History UsefulNotes / Romani

In reality, the Romani-diaspora is a collection of ethnic groups found throughout Europe, the Americas, and the Middle East. They originally emigrated from UsefulNotes/{{India}} but were mistaken for Egyptians by Medieval Europeans, which is how the term "Gypsy" originated (and why it should be capitalized, like Indian or Japanese). Though they were originally moderately dark of skin, several hundred years of intermarrying with other ethnic groups have allowed many modern Romani to pass as White, Indian, or even African if they so choose. The bright outfits and wagons are Eastern European and used to be TruthInTelevision. Part of the reason they dressed that way was advertising. Nomadic Romani were certainly a historical fact, but the majority of modern Romani live in standard housing and are every bit as tech-savvy as their neighbors.

One of the very few exceptions to the treatment of Romani as social pariahs can be found in UsefulNotes/SovietUnion, and in modern Russia. Contrary to the case in Western Europe, although ''Ruska Roma'' are certainly subject to prejudice and bigotry, there's been a huge co-opting of Romani culture in Russia since the 19th, but especially in the 20th century -- particularly poetry, music, dance, and theater, all of which were considered a form of "high folk culture" in the USSR. Though some Roma were targeted during the Purges and the whole population suffered enormously during the Second World War, it also cemented many components of Roma culture into Soviet folklore, particularly entertainment. Combined with a more serious attempt to assimilate Romani communities, and their status as a small but legitimate Soviet nationality, the Iron Curtain divide between Communist and Capitalist Roma was [[http://mail.geobiz.net/sr-www/files/Virtual%20library/USSR.PDF unusually reversed]], with the image of affluent, socially-accepted Romani living in the USSR compared to the outcast Romani living in Western Europe--indeed, unlike the case in the West, the stereotype of Roma in the former-USSR more closely resembles the longstanding American stereotype of Jews: clever, frugal, well-traveled and with an assumed talent towards entertainment and music. Some of the most successful Romani musicians and playwrights were made People's Artists of the USSR, and some enjoyed such a degree of fame and success, like Jazz Vocalist Valentina Ponomaryova, to even have their [=LP=]s distributed in the United States in the same period. The [[WhyWeAreBummedCommunismFell collapse of the USSR]] has seen a decline in institutional Romani arts (now often seen as outdated or old-fashioned, not unlike other examples of Soviet culture), but the legacy of national promotion has endured: the largest Roma theater in the world [[https://www.moscovery.com/romen-gipsy-theatre/ still operates in Moscow]], and its performances are considered on par with other institutions like the [[RedswithRockets Red Army Choir]] (the two groups have [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=213&v=FCZNfeWGTkQ shared the stage on no less than Eurovision]], and the Choir's dance ensemble practices Romani dance), and Romani performances are still popular for holidays, birthdays, and public celebrations.

The Romani have been a popular subject in media due to the many colorful stereotypes associated with the culture. In many media portrayals, they are referred to by the more commonly known name of "Gypsies", but it is important to note that to many Romani, that word is a racist term sometimes considered analogous to the N-word. Not all feel this way, [[NWordPrivileges and are fine with using the word to describe themselves]] as either a neutral term or as an act of reclamation, though they may differ on whether or not it's okay for ''non''-Romani to refer to them as "Gypsies". A British study found that many Romani feel it's a term of pride. It's a legal term under English law and it's used officially in the names of some Romani organizations.

** ComicBook/DoctorDoom is a Rom from [[{{Uberwald}} Latveria]]. He's unambiguously villainous, but a complete aversion of the Gypsy stereotypes; he's a technical genius. He still grew up amongst superstitious folk living in horse-drawn caravans though. And let's not even get ''started'' on his mother, the demon-summoning sorceress. On the other hand, Doom is a vocal activist for Romani rights, and they are some of the few people associated with a villain who are treated sympathetically in Creator/MarvelComics.

