Perhaps the robots to disguise themselves successfully in the culture of america abosrbed the sociological information that represents the mainstream and used that information to determine their language, style, etc. Because if you're too radical and "PC" you're not going to fit in. If so then this move could be seen as social commentary.

I thought they were supposed to be "wiggers" (ie "white" characters acting black, something there's no shortage of these days). Seems to be a pretty popular opinion on the Internet too...

I only saw the first movie because it was a 15 hours long plane trip and it was still four hours until landing. In it, Black characters were either fat and stupid or in the Army, no exceptions. Oh, and the only Autobot to die (because Black Dude Dies First) is Jazz, who speaks jive.

Apart from that, there were a couple of blatant instances of male gaze -- I frankly do not need to let my sight linger on Megan Fox's breasts, for one. During the final fight scene, we are also treated to a videoclip-like slow-motion pan centered on a gorgeous, model-like woman, who is in the middle of a terrible battle fought between robots the size of a house, but still looks amazing while the camera, again, lovingly follows her breasts.

I also wanted to strangle Shia LaBeouf's character, but I just hate this kind of Ferris Bueller bullshitter type of character, and the Nice Guy romance subplot didn't help, either.

Michael Bay's comment makes me really want to see it, regardless of whether the concerns are warranted or not.

I (foolishly) saw this on opening night, and I was horrified by the blatant racism and sexism throughout the movie. The Twins were just one part of it (though the biggest part).

As you said, the twins spoke in stereotypical African-American Vernacular English, buck teeth, and were illiterate. Not only that, but they had giant ears, bug eyes, and body shapes reminiscent of chimpanzees (arms disproportionately long, slightly hunched over). They existed solely as comedic relief and did hardly any fighting.

If that weren't enough, at one point a black man is shown with teeth just like the Twins - as if Michael Bay wanted to make absolutely sure you knew what racial caricature he was referencing.

And apparently in Michael Bay's world every single young woman is a hot nympho who constantly craves the cock. (See: pretty much every college scene in that movie.) I almost barfed.

I haven't seen the movie, but I am so tired of people claiming that racism and sexism keeps things interesting. It's not automatically melba toast if you manage to not be racist while making your movie, Michael Bay. But hey, since when did we expect Michael Bay to rely on his creativity rather than his dependence on gratuitous explosions?

Since someone is bound to say it, I'll go on ahead, despite the fact that it's a completely BS argument:

Don't you know, guys? If you make racist *non-human* characters, it's not racist, only comic relief! Also, YAY EXPLOSIONS AND BOOBIES. Etc.

i seen the movie last nite , it was well , very good and they made alot of moeny and they deserve it , it was better than the first and we are going to see it again next weekend . they were no more racist bs on this movie than any of martin lawrence moves about white people , and he is the funnest black actor on the planet , in my oppion , why dont everyone stop crying about the racist bullshit and move on with your point life if thats the only thing you got to cry about ? i mean for real .

Fer realz, Southerngent, we just ask these questions because we're bored and spiteful. I'm sorry we made you uncomfortable by having this conversation without considering that you liked the film and don't agree.

Is this a sociology blog anymore?
I think any commenter who pulls the "don't be so sensitive/PC" card should automatically be banned, or at least have their comment removed.

Analyzing culture is what sociologists do, people.

they do not say that they cannot read.they say that they dont do much reading.that is a totally differant thing than not being able to read.i can read just fine but i choose not to.there are a lot of people who can read but choose not to.but that does not mean that they cannot read.

Neill, would you please make an exception and read about functional illiteracy? Thank you. Also, congratulations on sticking it to the man, woo.

When I saw this movie, these were my thoughts exactly. The twin robots, Skid and Mudflap, contributed nothing to the storyline or the plot development. They served as nothing more than poorly attempted comic-relief. My brother and I saw it together and both of us agreed that the movie would have been a lot better had these two characters been removed entirely--they were SO obnoxious--this coming from two people within the age group that Michael Bay is supposedly catering to with his racist characters.

I was appalled and disappointed in the decision to include these characters, especially because they had nothing to do with the original cartoon series and were added simply because Michael Bay does whatever the f**k he wants with the movies he directs.

Lasly, neill ferguson, you must be mistaken, because I distinctly remember the twins stating that they "cain't read dat" in reference to the Cybertron hieroglyphics. This, however, was no surprise since most of the Transformers characters couldn't read it, including a tiny Decepticon that resembled an R/C car and Bumble Bee.

All I could say to my friends after the movie was "the black robots can't read!"

