In Anime Podcast #10, JP Meyer gave a pithy response, along the lines of "not really", to a comment and question by Thor about whether increased anti-US sentiment in anime will affect anime sales in the US. I shared Thor’s impression that in blood+ and Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex 2nd Gig, the US has not been portrayed favourably. In addition to these two Production IG series, we’ve also seen SUNRISE draw a parallel between the US and the Blue Cosmos/Logos controlled Atlantic Federation with its capital in Washington D.C. and its puppet president Copeland in Gundam SEED Destiny.
This post attempts to look at the definitional problems that reflect the often confused and contradictory character of anti-Americanism and disentangle how separate levels of analysis are often conflated. Furthermore, this post argues that many of these ideas and themes regarded as “anti-American” are echoed in or even influenced by US political science, literary, cinematic and popular culture sources.
The first level of anti-Americanism operates at the personal level. This strand often depicts Americans as being loud, boorish, rude, insular, ignorant or even violent and/or militaristic. A recent example of such a character would be Mari-tan from the yet-to-be animated Magical Marine Pixel Mari-tan (é”法ã®æµ·å…µéšŠå“¡ ã´ãã›ã‚‹â˜†ã¾ã‚ŠãŸã‚“). Although the characters are based in the fictional Magical Kingdom of Parris Island, there are numerous direct references to the US military such as the links to the Marines, US Army, Navy and Department of Defense at the bottom of the site as well as the Marine-influenced elements of Mari-tan’s character design (the uniform, rank insignia, the motto of "The Tiny, The Proud" being a chibi take on "The Few, The Proud").
However this type of so-called anti-Americanism often balanced by (1) not depicting the characters as evil despite being otherwise socially flawed, (2) other American-type characters being appalled by said character’s behaviour (e.g. Navy-san and Army-san are often bewildered and embarrassed by Mari-tan), and (3) the Japanese-type character being stereotyped as well (e.g. Jie-tan, representing the JSDF, is too polite and ineffectual to rein Mari-tan in).
Moreever, US series have these types of characters as well e.g. Homer Simpson from The Simpsons, Eric Cartman from South Park and almost everyone in Team America: World Police. In these contexts, because the source is American, these criticisms are not regarded as anti-American but instead seen as East/West Coast vs Mid-West/South, educated liberals vs uneducated rednecks etc etc.
The individual level of anti-Americanism is often conflated with the institutional-state level due to a tendency to personify states as individuals, something that is reflected in the title of William J. Lederer and Eugene Burdick’s 1958 book The Ugly American which is actually a discussion of US foreign policy by the state, rather than individuals, as the main referent.
In this second level of anti-Americanism, the US state is depicted as a hegemonic power bent on world domination and subjugation of all peoples through immoral foreign policy instruments such as the use of force, economic imperialism, blackmail, bribery, coercion, subversion, technological control and so on. A favourite bugbear and pantomime villain for this type of role would be the CIA and its agents e.g. the GITS:SAC episode “Jungle Cruise” when the two CIA agents try to manipulate Batou into doing their dirty work for him and in the finale of GITS:SAC 2nd Gig with the SLBM nuke and aiding Gouda’s defection attempt. In the dystopic GITS universe, the United States has mutated into the Imperial Americana or American Empire (アメリカå¸å›½;ç±³å¸).
While the theme of American imperialism is a popular one among foreign critics but it is also a recurrent narrative of the American left and far right. In one of my classes last term, my (American) professor recommended two books by Chalmers Johnson: Blowback: The Costs and Consequences of American Empire and his follow-up book, The Sorrows of Empire: Militarism, Secrecy and the End of the Republic. Similar to the individual level, when these types of criticisms come from American citizens or institutions, they are not described as “anti-American” but usually labelled according to their particular creed in the US political spectrum. It could also be possible that, given Japan’s own insularity, GITS was merely projecting Japan’s own past - the Taisho era - onto the future of this fictional America.
The third level of anti-Americanism is probably the most complicated but also most widespread. It does not see the US as a unitary actor and sees its government and citizenry as unable or unwilling to control the agencies and corporations that wreck havoc around the world for private (rather than national) benefit. This links in closely with President Eisenhower’s warning about a military-industrial complex subverting the US republic and continues to resonate e.g. John Perkins’ Confession of an Economic Hitman which has a distinctly Logos conspiracy feel about it. [One explicit link between US and Japanese conspiracy theories is J.D. Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye. It appears in the X-Files (episode?) and Conspiracy Theory and it is also a prominent motif in GITS:SAC.] The US thus becomes an object of fear (due to its comprehensive national power backing these actors which could be both sub-state and trans-national in character) as well as an object of derision (for being unable to control said actors).