*** Half-Romani, half-Jewish. They were raised in a pretty stereotypical Gypsy caravan [[ItMakesSenseInContext by a cow]]. Their father ComicBook/{{Magneto}} was retconned as being a Gypsy, rather than Jewish, in the early 90s. Apparently, when Marvel decided to build him up as a major villain in the ''Fatal Attractions'' crossover, they worried about the negative response to having a clearly Jewish villain. However, Gypsies were still targets of mockery and derision. Fortunately, a later AuthorsSavingThrow returned Magneto to his Jewish roots.

** ComicBook/{{Nightwing}} was revealed to be Romani during the Devin Grayson run. ''Comicbook/{{Grayson}}'' confirms it's still canon as of the New 52.

In addition to perpetuating stereotypes about the Romani, the media are largely blasé about slurs against them, using insulting terms like "gyppo" without much concern; and to many Romani today, the word "gypsy" itself is an offensive slur, though (see paragraph above) there is evidence that British Romani actually encouraged the term, as a supposed Egyptian origin gave their fortune-telling schtick more credibility -- the same goes for the German word for Gypsy, "Zigeuner". It is considered to be unacceptable today and "[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sinti Sinti]] und Roma" (technically, the Sinti are a subgroup of the Roma -- which is just another word for Romani -- but the Sinti do not use the term for themselves and speak a different dialect of the Romani language) is used instead. Apparently, the Romani are still AcceptableTargets -- another holdover from [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antiziganism previous]] [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Porajmos centuries,]] when the Romani were one of the Western world's {{Butt Monkey}}s. Between half a million and 1.5 million Romani were [[UsefulNotes/TheHolocaust killed by SS Einsatzgruppen and in SS concentration, death-through-work, and extermination camps]] during UsefulNotes/WorldWarII. [[note]] It's hard to get definite numbers, because Romani were often shot on sight by the death squads, instead of bothering to capture and ship them to camps.[[/note]] The Roma Holocaust is known by ethnic Romani as ''Porajmos'' ("the Devouring"). Creator/JRRTolkien noted that Nazi persecution of Romani was rather ironic considering they are direct descendants of the historical Aryans (i.e. the Indo-European settlers of ancient India).

*** Half-Romani, half-Jewish. They were raised in a pretty stereotypical Gypsy caravan [[ItMakesSenseInContext by a cow]]. Their father ComicBook/{{Magneto}} was retconned as being a Gypsy, rather than Jewish, in the early 90s. Apparently, when Marvel decided to build him up as a major villain in the ''Fatal Attractions'' crossover, they worried about the negative response to having a clearly Jewish villain. However, Gypsies were still AcceptableTargets. Fortunately, a later AuthorsSavingThrow returned Magneto to his Jewish roots.

The Romani have been a popular subject in media due to the many colorful stereotypes associated with the culture. In many media portrayals, they are referred to by the more commonly known name of "Gypsies," but it is important to note that to many Romani, that word is a racist term sometimes considered analogous to the N-word. Not all feel this way, [[NWordPrivileges and are fine with using the word to describe themselves]] as either a neutral term or as an act of reclamation, though they may differ on whether or not it's okay for ''non''-Romani to refer to them as "Gypsies". A British study found that many Romani feel it's a term of pride. It's a legal term under English law and it's used officially in the names of some Romani organizations.

In reality, the Romani-diaspora is a collection of ethnic groups found throughout Europe, the Americas, and the Middle East. They originally emigrated from UsefulNotes/{{India}} but were mistaken for Egyptians by Medieval Europeans, which is how the term "Gypsy" originated (and why it should be capitalized, like Indian or Japanese). While they were originally moderately dark of skin, several hundred years of intermarrying with other ethnic groups have allowed many modern Romani to pass as White, Indian, or even African if they so choose. The bright outfits and wagons are Eastern European and used to be TruthInTelevision. Part of the reason they dressed that way was advertising. Nomadic Romani were certainly a historical fact, but the majority of modern Romani live in standard housing and are every bit as tech-savvy as their neighbors.

