Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[KaelGotDwarves]

People like things that are different or exotic.

That's part of it, but I think modern Orientalism is also rooted in social alienation.

Goes back further than that. Hippies and Buddhism, the novel Siddhartha, European sailors in the 1800s writing about their experiences about Tahiti - where native girls slept with sailors for metal pens/nails/trinkets of the such because metal was so rare and valuable there.

That exotic and culturally different paradigm (different outlook on sex in particular) fuels this strange cultural phenomenon.

[Footkerchief]

There isn't really a Japan craze - it's just an illusion.

Lots of us are unknowingly weaboos for America, Canada, England, etc but our cultures are so damn similar we don't even realize we're doing it.  If you're American and you're obsessed with low brow comedy and mary jane, there's a good chance all of your favorite humor styles and comedians are from a Canadian cultural heritage.  If you're British and you're all about the hip hop scene, you're being wamerican.

Japan just stands out more because their culture is so different, and because of all the tentacles and bright colors.

Haha, no.  The only subculture more unwashed than japanophiles is the Society for the Promotion of Dustbaths, and the differences hardly end there.

[Leafsnail]

are you saying britain loves immigrants

take me to the imaginary britain that isn't ever racist or xenophobic


like japan

(lol you're the same get used to it)

I suppose there are similarities - island nations, constitutional monarchies with similar political systems, and love of gardens and tea.  On the other hand, it's pretty unfair to call us xenophobic... it's quite multicutural here, and our immigration policy is (for now) relatively lax.

Incidentally, I don't think I actually know any true weeabos in real life.  Unless you guys are massively exagerating, it isn't as big here.

[Jackrabbit]

You know, the only people seriously into Manga and stuff like that that I know (save two) wear it like a badge of honor, and are horribly obnoxious about it. It's incredibly annoying, a sentiment I'm sure has been shared by many people over the course of this thread.

[ChairmanPoo]

I've been to the UK. There were plenty of immigrants. So in that regard, the UK is not (particularily) racist.

On the other hand, racism and xenophobia are more likely to show up in places where there are actually immigrants to hate. After all, you won't get reports of race/foreigner-hatred related crimes if there are no actual foreigners to suffer them.

[Jackrabbit]

Uh, wow. How many places did this thread go in 24 hours?

Can we... can we get it to go to more?

[Nikov]

The Japanese are all closet homosexual homophobes who wish to ban gay marriage constitutionally allowing marriage between same-sex couples with unlimited abortion prohibition rights and legalized taxed unliscensed free marketed communist pot hippie communes.

[Jackrabbit]

I shed a tear in the presence of true beauty.

[KaelGotDwarves]

The Japanese are all closet homosexual homophobes who wish to ban gay marriage constitutionally allowing marriage between same-sex couples with unlimited abortion prohibition rights and legalized taxed unliscensed free marketed communist pot hippie communes.

See, this is funny cos it's true.

[Retro]

I woke up and this thread.

On topic, Japan terrifies me. I think eh is a pretty cool guy but some Japanese stuff just crosses the 'acceptably weird' line.

[Nikov]

I shed a tear in the presence of true beauty.

See below.

[Deathworks]

Hi!

On the other hand, racism and xenophobia are more likely to show up in places where there are actually immigrants to hate. After all, you won't get reports of race/foreigner-hatred related crimes if there are no actual foreigners to suffer them.

That is simply not true:

Example one: The classic heartland of xenophobia and racism in Germany is rural Bavaria and leaks into Austria. It comes as no surprise that Hitler came from Austria, nor that Austria got a right-wing government even before the economic crisis (something that always strengthens the extreme ends of the scale). Bavaria is land-locked and does not have much immigration when compared to the harbor cities in the north and the surrounding lands. (Of course, for various reasons, the former territory of East Germany has also become a breeding ground of racism, but that has other supporting factors).

Example two: The vote against minarettes in Swiss: The places where there were actual Muslim communities were not against minarettes - it were those places with very few immigrants who feverishly voted in favor of banning the minarettes, even though they were not at risk of ever seeing one.

It actually makes sense: If you have direct contact with other cultures, you are more likely to realize that they are just human beings like your own people. But if you have never seen a Muslim in your whole life, all you can go by are the things people tell you. And people are more likely to tell you exciting stories about how they differ rather than the boring truth of how they are alike your own people. Of course, that does not totally prevent racism, as Nazi Germany quite aptly proved when it turned against the Jewish Germans.

General: I think the great danger in this debate lies in over-generalizations. Some people are talking about the pathological fanboys, which you have in any fandom. I am sure there are people out there who will fight to the death for the uber-awesome of Wolverine or Batman, just as there are pathological Son Goku fans. But there are also other people who simply like various aspects of Japan and therefore praise it.

Deathworks

[MrWiggles]

I hope I qualify in the later. I've watched Anime almost my entire life, along with variety of other tv shows from other countries. I dont think its superior. I read magma from fan translation sight. I guess I've done some weird things. I spent 8 years along with a friend trying to make a functional DBZ table top game, as the Instant Fuzion system just didnt work, or well written. We concluded that its impossible. I made a mu* based on Naruto, that going on its forth year.

I dont see anime fandom any worse then science fiction fandom, war gamers or sporting fandom. I admit I dont have any experience with high sporting fandom. My parents used to staff and help set up sci fi convictions, so pretty experience with and I'm more active passivly active in anime fandom.

Everyone spoken about aspects about anime fandom and treating ti as the whole thing. There there only way type of art style, only one type of genre, only one plot ect.

[Il Palazzo]

American comics, maybe. Try Italian and French stuff sometimes.

enki bilal is a name to respect

Damn right, although we could generalise this to European, I guess. Damn Americans know nothing about any culture other than their own, unless they get to occupy the country in question.

The above statement - surprisingly on topic.

[NFossil]

People like things that are different or exotic.

At first I thought it was just a white guy attracted to asian women thing. Then I realized certain white women also get that attraction to asian males, just as some asians do to whites. It was a strange experience for me figuring that out. (It's why I don't go to animecons anymore- I had all these weeaboos and underage bisexuals attempting to drag me into their hotel rooms and buddha-only-knows what STDs they had)

I mean, hell, as a language French is super sexy to me and even though I don't have much use for it I'm learning it this summer. I suppose it's always applicable in melting women. They seem to love that stuff more than I do.

The weird thing I never get is, most Chinese women married to westerners or work as actors in western TV are extremely ugly by Chinese standards. I can't speak for other Asian countries but I would guess it's similar.