One could argue that GITS employs this particular image for both the American and Japanese polities as being hugely dysfunctional, corrupt and malign. After all, the dominant story of GITS:SAC was not Section 9 battling evil foreigners but against a powerful member of the Japanese ruling party with backing from the Japanese Maritime Self-Defence Force. To track down a key witness, Aramaki also calls in a favour from the CIA, using its Big Brother spy satelites to monitor all of Japan’s real-time communications. In the 2nd Gig, although the CIA is also involved, the key villains are from within as well, the Director-General of the Self-Defence Agency and Gouda of Cabinet Intelligence.
Such villains are also not uncommon in American movies. One that comes to mind is Col Nathan Jessep (played by Jack Nicholson) in A Few Good Men whose over-zealousness and self-righteousness made him think that the ends justify the means and US laws could be bent to get the job done. Political corruption deep within and at the top of the political system can be personified by Edward Lyle (played by Gene Hackman) in Enemy of the State or almost everyone else other than the characters played by Julia Roberts and Denzel Washington in The Pelican Brief.
Besides the corruption of the US and Japanese political systems, GITS:SAC also explores the criminalization of the Russian state, linking it with organ-harvesting kidnappers who also depend on political protection from the former Japanese Prime Minister in GITS:SAC Ep 19 (Captivated). The link between ethnic Chinese and criminality is also implicit in the refugee issue in 2nd Gig and is particularly pronounced in the movie, Innocence, with the Chinese-themed celebrations in the lawless North and the use of Cantonese as the system lingua franca on board the Locus Solus factory ship.
In conclusion, while anime sometimes manifests characteristics that may be considered anti-American at the levels of the American individual, state or sub-state/trans-national levels, these are also often balanced by similarly searing critiques of the Japanese system and find echoes within American culture itself. Due to the reality of US military, economic, political, cultural and technological power, it is almost inevitable that any anime that depicts some interpretation of contemporary international politics will bring the US into the picture; given the current state of international relations, it is more than likely that such a depiction can be critical and unflattering - but not necessarily "anti".
> In Anime Podcast #10, JP Meyer gave a pithy response, along the lines of “not really”, to a comment and question by Thor about whether increased anti-US sentiment in anime will affect anime sales in the US.
I’d have to echo that. Frankly I can’t see any reason why it should. For one thing, any reasonably intelligent person will acknowledge that their country and any cultures it represents are no more perfect than any other. And exceptionally intelligent person will acknowledge all the flaws and mistakes of their contry and representative cultures. This includes understanding that other countries and cultures might randomly take potshots at any other, including their won.
An enlightened person will laugh when the joke is funny - even at their own expense, because “sticks and stones” and all that.
Of *course* America’s portrayed as domineering and power hungry. And corrupt and ineffectual (ROD The TV) to boot. But so are most governments in anime, where authority of any kind is not to be trusted. I can think of a half dozen series in which Chinese, British, and Japanese governments are equally slandered.
Frankly if I am going to take something so seriously as to care about the embedded insults it ain’t gonna be a cartoon. lol
And so far I haven’t seen anything in anime that I haven’t thought about my beloved country myself. So, no, it is not going to affect anime sales.
Cheers,
Erica
Anti-American sentiment is much more fashionable in Korea, where the majority of anime subconstractors are located. It is likely that Anti-Americanism is used as selling tool for the two biggest anime market outside Japan, Korea and China. Despite 2 million people in Japan having Korean names, and even more who are of Korean descent, thus far outnumbering Ainus and Chinese immigrants, Korea or Korean is almost never mentioned in Japanese manga or Anime. One of the reason for this is that acknowledging Korean connections in Japanese History will undermine Japanese right wing’s claim of territorial rights to Korean Peninsula, thus any mentioning of Korean affair may lead to dire consequences for people involved.
“This strand often depicts Americans as being loud, boorish, rude, insular, ignorant or even violent and/or militaristic.” So. What adjectives would *you* use to describe the current administration?
Thats interesting Futaba-chan, since the world has viewed Americans as loud, boorish, rude, insular and ignorant since the Revolutionary War.
