Print

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

[ein]

Japan is, indeed, in a very transitional period.
There is an emergent youth culture that defies many of the old customs and traditions.
Girls in the Japanese class here are taught the exact same thing as the guys.
Sensei just notes which phrases are traditionally masculine or feminine.

[SalmonGod]

There is an emergent youth culture that defies many of the old customs and traditions.

This is exactly what my impression has been -- a tradition of rigid patriarchy that is being very quickly phased out.  I'm going to look into this more, though, since it's been called into question so much.

Girls in the Japanese class here are taught the exact same thing as the guys.
Sensei just notes which phrases are traditionally masculine or feminine.

That's how it was in my classes also.  I had two female and one male Japanese teacher, and they all handled it the same way.

I don't doubt the stuff about careers, though.

[Patchouli]

I think transitional period is pretty much the best way of describing it.

I don't know anything about how women of the workforce are treated like there though. I'd guess there's a general curve towards more equality, but not quite there yet. I imagine one of the greater problems is the expectation for women to seek employment, while also having the expectation to be like a traditional housewife.

[SalmonGod]

I imagine one of the greater problems is the expectation for women to seek employment, while also having the expectation to be like a traditional housewife.

Kinda the same as here.  It seems that the workplace is always one of the longest standing battlefronts on any civil rights issue.

We can't claim much better on the creation myth point, either.

[Patchouli]

I don't know the employment laws in Japan though.

So while we might be the same in the expectations for working women, they might have crappier cards to play with in getting a job or dealing with their job.

[SalmonGod]

So while we might be the same in the expectations for working women, they might have crappier cards to play with in getting a job or dealing with their job.

Yeah, I wouldn't be surprised about this.  Their historical traditions seem a fair amount more rigidily structured than ours were concerning a woman's expected roles and behavior, and they still have The Salary Man as their archetype ideal.

[Vector]

Yeah, I wouldn't be surprised about this.  Their historical traditions seem a fair amount more rigidily structured than ours were concerning a woman's expected roles and behavior, and they still have The Salary Man as their archetype ideal.

Not to mention all the crap about OLs and tea-serving expectations for workers-who-happen-to-be-women.

[Africa]

Any theories on why nerds are so attracted to Japanese stuff?

[Vector]

Any theories on why nerds are so attracted to Japanese stuff?

Possibly because a lot of it is about passive men getting to have sex/be attracted to lots and lots of women?

We don't really have harem shows here in the US, but they're quite prevalent in Japan.


I know that I like it because of the differing sense of humor/atmosphere, but that's just me.

[Patchouli]

http://www.jiwe.or.jp/english/situation/working.html

If this thing is right, it's not very good for women. Improvements though.

[Neonivek]

How about Anime's strong sense of continuity?

That is a trend that is pretty much why I watch anime. I'd have to filter through western shows to get continuity.

[Euld]

I've been trying to figure out why I like Japanese stuff, still not sure why.  Maybe because it seems... exotic?  Anime uses a totally different art style yet follows a number of conventions that sets a standard, and many are appropriate for adults.  American entertainment by comparison is usually cartoons for children, then for adults, either very immature/sexual cartoons or real life drama/reality shows/soap operas/mediocre sci fi.  Sure, not all anime is good, but it's very very different.

[Neonivek]

How about the fact that it has a STORY... a story anyone?

[Vector]

How about the fact that it has a STORY... a story anyone?

Enough of it doesn't that I'm not strikingly impressed.

[Max White]

I just love how a 'hate on anime' thread becomes a 'hate on Japan' thread over time. The undisputed connection pleases me greatly.

Any theories on why nerds are so attracted to Japanese stuff?

Max's list of potential reasons why nerds like anime! (Disclaimer: Horrific stereotypes ahead! Grab ya rain coats!  )
-Anime tends to often cast the leading character as white male, and often not the biggest guy in the world either. There are exceptions to this, look at Vash, he has at least 12 meters tall! But in general this holds true, with more muscle bound characters oftern being side kicks, or less. The average nerd is also white male, and not the biggest guy in the room. Not always true, but often this is the case. This allows for nerds to relate to the protagonist more.
-Nerds who go to long without a girl will start to forget what they look like, and as such they stop noticing that those body proportions are not realistic, and start noticing that those other body proportions are unrealistic.
-Nerds often own cats, a source of undying affection, mostly because you feed a cat, it grows to like you more. Anime has catgirls, also known as neko girls. Because nerds relate cat ears and tail to affection, they like catgirls and see them as affectionate. So because anime is the sole source of good catgirl imagery, they are drawn in.
-The 'hipster' effect! Anime is not known and understood by many, so this is another great topic for nerds to show how smart they are. They will learn everything about a series, from the number of clow card in the manga (Twelve) to the symbolisem behind Howls moving Castle (Sometimes you don't get the girl. Get the fuck over it) so they can flaunt this profound understanding to those around them, making them feel important.
-The 'X-Men' effect! A lot of anime features characters each with unique and special powers. Nerds love this, every time, no matter what. They will eat this shit up. Want to make money of selling media to nerds? Make it so that each franchise character has unique powers, and it is an open world where other characters can have their own powers. MEGA DORF BUCKS if you make it in a school environment. This opens the door to nerds day dreaming about themselves being in this sort of environment where they, too, have special powers, and this makes them feel special, something they don't get from the neglect of real life. For instances of this effect applied to teenage girls, see twilight. The power of the X-Men effect is limitless.

Well that's all for today! Tune in next week, when we look at why your average nerd likes pocket protectors! To protect he's pocket, or he's heart?