One of the very few exceptions to the treatment of Romani as social pariahs can be found in UsefulNotes/SovietUnion, and in modern Russia. Contrary to the case in Western Europe, while ''Ruska Roma'' are certainly subject to prejudice and bigotry, there's been a huge co-opting of Romani culture in Russia since the 19th, but especially in the 20th century -- particularly poetry, music, dance, and theater, all of which were considered a form of "high folk culture" in the USSR. While some Roma were targeted during the Purges and the whole population suffered enormously during the Second World War, it also cemented many components of Roma culture into Soviet folklore, particularly entertainment. Combined with a more serious attempt to assimilate Romani communities, and their status as a small but legitimate Soviet nationality, the Iron Curtain divide between Communist and Capitalist Roma was [[http://mail.geobiz.net/sr-www/files/Virtual%20library/USSR.PDF unusually reversed]], with the image of affluent, socially-accepted Romani living in the USSR compared to the outcast Romani living in Western Europe--indeed, unlike the case in the West, the stereotype of Roma in the former-USSR more closely resembles the longstanding American stereotype of Jews: clever, frugal, well-traveled and with an assumed talent towards entertainment and music. Some of the most successful Romani musicians and playwrights were made People's Artists of the USSR, and some enjoyed such a degree of fame and success, like Jazz Vocalist Valentina Ponomaryova, to even have their [=LP=]s distributed in the United States in the same period. The [[WhyWeAreBummedCommunismFell collapse of the USSR]] has seen a decline in institutional Romani arts (now often seen as outdated or old-fashioned, not unlike other examples of Soviet culture), but the legacy of national promotion has endured: the largest Roma theater in the world [[https://www.moscovery.com/romen-gipsy-theatre/ still operates in Moscow]], and its performances are considered on par with other institutions like the [[RedswithRockets Red Army Choir]] (the two groups have [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=213&v=FCZNfeWGTkQ shared the stage on no less than Eurovision]], and the Choir's dance ensemble practices Romani dance), and Romani performances are still popular for holidays, birthdays, and public celebrations.

* ''Fanfic/ChildOfTheStorm'': Wanda Maximoff is half-Romani as per usual and was raised by her mother's clan after her father abandoned her as a newborn baby (in fairness, he had excellent reason to think that she was dead, along with her mother) though her brother, Pietro, probably isn't, since he's her half-brother instead of her twin (and a brat, apparently). Aside from her vast magical power and being stunningly beautiful, she shows no signs of the traditional stereotypes. Part of Wanda's antagonism towards her father comes from the fact that, while she gets perfectly well where he's coming from on how mutants will be hated, feared and persecuted, having been raised Romani and experienced it herself, she thinks that he's no better than them or the Nazis who persecuted him (he was in his megalomaniac phase).

* ''Webcomic/GunnerkriggCourt'': Anja Donlan is a Romani. She has impressive [[http://www.gunnerkrigg.com/archive_page.php?comicID=554 magic abilities]], while her husband (who's a Scotsman) is GadgeteerGenius, though she's also tech-savvy enough to be a science teacher and he ''somehow'' got an AmplifierArtifact he gave her. Together, they found [[{{Magitek}} the common ground]] quickly enough and made a "computer" that runs on magic and provides a lot of useful effects. Evidently, she also has [[http://www.gunnerkrigg.com/archive_page.php?comicID=521 some skill with tattoo]]. Their daughter Kat took entirely after her father, and so far has no magic. Instead, she's a gadgeteer prodigy who invents antigravity and builds robots in her spare time, and [[ArbitrarySkepticism still doesn't believe in magic]] despite her best friend's very obvious magic powers.