Is it the Bush administration’s fault that the world hates us? Did the Japanese start looking down on ‘Gaijin’ when Bush got elected. Did the French start calling Americans immature and ignorant started when Bush came to office? Were Americans not boorish, loud, rude, insular, or ignorant prior to the year 2000?
Americans were viewed that way by the world LONG BEFORE Bush took office.
So please stop turning a well written blog/article into a “Bush Sucks” diatribe. Politics have no place in a discussion about Japanese Anime.
>>> Americans were viewed that way by the world LONG BEFORE Bush took office.
True, but Bush made it much worse than before.
>>> Politics have no place in a discussion about Japanese Anime.
What about Japanese Anime having hidden political agendas? When it comes to matters related to Korea and China, Japanese manga and anime usually presents distorted picture that helps Japanese right wing ambitions. So often, Japanese anime manipulates the truth to present ancient Japanese as an civilization revered by neighbors ( Chinese and Koreans until 19th century regarded Japan as Isles where Pirates were raised to pillage any Chinese or Koreans they can find ), and claim that Japan was the victim of atrocities in World War II, not the other way around. It is impossible for decent Koreans and Chinese not to denouce these politically motivated message that can be found in many animes and mangas. Bokko manga is a good recent example. It is a very good manga, mostly remaining true to historical details, and conveying strong anti-war, anti-discrimination message. I cannot understand why the manga creator would spoil the end by suggesting that Rice first came from the heart of the China, when even Japanese scholars have said it came from Okinawa and advanced wet-paddy intensive rice agriculture was introduced into Korea during the Middle Mumun pottery period (c. 850-550 BC) and reached Japan by the Yayoi circa 300 BC. ( from Wikipedia: Rice ). This claim of direct relation with mainland and northern China during 2nd to 3rd century B.C. is cetral to Japanese claim of occupying most of South Korea, which is not recognized by Chinese and other Asian scholars outside of Japan. This pretext was basis of Japanese annexation of Korea in early 20th century, thus no decent Korean can let such matter go unchallenged. Unless Japanese Anime upholds the real truth instead of convinient picture of truth, they are the ones who bring politics to the table, not us. Despite all this, I still believe Bokko is a good piece of work and would recommend it to others, for except the last 1%, it is a work I admire, and 99% of work should matter as well as the final 1%.
Here is the Japanese view of the matter
Yayoi culture emerged out of the Jomon culture with only limited immigration from China and/or Korea
The practice of rice farming that was once believed to have been passed on from China through Korea is instead thought to have been passed from southern China by way of Okinawa, continuing into southern Korea. The different physical types of people living in Japan today can be explained by changes in diet and way of life. The fact that the Japanese are a relatively homogenous people (with the exception of the Ainu and Okinawans) suggests that the bulk of Japanese did not originate from China. Although this last theory is comforting for the undoubtedly large numbers of Japanese who would prefer not to believe that they share significant genetic material with their Asian neighbors, it is the theory least ascribed to by modern day professional anthropologists specializing in Japanese anthropology. [7].
from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yayoi
Wontaek: Black Blood Brothers has its ending song in Korean, so that’s a step forth?
As for GitS, many people fail to notice that the US in SAC is split into the Imperial Empire of the US and the Russo US Federation.
Don’t forget Gasaraki - there was a literal war between Japan and the United States towards the series’ end… but the series got licensed anyways.
And it’s not like Americans aren’t used to seeing their country portrayed as a bad guy, or at least the government (which distances it from the ‘people’) - look at how much American Network TV or movies portrayed the government or various bodies of it as being corrupt or otherwise ‘bad’ - Alias is one example: movies do it all the time, or use rogue agents who happen to have great power in order to justify the action scenes which follow.
The key HERE is that, at least in general, anti-Americanism in anime either follows stereotypes (like the corrupt CIA agent) or else the Loud American, rather than going for specific portrayals of so-called Ordinary Americans as the target. If it’s the government, Americans tend to be okay with it, especially since most of the representations named above fall into entertainment media stereotypes which they’re familiar with (New Order government, corrupt CIA, etc). Plus, the fact that America is probably the only remaining superpower for now outside of China makes it an easy target… which pretty much anyone will admit to.
>>> Wontaek: Black Blood Brothers has its ending song in Korean, so that’s a step forth?
