The Original
The Parody
I think the Chewbacca shirt is really funny (you can buy it here, btw.*) but what I find most interesting about it is that in Mexican culture, "Chuy" (pronounced "Chewie") is often used as a nickname for the name Jesus (pronounced "Hey-Seuss"). So in Mexican and Mexican-American culture Chewie=Jesus. So even though the "Chewie Is My Co-Pilot" shirt is meant to be nerdy, irreverent, and even a tiny bit blasphemous, in a weird, round-about way it could be interpreted as saying the exact same thing as the thing it is making fun of. Given Diesel Sweeties' apparent political leanings, I don't think this is intentional. It's just a funny little coincidence.
What's not a coincidence however, but a cold hard fact, is that the popular "Han Shot First" nerd shirt is a very thinly veiled proclamation of creator Scott Kurtz's belief that "the Jews are responsible for all wars."
* - UPDATE: Just kidding, you can't actually buy he shirt anymore because Lucasfilm is a bunch of douche nozzles.
9 comments:
Hi! Unfortunately, you found an out-of-date page on my site. I had to take the Chewie shirt down due to threats from Lucasfilm:
http://www.dieselsweeties.com/lj/ds-lucasfilm.jpg
I'd love to bring it back, because I think it's valid paordy. Any lawyers out there?
Man, that sucks. I'm sorry. I'll update the post to reflect this. I hope you can get the shirt back up at some point, it's really funny. Is the PVP "Han Shot First" shirt still for sale or have they been hit with a C&D as well?
On a lighter note, I'm a fan. Keep up the good work!
Han Shot First is still going strong, remarkably.
lucasfilms can eat it. put that shit on cafe press and set it on private, and then we can just make our own and wear them around like a little chewie cult.
In clearing things for TV I have never had a problem with anything like I've had a problem with clearing the word Lightsaber. You can not use it. So it doesn't surprise me that they have such a grasp on Chewie.
Also, I don't think the Chewie = Jesus rumor is true. It could be, but I talked to my friend Jess who travels and translates extensively across South America and she's never heard the term. She of course could be wrong, but she knows a bunch of other slang so I figured it would ring a bell with her.
It's not a rumor. Chuy (sometimes Chucho) is the nickname for the common Mexican name Jesus. Just like in English the nickname for John is Jack, Dick for Richard, Bill for William, etc.
By way of anticdotal evidence, check out this imdb search for the name "Chuy." Note how many Jesuses pop up with a sub-listing of "aka: Chuy."
I love nicknames that are not immediately intuitive, but widely popularized within a given language group. They are fascinating cultural idiosyncracies. Like "Nell" for "Eleanor," or "Bess" for "Elizabeth," or "Jem" for "Jeremy," or "Meg" for "Margaret." My friend Meg is actually a Margaret. One of our co-workers calls her "Megan" EVERY TIME she addresses her (a totally fair mistake) and EVERY TIME Meg corrects her. This is hilarious.
"Pancho" and "Paco" are nicknames for "Francisco," and my Spanish-speaking friends frequently address me by one or the other.
That's it, from now on your name is Paco.
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