** While the proudly Russian [[Website/SCPFoundation Captain Dmitri Arkadeyevich Strelnikov]] has a particular hatred for Chechens, he also uses "gypsy" as an insult. Behold some of his Rules For Make Live by:

* ''WesternAnimation/CourageTheCowardlyDog'': Shirley the FortuneTeller (who is a chihuahua). While she can occasionally act as an antagonist, this is either due to "the Stupid One" (read "[[{{Jerkass}} Eustace]]") invoking her wrath, or circumstances beyond her control. She is often willing to help... for a fee. Her magical tool of choice? A ''saxophone''.

* ''Anime/FullmetalAlchemistTheConquerorOfShamballa'': Ed meets several Romani (including [[spoiler:Scar and Lust's alters in a quick shot at the end]]) who are being persecuted in UsefulNotes/NaziGermany. He becomes best friends with a mystical dream-reading Romani, Noah. Incidentally, she's not all that honest, either, though her dishonesty stems from being persecuted. Noah tells Edward that the proper term for her people is "Roma"/"Rom".

In addition to perpetuating stereotypes about the Romani, the media are largely blasé about slurs against them, using insulting terms like "gyppo" without much concern; and to many Romani today, the word "gypsy" itself is an offensive slur, though (see paragraph above) there is evidence that British Romani actually encouraged the term, as a supposed Egyptian origin gave their fortune-telling schtick more credibility -- the same goes for the German word for Gypsy, "Zigeuner". It is considered to be unacceptable today and "[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sinti Sinti]] und Roma" (technically, the Sinti are a subgroup of the Roma -- which is just another word for Romani -- but the Sinti do not use the term for themselves and speak a different dialect of the Romani language) is used instead. Apparently, the Romani are still AcceptableEthnicTargets -- another holdover from [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antiziganism previous]] [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Porajmos centuries,]] when the Romani were one of the Western world's {{Butt Monkey}}s. Between half a million and 1.5 million Romani were [[UsefulNotes/TheHolocaust killed by SS Einsatzgruppen and in SS concentration, death-through-work, and extermination camps]] during UsefulNotes/WorldWarII. [[note]] It's hard to get definite numbers, because Romani were often shot on sight by the death squads, instead of bothering to capture and ship them to camps.[[/note]] The Roma Holocaust is known by ethnic Romani as ''Porajmos'' ("the Devouring"). Creator/JRRTolkien noted that Nazi persecution of Romani was rather ironic considering they are direct descendants of the historical Aryans (i.e. the Indo-European settlers of ancient India).

** While the proudly Russian [[Wiki/SCPFoundation Captain Dmitri Arkadeyevich Strelnikov]] has a particular hatred for Chechens, he also uses "gypsy" as an insult. Behold some of his Rules For Make Live by:

* ''Wiki/SCPFoundation'':

* ''ComicBook/LeScorpion'': Mejaï provides the page picture for HotGypsyWoman. She is not a thief, but a MasterPoisoner and the only people she seems to care about are [[BelligerentSexualTension Scorpion himself]] (after she pulls a HeelFaceTurn) and her black cat.

* Franchise/{{Tintin}}: ''Recap/TintinTheCastafioreEmerald'' has a camp of Gypsies setting up in a dump just downwind from Marlinspike. Captain Haddock then generously lets them camp out closer to his house, to the objection of his butler. Things soon go missing from the manor, which leads to everyone looking at the gypsies suspiciously. [[spoiler:It turns out a magpie did it.]] It's actually a much more sympathetic portrayal of the Romani people than a lot of others.

* ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitans'': Cyborg explains that he bought a pie with an evil witch trapped inside it from "this old gypsy" who was selling "mystical items at reasonable prices", including a [[Literature/TheMonkeysPaw monkey's paw]].

