Politically Correct Racism and the Geisha Novel: The Psychology of Sophisticated Racism Mirrors that of Ethnic Jokes

In Section 1, politically correct racism (PC racism) is defined as an act with racist intent, justified by righteous appearance, with popularity or near-total acceptance because of its righteous appearance. In Section 2, after presenting a theory of jokes based on analyses by Sigmund Freud and Marvin Minsky, I show that the pleasure one derives from PC racism is similar to that derived from ethnic jokes. In Section 3, I point out the inaccuracies and prejudice contained in the novel Memoirs of a Geisha by comparing it with the Japanese version. Based on the study by Anne Allison of the American reception of the novel, I explain its surprising popularity using PC racism. Pleasures of romanticized subjugation and pleasures of hating the Japanese are made acceptable by the politically-correct appearance. Finally in Section 4, I characterize the geisha film as a watered-down version with the novel's most racist elements removed.