# ABC's Fresh Off The Boat. Is this a controversy waiting to happen? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 24, 2015, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abcs-fresh-off-the-boat-is-this-a-controversy-waiting-to-happen/710773 "2015-01-24T17:39:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2015, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abcs-fresh-off-the-boat-is-this-a-controversy-waiting-to-happen/710773/41 "2015-01-26T14:13:28Z")
> [@Justin\_Bailey](#): > > “Off the Boat” is much older than that and my Italian father (and aunts and uncles) will be the first to tell you that they were “Off the Boat” people in the 60s. Same here. “Off the boat” was used to differentiate between my 1st and 2nd generation Italian relatives. My grandmother was fresh off the boat and went through Ellis Island. She married a man who was born two years after his family got to America. I never would have guessed that some think it’s an Asian term. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2015, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abcs-fresh-off-the-boat-is-this-a-controversy-waiting-to-happen/710773/42 "2015-01-26T14:54:28Z")
I suspect that ABC, being a major television network, didn’t let the show proceed (and with that title) before researching the history of the phrase “fresh off the boat” and conducting surveys to find if people would be offended. ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2015, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abcs-fresh-off-the-boat-is-this-a-controversy-waiting-to-happen/710773/43 "2015-01-26T16:35:28Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > I suspect that ABC, being a major television network, didn’t let the show proceed (and with that title) before researching the history of the phrase “fresh off the boat” and conducting surveys to find if people would be offended. You’d think, but this is the same network that decided to cancel a crossdressing sitcom after one episode just two years ago because it offended so many people. > **[Work It (TV series)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Work_It_%28TV_series%29#Controversy)** > > Work It is an American television sitcom that aired on ABC from January 3 to January 10, 2012. Set in St. Louis, the series is about two men who must dress as women in order to keep a job in a bad economy. > The series had received overwhelmingly negative reviews. The series premiere was watched by an American audience of 6.16 million. Ratings dropped to 4.9 million viewers in the second episode, and the series was cancelled by ABC on January 13, 2012, after two episodes aired, following another a... Still, “Off the Boat” is a super common phrase and isn’t offensive in any way. ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2015, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abcs-fresh-off-the-boat-is-this-a-controversy-waiting-to-happen/710773/44 "2015-01-26T16:46:22Z")
As an Asian-American person, my reaction is: Meh. Isn’t ABC owned by Disney? This is simply what Disney does: blatantly exploit race and culture for profit, ham-handedly disguised as family entertainment. It’s their default setting. ---
**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2015, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abcs-fresh-off-the-boat-is-this-a-controversy-waiting-to-happen/710773/45 "2015-02-05T03:19:26Z")
So what did everyone think of the first 2 episodes? ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2015, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abcs-fresh-off-the-boat-is-this-a-controversy-waiting-to-happen/710773/46 "2015-02-05T03:28:15Z")
It was like the few times I’ve seen any of The Goldbergs – just setting it in another time period makes me cringe over anachronisms. I didn’t think “sick” entered the vernacular till later in the 90s, and certainly the style of some of the humor doesn’t fit 1995. Anyhoo, it really was startling to hear an ethnic slur like that and not have the school seem to give a crap about it. ---
**Author:** ![Biggirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biggirl/32/3294_2.png) [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2015, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abcs-fresh-off-the-boat-is-this-a-controversy-waiting-to-happen/710773/47 "2015-02-05T03:29:09Z")
His mom is too pretty to be such a raving biotch. ---
**Author:** ![asterion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/4da419/32.png) [@asterion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asterion)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2015, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abcs-fresh-off-the-boat-is-this-a-controversy-waiting-to-happen/710773/48 "2015-02-05T17:10:55Z")
> [@Velocity](#): > > That may be true. In my personal experience, however, Shagnasty’s observation has some truth to it. I once encountered a white liberal woman, for instance, who seemed upset that I wasn’t offended about something that she considered to be racist against Asians. (I’m Asian. She was offended by something she felt to be anti-Asian, but I wasn’t offended, and she seemed upset that I wasn’t offended.) The other thing, in my opinion, is that racism, racist language, and the like has to be taught. It is entirely possible to not learn a certain slang term, for instance, or that some particular bit of imagery is considered racist. Watch the Monty Python sketch [Prejudice](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=knwwgZNeIpA) and tell me how many of those terms you know and when you learned them. And often the inadvertent offender is not allowed to have made an honestly unintentional insult. One more trend I’ve noticed is a disregard of cultural (especially national) differences. If something is not conforming to American cultural norms, it’s racist, even if it isn’t racist in the culture of origin. ---
**Author:** ![obfusciatrist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/4af34b/32.png) [@obfusciatrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/obfusciatrist)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2015, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abcs-fresh-off-the-boat-is-this-a-controversy-waiting-to-happen/710773/49 "2015-02-05T20:37:23Z")
> [@Justin\_Bailey](#): > > Still, “Off the Boat” is a super common phrase and isn’t offensive in any way. Your experience is different from mine. I’m white so never been the subject of it. But I first learned the phrase when I was a kid in Vancouver, WA, and people were spray painting “FOB” on the homes of recently arrived Vietnamese refugees. When I went to college in Seattle i was surprised there to again see it spraypainted on the balcony of an apartment. Until this show came up sparking some discussion it never occurred to me that the phrase was ever used in anything other than a derogatory way. I’d never discussed the phrase with my wife before (she is a Japanese immigrant) until one day she posted on Facebook about being offended by the title. When her family emigrated to Hawaii in the '70s (she was a teenager) apparently the phrase was used to ridicule and diminish her at the time. I don’t know how based in place and or time it is, but for me it is not a phrase with a clean history. I’m not offended on anybody’s behalf, it is just a phrase that makes me uncomfortable and while I dno’t have a problem with Huang using it as a memoir title, it chafes a bit more when it converts into a broad market sitcom making money for major corporations. But I haven’t seen the show yet. The show may be fine. I just don’t like the title. ---