Then the sexism. Holy crap, the sexism. Meghan Fox humping the bike for no reason. The Decepticon posing as an over-sexed femmebot who walked around in a dress more suited for a five year old. The end fight, in which it is revealed that there is one Autobot with a female voice, who gets one line and then is killed (apparently women can't be heroes). Another Decepticon humping Fox's leg in such a painful scene that nobody in the theater laughed. His mother being downgraded to an absolute airhead devoid of a shred of intelligence.

Basically the movie establishes that black people are ignorant, foreigners are incompetent (the Jordanians crash their helicopters when they are called to help), women are stupid, whores, or shrill bitches, and that only white men, or robots that talk like white men and act like them, can be heroes.

I can't believe I spent money on this atrocity. Ugh, you'd think that a movie with giant fighting robots would be so awesome it hurts.

Jenn has stated it quite nicely!

I'm so glad someone finally mentioned these movies! I saw the first one and found myself so irritated at the portrayal of Fox's character that I vowed not to see the second for my own benefit.

I feel more content to know I'm not the only one that noticed such atrocities.

Ugh, you’d think that a movie with giant fighting robots would be so awesome it hurts.

I got my summer giant robot fix from Terminator: Salvation myself...

I think there are people with problems on this board (and many others for that matter). The movie didn't establish black people as ignorant even if that was your (mis)interpretation. The twins could be viewed as racist or they could have been making fun of Eminem and KFed wannabes. Also, the symbols were part of an ancient language. I presume you can't read Latin, but that doesn't make you stupid. I'm sure in your vast experience, you would not have been SHOT DOWN by a giant robot. So what does that say about all the white people that went down with the aircraft carrier? I'm not saying the women in this movie would be put on a pedestal, but the mother was just acting naturally to her son going off to college and then she got high. It happens. I guess you thought Makaela was being a stupid whore when she told Sam she wouldn't be carted off to safety and was going to stay with him. I didn't view TF2 as anything more than 2.5 hours of entertainment and that's what I got.

In other words, you wish we sociology people wouldn't ruin your uncritical enjoyment of popular media?

If you read my entire comment, you could see that's not what I am saying. I clearly stated how I didn't agree with the assessment that this movie is against blacks, women and foreigners by giving examples from the movie.

this was a good movie , people like you here on this site , is the reason racism carrys on in the world , the 2 robots were funny as hell...... someone told me that the hardest thing to open is a closed mind , and some of the people here are perfect examples of that , the movie was for entertainment and fun , i watch a lot of black shows and they crack comments about whites , and they are funny as hell , and i dont hear anyone saying anything about that , so care on with your pointless lives , keep on whinning about bullshit and keep racism going for the rest of the world .

I'm Black and I thought this movie was amazing and funny. I wasn't offended at all buy Skids and Mudflap. Besides Optimus Prime and Bumblebee, Skids and Mudflap were my favorite. I think it's stupid how people are stereotyping 2 animated, made up, ROBOTS! There are more important things to worry about in the world, than what racial culture the 2 robots depicted. It was a movie that was made to funny and exciting. Whoever got offended by this obviously does not watch enought tv, or they would be offended by everything on tv. Basically, get over it, it's a movie, with fictious robots, it's not a big deal how they acted.(=

hope megan fox is not in transformers 3! this movie is not for children. dogs humping? what the hell is that?

I am 100% sure rodimus prime will be a stereotype in transformers 3!

star wars episode 7 will be better than transformers 3! megan fox is a hooker!

star wars never lets me down.

I, personally, cringed every time Skids and Mudflap were on the screen. I understand where the bumbling racial stereotypes come from - they have a long tradition in theatre, after all - and I tried to see the characters through the lens of, say, rednecks or anything BUT hick black people and couldn't. Perhaps my frustration with those characters is being simply me being offended for someone else when the 'someone else' in question couldn't care less. I don't think so, however.

Also, the evil robot woman was completely pointless. She was almost as irritating as the lost-puppy, no-longer-cooler-than-the-wimpy-lead Fox with her inflated lips (her lips were NOT that big before) and her forlorn 'omg he didn't answer my call' staring at the computer. Yeesh. The movie was a constant wtf.

Additionally, all opinions are valid. Even if someone missed the point, the opinion is valid. In fact, the opinion might be more useful if someone missed the point. The point was, for some reason, not communicated. With such a significant portion of watchers being 'o_O whut?' at the two robots, whether or not it was intended is moot. Perception - like possession - weighs more heavily than intent.

Michael Bay, with his throwaway comment, sounds like he was just casually using stereotypes without understanding his underlying assumptions, something that should never be excused.