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This is interesting from the American perspective, because the Roma people are practically non-existent in the US. So from our view the term is seen as more romanticized.
But if you look at the way it’s been used in American pop culture, it still often has negative connotations. Take the Cher song “Gypsies, Tramps, & Thieves.” Just from the context of the other two words in the title, it’s clear that Gypsy was not being used in a positive sense.
So we have romanticized it due to unfamiliarity, but that doesn’t make it OK. If teens in Eastern Europe have never encountered a black person, but have picked up using the N-word due hearing it used in music, that doesn’t make it OK. They may not understand the negative connotations from only hearing it used by Snoop Dogg or whomever, but once they hear that it has been used by white people for centuries to dehumanize a race, hopefully they would reconsider its use.
For its initial 10-year-run, MST3K’s reach was mostly limited to North America, where Gyspy didn’t offend most people. 20+ years of tape trading, torrents, YouTube and Netflix have extended that reach overseas. It’s only natural for those people to have a “Whoa, what’s with the character named after a slur?” moment.
It also stands out to younger Americans now. I’m currently co-directing a production of The Laramie Project at a high school. The kids understand the use of the F-word (the gay slur, not the other F-word) is required for the play, but there is a moment where one character refers to gypsies. Some students asked if they could change that to Roma, especially since the character using it wasn’t using it in a derogatory way. The other directors and I had a meeting, discussed it, and explained to the kids that since the play takes place in 1998, it’s essentially now a period piece and awareness of its more problematic use wasn’t common at that time. Just like you couldn’t change “colored” to “African-American” in A Raisin in the Sun. They understood, but it also made it clear to me that they would not extend the same understanding to a show being made in 2021.
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Tom Servo’s original name was Beeper. Is it troubling that it was changed?
Servo’s also had four different voices. Which, admittedly, people do have opinions about. But everything changes over time, including MST3K. It’s inevitable.
Point taken that there should be options for GPC 1 and GPC 2 though. I’ll go fix that.
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Well, to be fair, whether you agree with the original point or not, to my knowledge the change of Beeper to Servo was not due to Beeper being a slur for some people. So that comparison isn’t really an apt one.
Actually, I’d be curious to know why the name was changed. Really, the redesign is so dramatic from KTMA to season 1 that it’s almost a totally different robot anyway.
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That’s kinda my point though. If changing Tom Servo’s name is not upsetting, but changing GPC’s is, I think that’s worth ruminating on.
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What have this world become?
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The world that Boomers left us for good or for ill, basically.
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Sorry if I said something wrong. : o
By the time I got up, your quoted response was deleted.
All social/cultural implications aside, it’s an interesting logistical pickle: for almost 200 episodes, “Gypsy” is listed in the closing credits and with the big foam letters in the roll call. Absent a huge effort (and terrible idea) to retroactively retool all that, there’s no erasing her name from the past.
To avoid confusion, maybe adjust the pulldown menu to read “GPC - 1 (formerly Gypsy)”, so folks can connect the dots.
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Wiki says that about 1 million Roma currently live in the U.S.A. Seems like a lot of people to me, even if it’s just a small fraction of the population relatively speaking.
The solution to “This is a slur, so let’s not use it any more” is not “Let’s keep using the slur, but put it in brackets”, the solution is “Let’s just not use the slur any more”.
There’s no “confusion” to clear up, we all know what character we’re talking about, so the only issue is people getting mad and trying to find solutions to problems already solved.
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I wonder if a stumbling block for some on this issue is the fact that GPC is a protagonist, and not a villain. 
Or else they’re desperate for the world to never change in any way. Even though, as some wise stoners once said, 
Nothin’ lasts forever but the Earth and skyyyy… We expect everything to evolve: technology, fashion, cuisine. It’s built into the culture. Why would language be magically exempt from this?
As we grow, some things become more complex, and others become more straightforward. For me, this is pretty straightforward. I wouldn’t want a ethnic slur used against my own forebears to be the name of a character. Even if it was meant to be cool and complementary. Since I’m not the only person who matters, that principle should apply to other ethnic groups as well.
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True, I should have double-checked that. I know only one person personally who claims Roma heritage, and I apparently elaborated an anecdote into data.
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We could always call her Stockard Channing.
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I vote for Mrs G. Richard Baseheart 
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I think this sort of thing kind of solves itself once new episodes come out and we have GPC-1 and GPC-2 mentioned by name and that connects the dots in a far more concrete way without having anyone here put the original name out again in an official capacity.
