The "Cultural Misunderstandings" Beat

And would you like a free Nazi robot with your Coke?

Comments

[cevin karson]

i blame this on state capitalism

[Tripp]

This is so bogus. The swastika was a symbol of good fortune, prosperity, etc., in Asia and India for thousands of years! Heck, I once heard that it even appeared on Mesopotamian coins, so the symbol DOES have non-Nazi connotations.

To be fair, the Rabbi is SORT OF right, in that the one used here is the same symbol used by the Nazis, where the broken "arms" of the swastika point in a clockwise direction. Still, that type of swastika was considered a solar symbol by many (I saw both types all over temples during my last trip to Japan), and predates Nazism to such a great degree that little is thought of its "Nazi" meaning.

I'm nearly certain that, if digging is done, this will turn out to be made by an Asian guy with little knowledge or appreciation for Nazi iconography

[joe]

Uh, just the Coke will be fine.

[Tommy_Grand]

That is hilarious.

[Sven]

Sooooo. We finally see what's really behind the anime/Power Ranger/bukkake Asian pop culture phenomenon. Very interestink.

[Mark S.]

All this because the Thule Society, who founded the Nazi party, had a hard-on for Theosophy and the "wisdom" of the East. Sheesh.

[Todd Fletcher]

I don't know - the swastika is even tilted exactly like the Nazi one. The genuine asian ones I've seen in various Buddhist artwork are always horizontal. Not that I think this was the intent, I'm just amazed that Coke let this go through.

[Kevin Carson]

greetings to my bizarro world self. me so happy, me could cry.

The nazi robot story reminds me of a Japanese movie I saw on MST3K ("Prince of Outer Space," I think). It showed a flying saucer buzzing a Tokyo street, and it flew past a multi-story building with a giant mural of (of all things) Hitler on the side. There was no comment whatsoever from any characters in the movie, or even any acknowledgement that anything odd was happening. It did get an astonished "huh" from Mike, Tom and Crow.

[Sean]

This might not be the only time Coke has been pushing swastikas...

"In 1925 Coca Cola made a lucky watch fob in the shape of a swastika with the slogan, "Drink Coca Cola five cents in bottles. When I phoned the Coke Archives in Atlanta, Georgia they denied even having one in their collection."

Then again, the site this is from (http://www.manwoman.net/swastika/swastika2.html)
is a bit odd. There's a picture. But, my personal favorite is the swastika emblazoned sweaters of the 1916 Canadian Women's Hockey Team.

[JD Weiner]

There's also a church in downtown Phoenix with various symbols carved into the stone; most of them I don't recognize, but one is distinctly a swastika. The church long predates Naziism, IIRC, and the swastika has a long history in the US.

[Todd Fletcher]

Where exactly is that church? I live in Phoenix, I'd love to know.

[Tuning Spork]

The robot will do nicely as stand-in filler for my Nazi action-figure set, until I find a proper Himmler.

[Mark S.]

Kevin: As a fellow MSTie I hate to correct you, but I think the movie your thinking of was "Invasion Of The Neptune Men."

An easy mistake, "Prince of Space" and "Invasion Of The Neptune Men" are pretty much the same movie. One just had more annoying 50s era Japanesse kids dressed in disturbing shorts and speaking in annoying dubbed voices.

"They blew up the Hitler Building!"

[Charlie]

Yeah, yeah, and the Nazis awarded a decoration shaped as a Maltese Cross -- clearly demonstrating that the Knights of Malta were crypto-Nazis.

[Mark S.]

Addendum: "Invasion Of The Neptune Men" was this morning MST3K re-run this morning. Coincidence? Yeah, most likely.

[Mark S.]

"was this morning MST3K re-run this morning"

Yuck! Mever try to blog before your morning cup of coffee... in the morning.

[Joseph Foley]

I did a search for the original robot on which that the coke statue was based, and found this:

http://www.geocities.com/Tokyo/Bay/8928/school.htm

The toy in this case appears to have the "correct" non-nazi version of the swastika on his chest, though there is another robot with the backwards one.

Odd that this is being sold in Hong Kong, but the Japanese were ostensibly allied with Germany during World War II, and were even once "granted" the title of "Honorary Aryans," so it is not unreasonable to suspect that some sympaty remains within certain individuals.

[Spoktator]

SYMBOLS -- Man, do they ever have the power to evoke emotions!

Proctor and Gamble was sued for millions because, for decades, it had a symbol on its products (toiletries) depicting a half moon against a background of stars.

I grew up seeing that symbol on my tube of toothpaste every night, but never gave it a second thought. Seemed innocuous enough to me.

But some msytical group claimed it was "a symbol of the devil" and forced P&G to spend yet another small fortune removing it from all its products.

Go figure.

[Rick Barton]

I can just see the marketing folks at "Mecca Cola"
setting their sights on Tel Aviv and Miami.

[Madog]

Yale's Sterling Library has a swastika carved in stone above it's main enterance. It's up there with dozens of other ancient symbols and writing systems, in the section with Norse runes. I like pointing it out to people and watching the look on their faces. 🙂

[Yale Student]

"I like pointing it out to people and watching the look on their faces," says madog. Because Spoktator was right: SYMBOLS do have the power to evoke emotions in visceral types.

[Martin]

Sure, and that cross, the Iron Cross, dates back to Frederick the Great. I always knew that the Prussians were closet Nazis too.

[JD Weiner]

Todd: I think that it's just south of the downtown Hooters, the one in that sort of open-air arcade (the one on 3rd St). I want to say the church has a Spanish-sounding name ("Santa Margarita" or something) and the symbols are on the north exterior wall. Sorry I can't be more specific - it's been a few years since I've been there.

[Russ]

Rick, the marketing folks at Mecca Cola may be wishing they had though of it first.

[Sam Calvin]

The swastika symbol was also common as a good luck symbol in Britain in the early 20th century before the Nazi's stole it. I have a children's book in my collection written in 1922 called The Castaways by Captain Mayne Reed. The cover of the book is covered with the swastika symbol and bears no relation to the story inside whatsoever. It certainly puzzled me as a child!!

[Owen]

I happened on this site researching a comment I herd the other day? that Proctor & Gamble, founded shortly after the fall of Nazi Germany, of compiled records from the hideous experiments done in concentration camps. I remember the logo on their products also, a circle with an interesting half moon face and stars, but with a curious inscription: Das Firmenzeichen von Proctor & Gamble. Makes sense, what better way to control world population, than to supply us with the means to carry out their goal.

I also have in my collection of interesting things, a brass Boy Scouts of America token with a rather large swastika on it. The swastika has always been a symbol, ward to good luck and protection. There are two of these symbals, with arms in different directions.

Thanks for your interesting comments

[josie wallenius]

most interesting thing is if you tried to bring this subject into mainstream education it would of course, be banned. First began to think about it when saw a swastika on first page of an old edition of "KIM" by Rudyard Kipling. It has also been used in symbolism of 1970's feminist movement which was organised by the Khazars.