Seth Rogen’s new movie titled “American Pickle” has gathered praise from a variety of American and British media outlets, but one joke in the movie has rankled Poles, who see it as a stereotypical attack out of sync with the current politically correct zeitgeist promoted by HBO.
The plot of the movie focuses on a Jew, Herschel Greenbaum, who after being marinated for a century due to an accident at a factory, is returned to life in the modern day.
Rogen’s movies are known for their controversy, such as “The Interview” (2015) which focused on satirizing North Korea.
Nevertheless, one review for Tablet Magazine emphasizes the comedy of Rogen’s character in the new HBO film, by underlining a quote from the main character, who says: “You are stupider than a Polish person, and they are the stupidest”.
The reviewer then writes that this type of unfunny joke, typical of Herschel, actually turns the main character into a “very funny” person.
This part of the film outraged several Polish Americans, who criticized HBO for promoting solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement while permitting such obvious ethnic discrimination against Poles in their movie.
Publicist Krystyna Piórkowska pointed out the entire hypocrisy of the PC movement using the example of the ethnic joke made at the cost of Poles living in America. She also stressed that none of the reviewers for British and American newspapers pointed out the obvious discrimination.
Thought by now @HBO that ethnic jokes were not PC and you would have checked your writers, yet here you are promoting this in your movie. Would you refer to Blacks/Muslims/Arabs/Latinos as the stupidest? Since when is it ok to do this to Polish people? 1/https://t.co/J7ojiEVj4H
— Krystyna Piórkowska (@KJPiorkowska) August 24, 2020
One commentator admitted that he’d been facing anti-Polish stereotypes for his whole life and that discrimination against Poles was widely accepted in the United States.
Not surprised. Entire life called a “stupid polack” and told every joke. Helped develop a very thick skin. Sad that it is still appears to be widely acceptable to degrade our great ethnic group.
— Big Pole (@BigPolack) August 25, 2020
HBO has released the movie on its streaming service, HBO Max as well as a theatrical release in the United Kingdom.