I guess so, but we have to wait and see if this is the beginning of more inclusion of Koreans into Anime world or if this is a rare exception. I have not seen Black Blood Brothers, I am tired of vampire series, nor heard the song, in my opinion Korean songs have declined in Quality from its heights in the 80s, so I can’t elaborate more. Funny that 80s is considered as height of Korean pop songs, similar to how many Americans view their 80s of Michael Jackson’s Thriller, Boy George, Prince, and, of course, John Williams, the composer of movie musics. ( There is another John Williams who is a guitarist, and a very good one at that. You should hear him play Bach’s Fugue on his guitar. )
At the same time though, Japan is the nation that gave us Metal Wolf Chaos.
What elements of Taisho Japan do you see in GitS? Taisho Japan always seems to be totally neglected in representations of Japan, so I’m really curious about this. You get tons of Meiji and pre-modern, and any “modern day” anime is going to be either Showa or Heisei, but Sakura Taisen is the only Taisho-era anime that I can think of.
At a governmental or military level, there is anti-Americanism in anime, but maybe not at the personal level so much. I think of Tina Foster in Ai yori Aoshi, who may have been loud and boorish, but was a sympathetic character. And maybe Becky in PaniPoni counts, being half American. She was brilliant.
I have to say that the image of the loud, boorish American is actually fairly accurate, on the whole. American culture is just freer and less restrained than Japanese or most European cultures, so many Americans tend to stand out. That’s a strength, as well as a weakness. And all imperial powers (using that term in a neutral sense; empires can be good things) tend to be ignorant of things outside their own countries. The British had that reputation in the 19th century. China’s next.
As for relations among Japan, China and Korea, they are, shall we say, “complex.” Both Koreans and Chinese have good reason to resent things done to their countries in the past, but governments push anti-foreign feeling today to deflect criticism from themselves. I wish Koreans and Chinese could stop living in the past and not seek revenge for things done two or three generations ago. And I wish Japanese could feel comfortable admitting that they really did them.
Unfortunately, it’s the Japanese norm to look down on both Chinese and Korean people — and maybe everyone else, too, lol. That doesn’t help matters. And political trends in Japan are not positive. Unfortunately, all of these things do show up in anime, in stereotypes like cruel and cowardly Yokohama Triad criminals and slit-skirted loose women, who are clearly meant to be Chinese. Not good. Then again, there are the sisters in R.O.D., who were Chinese heroines, and Shuurei in Saiunkoku. So maybe there’s at least some balance.
In my experience, Japanese do accept that all of their high culture — writing system, literature, art, Confucianism, Buddhism — originated in China (and via Korea). What’s important, for Japan and the world, is the wonderful things they have done with it. Japan took Chinese culture and developed it in its own way, just as Britain took European culture and did the same. And ditto for America and British culture. Life goes on.
>Americans were viewed that way by the world LONG BEFORE Bush took office.
Thank you, someone who doesn’t hate on Bush. Seriously, people talk as if they can be a better president. I mean, Bush has problems, but I don’t blame him since like…Kerry wouldn’t have done any better (way worse actually.) We just…don’t have any good men anymore.
>Anti-American sentiment is much more fashionable in Korea
Comments from an immigrant living in America…
I only lived in Korea until I was seven-years-old so people never fed me those kind of views about American, but I did come to label Americans as rude and ignorant through personal experience as a minority living in California. For people like me, all that hate’s probably because of our cultural differences. I’m somewhat like what Zyl put down for example (3) the Japanese-type character being stereotyped. I’m a typical Korean who grew up with a lot of discipline so I look down Americans just for the lack of formal speech in their language. Incase someone tries to get smart, technically I’m still just a Korean, not a Korean-America so don’t saying I’m dissing myself like an idiot or something ¬_¬;;
>>> Unfortunately, it’s the Japanese norm to look down on both Chinese and Korean people — and maybe everyone else, too, lol.
Compounding the problem is that most Koreans look down upon on anyone who does not follow the ‘Korean way’, and many Chinese dismissal of everyone else as ‘barbarians’. I also have seen many Americans boast that ‘American way’ is the best way for the world. These prejudices are deeply ingrained in many societies and is making things bad for everyone. That is why, although I know this prejudice as biggest source of problem in Japanese anime, I seldom mention it for most other culture is guilty of it as well. I do wish that Japan would finally do the things Germans did about admitting their wrong doings, for, in the long run, manipulating and distorting the truth will end up hurting Japanese more than any benefits they will get from them.