In fiction, Romani are usually depicted as [[RoguishRomani dishonest]]: thieves, pickpockets, [[ConArtist con artists]], trespassers, and [[TheTrickster tricksters]] who wouldn't think twice about taking everything you own that isn't nailed down, and a few things that are. The danger of children being kidnapped by Romani was a common old wives' tale. The stereotype for dishonesty may or may not be where the term "gypped" probably comes from.[[note]]The origin of "gypped" is not really known. One reason to doubt this explanation is that the term seems to have originated in the United States, which although it does have one of the largest Romani populations, if not the largest, in the world, American Roma tend to be assimilated and settled to the point that they're indistinguishable from the larger population).[[/note]] In Europe, there are a number of Romani criminal organizations, both street gangs and mafias, but they are no more representative of all Romani than TheMafia is of all Italians. Not helping the perception is that Romani often [[HidingYourHeritage hide their heritage]] to avoid discrimination, meaning that non-Romani (''gadjo'') often don't recognize the law-abiding Romani they encounter ''as'' Romani.

** ''WesternAnimation/RobinHood'': The titular fox disguises himself as a Romani fortune teller to rob from Prince John.

-->--'''Ian Hancock''', Romani scholar

There is no significant relation (ethnic or etymological) to the Romans or the Romanians. The term “Roma” is actually derived from the Hindu god Rama, harkening back to their origins as Hindus from Western India. Sometimes the two are confused, which is probably because the "â" used in the native name for Romania gets lost in the English translation.[[note]]And just to confuse things further, Romania does have a large Romani minority.[[/note]] There is also no connection between the Romani and UsefulNotes/IrishTravellers beyond a historical reputation for a nomadic lifestyle and skill at boxing.

The Romani have been a popular subject in media due to the many colorful stereotypes associated with the culture. In many media portrayals, they are referred to by the more commonly known name of "Gypsies," but it is important to note that to many Romani, that word is a racist term sometimes, considered analogous to the N-word. Not all feel this way, [[NWordPrivileges and are fine with using the word to describe themselves]] as either a neutral term or as an act of reclamation, though they may differ on whether or not it's okay for ''non''-Romani to refer to them as "Gypsies". A British study found that many Romani feel it's a term of pride. It's a legal term under English law and it's used officially in the names of some Romani organizations.

The Romani have been a popular subject in media due to the many colorful stereotypes associated with the culture. In many media portrayals, they are referred to by the more commonly known name of "Gypsies," but it is important to note that to many Romani, that word is a racist term sometimes considered analogous to the N-word. Not all feel this way, [[NWordPrivileges and are fine with using the word to describe themselves]] as either a neutral term or as an act of reclamation, though they may differ on whether or not it's okay for ''non''-Romani to refer to them as "Gypsies". A British study found that many Romani feel it's a term of pride. It's a legal term under English law and it's used officially in the names of some Romani organizations.

There is no significant relation (ethnic or etymological) to the Romans or the Romanians. Sometimes the two are confused, which is probably because the "â" used in the native name for Romania gets lost in the English translation.[[note]]And just to confuse things further, Romania does have a large Romani minority.[[/note]] There is also no connection between the Romani and UsefulNotes/IrishTravellers beyond a historical reputation for a nomadic lifestyle and skill at boxing.

