Archives for November 25th, 2005

A cereal sold in Slovenia in the year 2005. No, really.

This cereal box was the original inspiration for the Things you Probably Won’t See in the U.S. category. I think it’s been stored on my computer for more than a year now, but I somehow never got around to posting it.

That
said, I don’t quite know where to begin with it. These kind of racial
caricatures were fairly common in the U.S. up until about the 1960s.
(You can see a collection of authentic pre-civil rights images here.)  There were also plenty of offensive foodstuffs
mocking various ethnic groups in the U.S., but almost all of them have
since vanished. Nowadays, products are carefully and vigorously
scrutinized to make sure there isn’t a hint of insult or possible
misinterpretation, and quickly repaired if there accidentally is. For
example, racial caricatures aside, I highly doubt an American company
would let the cook happily pour his milk into the cereal from his
pevlic area. They just wouldn’t.

Slovenia still seems to be wholly indifferent to these types of
concerns. Of course, it probably doesn’t help that the country is 99%
white. (Speaking of which, I’m regularly surprised by how comfortably
Slovenes use the word nigga, or its variants, among themselves.) But I know that Slovenia isn’t unique in this regard. For example, here’s what a package of rice currently being sold in Estonia looks like, courtesy of Scott.

That
said, it’s pretty clear that the cereal box isn’t ill-intended.
Slovenia just still lacks the aseptic caution of western commercial
enterprises. But I’m pretty sure those days will be over soon.