Like many other '80s films, the Asian character who can barely speak English is present to propagate stereotypes and to be the butt of many jokes. The nerds also sell naked photos of Becky. One nerd, Lewis, tricks a woman named Becky into having sex with him by stealing her boyfriend's Halloween costume and pretending he is the man she is having consensual sex with - and people have pointed out that this is rape by deception.
Unfortunately, many feel the movie has also left behind a disturbing legacy due to the rape culture, racism, and homophobia it seemed to condone. Many admired this film for helping nerds feel "seen" in Hollywood because, for once, they weren't reduced to a stereotypical side character who is the butt of every joke.
Some critics pointed out that “Revenge of the Nerds” has some off-putting moments.
In addition, in 2009, Annalee Newitz of Gizmodo wrote that the film was "the latest scifi rehash of an old white guilt fantasy," explaining that film is about "a white guy manages to get himself accepted into a closed society of people of color and eventually becomes its most awesome member." This might not be such a far stretch considering the movie is about a white man who visits a foreign land to save an indigenous group of people which is, in this case, an alien race. Unfortunately, per Forbes, the film has left "no pop culture footprint" despite its overwhelming $2.7 billion box-office success, even though Disney has rides themed after the film and multiple sequels to it are in the works.Īnd following its release, many called out the film for its "white savior" complex, meaning it depicts a leading white character saving people of color from situations they are unable to save themselves from. Second, it was the first movie legendary director James Cameron had released since 1997's "Titanic." "Avatar" came with two big draws that got people to the theater. "Avatar" was called out for its "white savior" complex.