Until then, we as fans can help each other figure out who she is if the question arises again. But it’s not like it’s a huge riddle to solve. The names sound virtually the same anyway.
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EBK. How do you define “harmful”? And furthermore is a name the same as the offense? And further yet is elimination or alteration the only response to it? Especially if there’s no intent to be offensive? Do we erase something from existence ala Marty McFly or provide context and let it be?
Case in point. Mel Brooks’ Blazing Saddles (1974). A personal favorite of former President Barack Obama. A movie hip deep in the N word to make a comedic point. But isn’t that offensive to a particular section of the population? N-this? N-that? To death? It certainly wouldn’t be made today.
Nevertheless it’s preserved in The National Film Registry in the Library of Congress as “culturally, historically, and aesthetically significant.” It is problematic to some but is loved for the exact same reasons and by those you would think would be offended. Is the former President being “malicious”? By your very own argument? “Willfully continuing to do that thing”? Or love that thing even though it oozes a hateful phrase?
Is Blazing Saddles given a pass? And if so what constutes what you accept and what you alter? This is where the Rabbit Hole deepens. Then it becomes a preference. Of what makes the cut and what doesn’t. THIS is what I have issue with because who decides? And for what reasons? And can we explain them? Are they just felt? And if it’s just feelings, are emotions enough to rearrange a thing? Since emotions like thoughts vary from person to person. Which is why I’m here differing on how you arrive where you are.
Something named Gypsy Rose for no other reason than it sounded pretty and fitting to an inanimate object is not the same as Richard Pryor writing the N word over a hundred times and having a whole ensemble milk it for laughs. Blazing Saddles fits your “malicious” construct far better than a puppet who sings and wears costumes ever did.
Do we censure Blazing Saddles? Make it impossible to see and have it slowly die away in oblivion? Will people try to defend it saying it has a higher value and deserves to be seen? Maybe add a disclaimer? Where do these exceptions start and where do they end? And who chooses the winners and losers of this process?
Does this feel like freedom? Or are feelings real or otherwise enough to alter art itself? And is that a good place to be in? These are the questions I have to simply deciding intent based on personal opinion. No one thinks the same and to enforce an arbitrary process is as damaging as anything found in a name.
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Nobody’s ‘enforcing’ anything. Joel, who created the 'bot, decided to change the name.
It doesn’t hurt you in any way or form.
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One difference is Blazing Saddles is often (not always) censored when it airs. The original is rated R.
MST3k is PG. MAYBE PG-13 at a stretch. You’re not going to hear the n-word on any of the movies or in any of the host segments or riffs. You’re not going to get much stronger than a “damn” from the hosts. They self-censor. If the people who created the show and own the show decide that it’s in the best interest of the audience to change the spelling of a character’s name, then they’re allowed to make that choice. You don’t have to be happy about it, but it’s not “the start of a slippery slope” or a “harbinger of doom” or a loss of freedom.
They’re not pulling all the original episodes and changing the bot’s name retroactively. They’re not dubbing in a new name. GPC is still pronounced gypsy.
It’s a spelling change.
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Lesley,
As someone who cherishes this show knows, once you get to know something your love for it grows. Every new episode, every passing season, year after year watching the program more and more, Joel and the Bots became like family for many of us.
The issue isn’t the change exactly but that it effected our beloved Gypsy a character we consider a part of our childhood and some of our fondest memories. She lives in our minds as something pure, wholesome, and good. She endures as this creation in our lives. The name is much of who she is and never was hurtful to those who watched it and loved the character.
Unlike Beeper or Tom’s vocal evolution, enough time and exposure passed that lots of us became attached to Gypsy as a creation and whole package and grieve a little that’s changed. That’s what it is. Added to that, not entirely agreeing on why it’s changed.
I respect there are concerns but are those worries enough to rewrite a creative endeavor post mortem and after the fact? And beyond that rebranding and revising a beloved entity on what is a subjective perspective depending on who you ask? These are the thoughts I have. I’ve accepted the change and will watch the show regardless though a bit of me is sad and probably will always be.
I write this not to stir any trouble. I share the deepest feelings of my heart and an insight I haven’t seen much here though I believe I can’t be alone on. Art saved my life as a child (including MST3K) and I deem it precious and powerful. Tinkering with it on the concerns of the moment is a new trend today and we must be careful how far that goes.
My complements to you, Ivan, and everyone on creating this magnificent forum.
All my best,
Bruce
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