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2015, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abcs-fresh-off-the-boat-is-this-a-controversy-waiting-to-happen/710773/50 "2015-02-05T20:46:49Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > Same here. “Off the boat” was used to differentiate between my 1st and 2nd generation Italian relatives. My grandmother was fresh off the boat and went through Ellis Island. She married a man who was born two years after his family got to America. I never would have guessed that some think it’s an Asian term. My mother used the term 50 years ago to describe her Portuguese relatives. Back to the show: meh. A lot like black-ish, only not as racially tinged (black-ish plots are very very much about what it’s like to be black. FOB seemed to be more about this family, and not about society). And not as funny. But I’ve only seen the pilot. I’ve read multiple reviews that say it gets much better. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2015, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abcs-fresh-off-the-boat-is-this-a-controversy-waiting-to-happen/710773/51 "2015-02-05T20:54:48Z")
I saw an episode last night. I found the whole enterprise mildly amusing, and the wife is cute as a button. ---
**Author:** ![justmeetee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/898d66/32.png) [@justmeetee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/justmeetee)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2015, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abcs-fresh-off-the-boat-is-this-a-controversy-waiting-to-happen/710773/52 "2015-02-05T21:13:34Z")
> [@Aquadementia](#): > > The only thing is after The Goldbergs, Black-ish and Cristela it looks like ABC is looking to cross “Asian Sitcom” off their list. > At least it looks funnier then Cristela. > I’m kind of offended by how unfunny those shows are. It seems to me that most sitcoms are just using different faces and settings for 22 minutes of trading insults. I’ve tried to watch a few when first premiered and usually never make it to the first commercial break. ---
**Author:** ![ISiddiqui](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/97f17d/32.png) [@ISiddiqui](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ISiddiqui)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2015, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abcs-fresh-off-the-boat-is-this-a-controversy-waiting-to-happen/710773/53 "2015-02-05T21:19:32Z")
I thought the show was utterly hilarious! My parents are from Pakistan, so while not exactly the same as Eddie Huang’s situation, there were definitely some parallels (especially with exotic names). > [@jsc1953](#): > > A lot like black-ish, only not as racially tinged Eh? I thought it had tons of racial scenes - the aforementioned names thing, the differences in bringing ‘ethnic food’ to school, hiring “white people” to welcome folks to a ‘white’ restaurant. I mean heck, the pilot included a person calling the main character a racial slur! ---
**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2015, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abcs-fresh-off-the-boat-is-this-a-controversy-waiting-to-happen/710773/54 "2015-02-06T01:55:29Z")
> [@ISiddiqui](#): > > …Eh? I thought it had tons of racial scenes - the aforementioned names thing, the differences in bringing ‘ethnic food’ to school, hiring “white people” to welcome folks to a ‘white’ restaurant. I mean heck, the pilot included a person calling the main character a racial slur! It is very different from The Goldbergs in that respect. Anti-Semitism has never come up on the show, and the family’s Jewishness is only implied. ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2015, 5:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abcs-fresh-off-the-boat-is-this-a-controversy-waiting-to-happen/710773/55 "2015-02-06T05:03:44Z")
> [@alphaboi867](#): > > So what did everyone think of the first 2 episodes? Only watched one so far. It was just OK. The premise is fine, and there were a few funny bits in there, but i’m not sure it’s good enough to make the rotation. I’m don’t know if it’s the acting or the directing, but a couple of the major characters just don’t seem to be very convincing. The dad, in particular, seems far too stilted, and not at all realistic or natural in his delivery. I’ve never seen the Goldbergs show that people are comparing it to, but to me it seems like an attempt to make a Chinese version of Everybody Hates Chris. I’ll give it another shot, and watch the second episode, but if it doesn’t improve i don’t think i’ll stick with it. ---
**Author:** ![TBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c89c15/32.png) [@TBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TBG)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2015, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abcs-fresh-off-the-boat-is-this-a-controversy-waiting-to-happen/710773/56 "2015-02-08T01:41:21Z")
> [@Justin\_Bailey](#): > > You’d think, but this is the same network that decided to cancel a crossdressing sitcom after one episode just two years ago because it offended so many people. > > [Work It (TV series) - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Work_It_%28TV_series%29#Controversy) > > Still, “Off the Boat” is a super common phrase and isn’t offensive in any way. Yeah, but Work It was complete garbage, and everyone knew it would fail anyway. Pick your battles. ---
**Author:** ![Nema98](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/d2c977/32.png) [@Nema98](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nema98)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2015, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abcs-fresh-off-the-boat-is-this-a-controversy-waiting-to-happen/710773/57 "2015-02-09T00:32:35Z")
Seems like a stupid show, but I’ll give it a viewing and see if it turns out better than I gave it credit. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2015, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abcs-fresh-off-the-boat-is-this-a-controversy-waiting-to-happen/710773/58 "2015-02-09T02:30:52Z")
> [@mhendo](#): > > it seems like an attempt to make a Chinese version of Everybody Hates Chris. Very true. But the mom’s hot. I liked the scene where she was reminiscing about how calm and safe she felt in her old grocery. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abcs-fresh-off-the-boat-is-this-a-controversy-waiting-to-happen/710773.md?page=2)