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Indie Band Car Seat Headrest Slams ‘Isle of Dogs’: Wes Anderson Film Is ‘Racist’ and ‘Infuriatingly Bad’

"Props to Wes for finally making a movie that would appeal to literally zero people beyond himself," band frontman Will Toledo wrote on Twitter.
"Isle of Dogs"
"Isle of Dogs"
Fox Searchlight Pictures

Isle of Dogs” had the biggest limited opening of the year last weekend, proving Wes Anderson‘s popularity is still incredibly strong among indie film audiences. But not everyone is too thrilled with Anderson’s latest. The film has been called out by numerous critics for marginalizing Japanese culture and depicting racial stereotypes, and these feelings are shared among some Wes Anderson fans. Will Toledo, frontman of the indie band Car Seat Headrest, took to Twitter recently to criticize Anderson and “Isle of Dogs.”

“‘Isle of Dogs’ is bad. It is an infuriatingly bad film. I am infuriated,” Toledo wrote. “Why is it racist? Why is it written as a joyless kid’s film when it’s specifically designed to be alienating and inappropriate for kids? why is it so fucking ugly?”

The musician continued: “I mean props to Wes for finally making a movie that would appeal to literally zero people beyond himself. But also, fuck you.”

Toledo is hardly the first person to directly call out Anderson for racism. Los Angeles Times writers Justin Chang and Jen Yamato have both publicly addressed the racial issues in “Isle of Dogs,” as has Steve MacFarlane of Slant and Ann Hornaday of the Washington Post, among others. Yamato called Anderson’s representation of Japanese culture “willfully tone-deaf.”

“Isle of Dogs” expands into more theaters this Friday. You can read Toledo’s critical thoughts below. IndieWire has reached out to the band and Wes Anderson’s representatives for further comment.

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