One of the very few exceptions to the treatment of Romani as social pariahs can be found in UsefulNotes/SovietUnion, and in modern Russia. Contrary to the case in Western Europe, while ''Ruska Roma'' are certainly subject to prejudice and bigotry, there's been a huge co-opting of Romani culture in Russia since the 19th, but especially in the 20th century -- particularly poetry, music, dance, and theater, all of which were considered a form of "high folk culture" in the USSR. While some Roma were targeted during the Purges and the whole population suffered enormously during the Second World War, it also cemented many components of Roma culture into Soviet folklore, particularly entertainment. Combined with a more serious attempt to assimilate Romani communities, and their status as a small but legitimate Soviet nationality, the Iron Curtain divide between Communist and Capitalist Roma was [[http://mail.geobiz.net/sr-www/files/Virtual%20library/USSR.PDF unusually reversed]], with the image of affluent, socially-accepted Romani living in the USSR compared to the outcast Romani living in Western Europe--indeed, unlike the case in the West, the stereotype of Roma in the former-USSR more closely resembles the longstanding [[YouHaveToHaveJews American stereotype of Jews]]: clever, frugal, well-traveled and with an assumed talent towards entertainment and music. Some of the most successful Romani musicians and playwrights were made People's Artists of the USSR, and some enjoyed such a degree of fame and success, like Jazz Vocalist Valentina Ponomaryova, to even have their [=LP=]s distributed in the United States in the same period. The [[WhyWeAreBummedCommunismFell collapse of the USSR]] has seen a decline in institutional Romani arts (now often seen as outdated or old-fashioned, not unlike other examples of Soviet culture), but the legacy of national promotion has endured: the largest Roma theater in the world [[https://www.moscovery.com/romen-gipsy-theatre/ still operates in Moscow]], and its performances are considered on par with other institutions like the [[RedswithRockets Red Army Choir]] (the two groups have [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=213&v=FCZNfeWGTkQ shared the stage on no less than Eurovision]], and the Choir's dance ensemble practices Romani dance), and Romani performances are still popular for holidays, birthdays, and public celebrations.

** ''WesternAnimation/TheHunchbackOfNotreDame'': The stereotyped depiction of the Gypsies is somewhat justified by the setting, and the group as a whole are presented as sympathetic victims of [[KnightTemplar Frollo's overzealous desire for religious purity in Paris]]. Basically, the bad guys in the film think the Gypsies are thieves, but they're really just extremely colorful and eccentric people. There's also one scene where Esmeralda reads Quasimodo's palm, but this is mostly an entire fabrication she uses to conceal the {{Aesop}} she's trying to teach him. This may seem to be perpetuating the stereotype of the Roma as con men, particularly with Quasimodo's extreme naivete, except she's only doing it to help him. Quasimodo himself is Romani, but he was raised by Frollo without much knowledge of his past.

* Mecano's "Hijo de la Luna" features a Romani woman so desperate for a husband she offers her first child to the moon. When the child is born pale of skin and hair, the father flips out thinking she's had an affair and murders her before abandoning the baby in the mountains to die.

Romani are almost always shown as universally romantic nomads. They're mysterious and {{magical|Romani}} people, as the sheer number of Romani {{Fortune Teller}}s and {{Gypsy Curse}}s demonstrates. They're also associated with [[TarotMotifs Tarot cards]], and sometimes credited with inventing them. Their women are [[HotGypsyWoman fiery-tempered temptresses]] or wise old crones. They dance in flamenco outfits to Hungarian music. They wear brightly colored clothes and travel in brightly decorated caravans. They have dark skin and speak with an {{Uberwald}} accent, regardless of where they are and where they're supposed to be from.

In addition to perpetuating stereotypes about the Romani, the media are largely blasé about slurs against them, using insulting terms like "gyppo" without much concern; and to many Romani today, the word "gypsy" itself is an offensive slur, though (see paragraph above) there is evidence that British Romani actually encouraged the term, as a supposed Egyptian origin gave their fortune-telling schtick more credibility -- the same goes for the German word for Gypsy, "Zigeuner". It is considered to be unacceptable today and "[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sinti Sinti]] und Roma" (technically, the Sinti are a subgroup of the Roma - which is just another word for Romani - but the Sinti do not use the term for themselves and speak a different dialect of the Romani language) is used instead. Apparently, the Romani are still AcceptableEthnicTargets -- another holdover from [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antiziganism previous]] [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Porajmos centuries,]] when the Romani were one of the Western world's {{Butt Monkey}}s. Between half a million and 1.5 million Romani were [[UsefulNotes/TheHolocaust killed by SS Einsatzgruppen and in SS concentration, death-through-work, and extermination camps]] during UsefulNotes/WorldWarII. [[note]] It's hard to get definite numbers, because Romani were often shot on sight by the death squads, instead of bothering to capture and ship them to camps.[[/note]] The Roma Holocaust is known by ethnic Romani as ''Porajmos'' ("the Devouring"). Creator/JRRTolkien noted that Nazi persecution of Romani was rather ironic considering they are direct descendants of the historical Aryans (i.e. the Indo-European settlers of ancient India).

