One of the dinosaurs in Jurassic World was shockingly racist—but only in the U.K.
The Pachycephalosaurus is a hard-headed dinosaur that appears several times in the Jurassic Park franchise, and in Jurassic World its name was shortened to “pachy.” This nickname made sense for theme-park employees who have to use complicated dinosaur terminology all day, but one glaring problem went unnoticed by the American filmmakers: “pachy” sounds exactly like a racist slur to British viewers.
The word “paki” is technically just short for Pakistani, but it’s used as a slur against people of South Asian descent. And while it’s not on the same level as the n-word, it’s bad enough that, if a politician or celebrity were caught saying it on camera, they’d definitely have to give a public apology. Under British hate-speech laws, you could even be arrested for using this kind of language in a threatening context.
https://twitter.com/sparklehooves/status/611254507109003264
"The pakis are out of containment" I thought it was just me that heard that in Jurassic world last night but they actually said it 😭😂😂
— Tribal Sife (@Sife93) June 16, 2015
And they put "the pakis are out of containment" in the script and at no point anyone said hold on
— Ⓚ ☔️ (@wysKRN) June 17, 2015
As you might expect, many British filmgoers were shocked to hear this word in Jurassic World, especially from a character who sounds like she’s shouting, “The pakis are out of containment!”
This reaction video from YouTuber Guzzy Bear is a hilarious lesson in why Hollywood filmmakers need to check their screenplays for accidental references to foreign slang. It’s really not too much to ask from a movie this big.
This is far from the first time this kind of thing has happened. When the live-action Avatar: The Last Airbender movie came out, several critics mentioned being distracted by characters referring to themselves as “benders”—an old-fashioned English slang term for gay men.
Come on, Hollywood. Get it together.
Photo via Jurassic World