I agree that most of the anti-American feeling is directed at the leadership (or lack there of) and the Military. As for Americans being loud and proud it is understandable given American esteem of rugged individualism vs. Japanese sensiblities for community.
While it is rather surprising that they were even able to quote from Full Metal Jacket I can understand why there is fear and loathing. The US has had its fair share of less than sane commanders like George S. Patton Jr., and Curtis Lemay. The former was a universal bigot since he did respect a lot of individuals of groups he slandered, but given the times he lived in and the fact that he was crazy its surprising that he would have even been willing to command Black combat units at all. Stanger still some of his colord troops were proud to have served under him. The latter is a figure that was a proponet of total war who wrought utter devesation to Japan by a relentless fire bombing campaign and the unsubtlely named Operation Starvation. The Camapign Lemay waged was uncompromising the only thing that saved Kyoto was the intervention of Stimson himself. The fact that the atomic bombs that were dropped had an understandingly traumatic effect on the Japanese memory despite the fact such devestation was wrought by them in China, Korea, and every place where their stained banner once stood or even the fact that they were on their way to the munitions factory… In most Japanese portrayls of war it is heavily romantacised the righteous always win and spririt can always defeat numbers and technology (In short they have no idea what they are talking about). In Vietnam the US had a body count policy and the US was more than willing to give up on ideals of Democracy to stop the tide of communism there and elsewhere. In the years following WWII US military power has been defeated (at great cost) but never extinguished it commands the ability to blow up every major city in the world twice over despite nuclear disarmament the US has within its grasp the capability to wipe out all life on earth. The US was able to gather enough forces to defeat Iraq in !991 which possesed the fourth largest army at the time and was battle tested after their war with Iran, and with hardly any casualties no less. On paper this power consumes roughly three percent of the GDP yet commands the power to wipe out all life or just you, not to mention the fact that they might even be ten years ahead of almost every other nation in military technology. Even as a memeber of this organization I cannot say that American Military power has always been wielded responsibly. Most people nowadays believe that problems can be solved with talks and compromises (though only the most foolish believe that every person can be trusted, decent, and or reasonable) having a mighty military machine just seems pointless. For others American militray might is the sword which should be used to right the wrongs of the world and bring democracy abroad.
The US military has provided some other unsavory characters like Oliver North who is still held with respect in some circles because some people believe that he was unjustly scapegoated and was justified in the Iran-Contra scandal. If you read Armchair General you will be at the very least disturbed by their Geo-politcal view and this is coming from a former Military Intel (though most enlisted think military intelligence is an oxymoron) guy and retired officers. The folks at this mag despite their vast knowledge of military history and tactics have a very machivellian view of the rest of the world such as Pakistan has no Hope for anything, and China must be confronted. It alsmot seems as if the Military is a country within a country the way they view every past administration. Despite the fact that most of the military is a bit more mellow about such things, controversial officers are the ones that attract attention. Not to mention the perverts and idiots that make their way through boot camp and into a postion to disgrace the rest of us.
I also think that the CIA is becoming more of dummy organization given that a certain person got the medal of freedom. The CIA is often mocked because it brought us such memorable events such as Bay of Pigs, many a dictator, and the Iraqi WMDs. If anything I am more worried about the NSA since most people know next to nothing abiout what they are up to. As for the American citizenry being asleep I do think we are as the health of democracy depends on voting to decide things. Corruption is an inevitableity of all governments and only in a democracy can it be controlled if the citizenry is vigilant. Given the sad state of education in this republic it is not suprising to see the dumb and ignorant run things since not enough are sufficiently wiser to do something about it en masse.
In regards to the relationship Japan shares with her neighbors its not that the Japanese people are stirring up the shit storm since the Teacher’s Union has long fought the ministry of education on history text books and Abe’s idiot scheme of patriotism class. The most disturbing thing about the Japanese political landscape is that right wingers are allowed to run their mouths while the left is more often or not stifled or intimidated with into submission. In the US the Democrats have become pitiful and the left is seemingly incapable of rallying support or mobilizing voters, though they are far from stifiled IMHO.