One of the very few exceptions to the treatment of Romani as social pariahs can be found in UsefulNotes/SovietUnion, and in modern Russia. Contrary to the case in Western Europe, while ''Ruska Roma'' are certainly subject to prejudice and bigotry, there's been a huge co-opting of Romani culture in Russia since the 19th, but especially in the 20th century - particularly poetry, music, dance, and theater, all of which were considered a form of "high folk culture" in the USSR. While some Roma were targeted during the Purges and the whole population suffered enormously during the Second World War, it also cemented many components of Roma culture into Soviet folklore, particularly entertainment. Combined with a more serious attempt to assimilate Romani communities, and their status as a small but legitimate Soviet nationality, the Iron Curtain divide between Communist and Capitalist Roma was [[http://mail.geobiz.net/sr-www/files/Virtual%20library/USSR.PDF unusually reversed]], with the image of affluent, socially-accepted Romani living in the USSR compared to the outcast Romani living in Western Europe--indeed, unlike the case in the West, the stereotype of Roma in the former-USSR more closely resembles the longstanding [[YouHaveToHaveJews American stereotype of Jews]]: clever, frugal, well-traveled and with an assumed talent towards entertainment and music. Some of the most successful Romani musicians and playwrights were made People's Artists of the USSR, and some enjoyed such a degree of fame and success, like Jazz Vocalist Valentina Ponomaryova, to even have their [=LP=]s distributed in the United States in the same period. The [[WhyWeAreBummedCommunismFell collapse of the USSR]] has seen a decline in institutional Romani arts (now often seen as outdated or old-fashioned, not unlike other examples of Soviet culture), but the legacy of national promotion has endured: the largest Roma theater in the world [[https://www.moscovery.com/romen-gipsy-theatre/ still operates in Moscow]], and its performances are considered on par with other institutions like the [[RedswithRockets Red Army Choir]] (the two groups have [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=213&v=FCZNfeWGTkQ shared the stage on no less than Eurovision]], and the Choir's dance ensemble practices Romani dance), and Romani performances are still popular for holidays, birthdays, and public celebrations.

* [[Romani/LiveActionFilms Films - Live-Action]]

* Romani/TabletopGames

The Romani have been a popular subject in media due to the many colorful stereotypes associated with the culture. In many media portrayals, they are referred to by the more commonly known name of "Gypsies," but it is important to note that to many Romani, that word is a racist term sometimes considered analogous to the N-word. Not all feel this way, and are fine with using the word to describe themselves, the famous artist "[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gyp_Mills Gypsy Dave]]" for instance. A British study found that many Romani feel it's a term of pride. It's a legal term under English law and it's used officially in the names of Romani organizations. Some also might reclaim it, like "queer".

In fiction, Romani are usually depicted as [[RoguishRomani dishonest]]: thieves, pickpockets, [[ConArtist con artists]], trespassers, and [[TheTrickster tricksters]] who wouldn't think twice about taking everything you own that isn't nailed down, and a few things that are. The danger of children being kidnapped by Romani was a common old wives' tale. The stereotype for dishonesty may or may not be where the term "gypped" probably comes from.[[note]]The origin of "gypped" is not really known. One reason to doubt this explanation is that the term seems to have originated in the United States, which has few to no Gypsies (although it does have one of the largest Romani populations, if not the largest, in the world, American Roma tend to be assimilated and settled).[[/note]] In Europe, there are a number of Romani criminal organizations, both street gangs and mafias, but they are no more representative of all Romani than TheMafia is of all Italians. Not helping the perception is that Romani often [[HidingYourHeritage hide their heritage]] to avoid discrimination, meaning that non-Romani (''gadjo'') often don't recognize the law-abiding Romani they encounter ''as'' Romani.