lengthy and excruciating history of ridiculing black Americans. Milton Bradley Company used to make "The Darky's Coon Game" and the "Jolly Darkie Target Game," which encouraged players to throw a wooden ball at a black figure's open mouth. McLoughlin Brothers made what was probably the most disturbing of such diversions, a puzzle game called "Chopped Up Niggers," introduced in 1874. A "super rare" Australian "Nigger Game" was listed on eBay the day I wrote this column, as were 57 copies of Ghettopoly. Perhaps Chang's customers already envision the day when his notorious racial parody joins its predecessors as a collector's item to be savored and traded.
Carl Mack has little patience with such considerations. To him and his allies, Chang and Urban Outfitters have committed an unpardonable sin. "With racial dignity, there comes a point when you have to draw the line," he said. "The line has been drawn."