While it would be good for the Chinese and Koreans to forgive it is not reasonable for them to turn the other cheek. The reparations to women who were forced into military brothels amounted to less than one US dollar per victim, and there was never an apology. China suffered causaulties that rivaled and perhaps surpassed the USSR’s and ended up under the yoke of communism which led to the Great Leap Forward and the Cultural Revolution. Had Japan not invaded during the civil war such suffering maight not have happened as the Nationalist were winning prior to 1937. Korea suffered under an occupation that sought to strip them of their identity and dignity Korea had no forests by the end of the occupation whcih made the Korean war more bloody because artillery had a clear shot almost every where on the peninsula. The division of Korea is a direct result of Japan’s occupation as the USSR would not have invaded and swept asside the Japanese Imperial Army within weeks only to install a brutal regime that is quite possibly now nuclear. Even now Koreans are not even afforded basic citizenship in Japan despite being fourth generation in some cases and face discrimination such that they must change their names to gain employment. In the Phillipines a imperial soldier alleged to have terrorized a village until the 1980s was never tried for murder or arson but allowed to live quitely in Brazil in wealth and came home to a mass celebration in Japan because the Fillipino President declined to press for extradition to stay in Japan’s good graces. Forgiveness cannot be given so easily and while we may not hear of resistance to the communist party of China it is there and more often or not it is so heavily crushed that few make it out to tell the tale. If you have a relative or know someone who bore the scars of the Pacific War forgivness is all but impossible, I know I cannot forgive for that very reason, justice did not come for that person whom I care for. Over 60 years have passed and I cannot say that much has improved since on both sides the longer this sad state of affairs drags on more and more victims will be denied justice in life. I won’t demand that Japan burn for the sins of her fore bearers, but I do demand that those they victimized be granted justice and their tormentors who survived be stripped of their undeserved wealth, be thrown into prison, and their names never again be associated with honor or esteem for they had none in life and will not know it even in death. Abe may be vague now and he must step lightly worse case scenario Japan cannot hope ot hold of the Chinese army if it ever lands on the home islands the USN is occupied there is simply not enough US troop strength to fight off a fully blown invasion and fight the war on terror, treaty or not it is not in America’s intrest to make war with China nor is it econmoically wise fo Japan to do so as well. In such an event South Korea could simply remain neutral as there are few disputes with the PRC and could gain regional superiority once China and Japan have spent their strength.
While the anti-Americanism, deserved or otherwise, can be rife since it is allowed and very vocal at times it is a good thing as there is freedom of thought. I would be more disturbed if no one said anything bad about the US governent since there are many things on which it can improve upon. If racism enters into it as some anime can degrade into I would like to believe that in an age where the world is connected by the wonderous internet that we can set aside our national, racial, religious, gender, and sexual orientation to discusss things like civilized people. Still I am sure that enough rational Japanese realize that being racist or believing streotypes is decidedly stupid and not a mark of a sophisticated and civilized culture. Still it would be nice for anime to be a vehicle for tolerance and understanding rather than racism, propaganda, and backwardness even if emo Shinji remained.
While I believe in some of the ideas and criticisms Zinn, Chomsky, and other far left scholars present I don’t believe in the idea of a just government being possible as thugs can rise to power and talk is useless against such villany. Nor do I believe that America has become a cabal of the rich and powerful nor the idea that socialism could work given that it has failed to some degree in every attempt if not utterly. Even if my heart wishes for a United Federation of Planets I know that humanity in its current state can never attain it. One day maybe we will all judge people by how much of an ass they are rather than where they come from. As for discipline in speech I much prefer the crude colorful slang of my fellow gurnts and love the North Eastern dialects, in fact it think the Russians ought ot have a big book of euphemisms. I know that when the time comes the first and last things out of my mouth and those of my comrades will be sir/ma’am. One thing that I like about hte US is that racism has gone out of style in most places and we can’t really look down upon other groups because we have seen enough wisdom ans stupidity from just about every one. Unfortunately the state of nationalism has changed little.
@jpmeyer
In regards to Taisho Japan I think it is easily forgotten as the Taisho Emperor was allegedly insane and while there was a period of peace, prosperity, and democracy it is less exciting than the military actions of the Meiji (rise of power) and Showa (pinnacle of power) which they can look upon with pride. Also at the end of the Taisho was the Great Depression and the dramatic slide into a military dictatorship. In all honesty decades of peace go almost un-noticed since conflict is needed for drama. The 1920s and 1930s was not really known for peace or the golden age of aviation in the US, yes?
