Ah, controversy!

quote:
From Reuters TV Entertainment:

Asian-American Media Group Protests Fox's 'Banzai'

By Ben Berkowitz

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - An Asian-American media group on Thursday protested the Fox network's airing of "Banzai," a parody of a Japanese game show, saying it demeans and stereotypes Asian people.

Outside a network presentation in Hollywood, about 20 members of the Media Action Network for Asian Americans carried signs and shouted into bullhorns, protesting the show.

The program, which debuted to strong ratings last Sunday, features an off-screen announcer speaking in a clipped parody of a Japanese accent, fake Japanese language graphics, and a karate-chopping middle-aged Asian host known as Mr. Banzai.

The show first ran on Channel 4 in Britain.

"It's just all the backward images of Asian-American people," Guy Aoki, co-founder of the group, which monitors the depiction of Asian Americans in media, told Reuters.

"This is like an Asian minstrel show," Aoki said. "Can you imagine the black version of Banzai?"

The protest came as Fox's senior executives prepared to make a presentation at the Television Critics Association summer tour for press, during which they preview their new fall lineups.

The demonstrators were confined to an area on the sidewalk in front of the hotel where the tour is taking place.

One of those senior executives, Gail Berman, the president of entertainment for Fox Broadcasting, was a creator of the ABC 1994 sitcom "All-American Girl," the first broadcast show with a predominantly Asian cast, starring Margaret Cho.

"We've received an entire range of comments on the show, both pro and con," Fox spokesman Scott Grogin told Reuters. "It's a satire, a parody of Japanese game shows. It's very tongue-in-cheek and should not be viewed as anything but."

Carrying a sign that read, "Fox puts profit before people," Aoki said his group held two meetings with the network about "Banzai," asking that it not be aired, but said Fox executives declined to address their concerns.

He said that Fox indicated if Banzai comes back for a second season, they may add a disclaimer at the beginning of the show.

But Aoki said a disclaimer was not enough to assuage his group's concerns. They want the show to be canceled and for Fox to apologize for airing it in the first place.

Fox is a unit of News Corp. Ltd.