There are a couple of things to unpack about everyone's favourite horror-Christmas-movie hybrid franchise. The most obvious example of racism comes in the form of Mr. Wing, the Asian store owner who initially releases the gremlins into the world. He's an almost comical stereotype of an old fashioned idea of an "oriental" man. However, there have been allegations that the gremlins, the monsters who wreaked havoc on the human characters, are supposed to resemble African-Americans. Their style of dress and pop culture tastes mimicked those of many African-Americans in the 80s, when the films were made. It's not conclusive but it was enough to ring a few racist alarm bells.