@ Wontaek
While I can fathom some of the Korean animosity for the US almost every serviceman I have met have tales of Korean hospitality and to never say you are Japanese outside of base. If possible please elaborate on the nuances of this, if its just the recent adminstration I would not worry about it, but I hope that the US is not entirely at fault for the tragic division of your penninsula. I can undertand the blame for our double standard on Dokdo and the release of Unit 731 from the gallows just to get the info we thought the USSR also had.
Everyone:
Thanks for the thoughtful responses. Apologies for not being able to respond usefully to all the points made. Off the top of my head:
tj han:
I hadn’t realized that “the US in SAC is split into the Imperial Empire of the US and the Russo US Federation”! Where can I get more information about this?
jpmeyer:
It wasn’t so much Taisho in the Japan of GITS but perhaps a very tangential reading of possible Taisho elements in the American Empire of GITS, namely the end of liberal democracy and the ascendency of the imperial idea.
hashihime:
Thanks for pointing out Tina Foster and Rebecca Miyamoto. I particularly liked how Tina had a heart to heart with Aoi and the latter expressed her admiration for her ability to be fun and upfront when the former confessed how she envied Aoi’s quiet elegance. Personally I thought Enishi was so much more interesting because of Tina.
The problem in Korea is that many people stir up Anti-American sentiment for their own political gains. They refuse to be reasonable and try to make their voice as loud as possible in order to attract attentions that may help their ascent into political power. The new medias are always biased to whatever that serves their bottom line and fuel this fad in order to paint themselves as shining symbol of nationalism. The economical and military reality demands that Korea keep close relations with USA. Alas, Koreans were never wise as whole, otherwise they would have regained southern Manchuria where millions of Korean descendants still lives, and their average intellectual level is on decline, evident from steep decline in difficulty level of the infamous national college entrance exam. More and more, they are swayed by sensationalism, and Anti-foreigner attitude has shown to be a good vehicle to channel people’s hate and misery to somewhere else while helping the few con men gain political power. I have seen such model work repeatedly in history of mankind, and one of its success history is the NAZI GERMANY of early 20th century. Had I political ambitions like my father, I could have used many of Nazi political tactics and gained some seats in various congress of representatives. My father also knew of this, for he is the one who showed me the books about them, but chose not to use them, because it involved heavy distortion of truth. I guess that is why my father’s party dumped him. I sometimes fear for the future of the world, for throughout the world, such parties which use people’s dislike of another group of people are gaining more and more political powers. USA republicans won with heavy religious backing which was hell bent on waging a crusade against homosexuals and anyone involved with abortion. We have seen Hamas gain power in Palestine and Hezbollah becoming even more popular in Lebanon. Right wings wins often in Japan and the many European elections were won in anti-American platforms. Well, maybe it was like this throughout human history, so we may live with it, but do I wish it were other wise. Soon either the oil will run out or an astroid will impact Earth again. Without people setting aside their prejudice and personal gains, the humanity may not survive the inevitable energy and/or ecological crisis that will happen within 20 years. Here is a link to a sensationalist’s website. Although the website ignores many facts which can be used to refute its views, it does list lot of things that we should think about during our spare time.
http://www.lifeaftertheoilcrash.net/
The website may be wrong about its claims, but if so, then there is not much incentives to stop the CO2 emissions responsible for the global warming.
The real question is “so what?” Americans have stereotypes of Japanese and Asians in our movies and TV, and the Japanese and Asians have stereotypes of Americans and Europeans in their stuff. Whether it is old WWII movies, the occasional Yakuza-centric crime movie, or the evil Japanese buisnessmen in RoboCop 3, we’ve certainly have had our share Japanese villians. Heck even a modern war with Japan was covered in Tom Clancy’s “Debt of Honor.” What’s restraining the Japanese from returning the favor in kind?
While the direction of the world looks bleak things might change by 2008. I can’t say much about the current administration except that their assessments have been far too optimistic and their choice of Sec. of Defense has lead to the near breaking of the US Navy Reserve. While the Republicans won the election they are not guranteed to win the midterm elections nor the next presidential race. They have already spent the issue of gay marriage and not even Regan could over turn Roe vs. Wade the fact that they are resorting to flag burning as an issue seems like an indicator of desperation. The Left in this case is not clear of wrong doing either the sad state of democracy has created a nasty habit of them taking Chomsky and Zinn as gospel and their mindset has become much like a zealot’s such as the opposition is ignorant. I have tried to remain apolitical as a lowly trooper since I dread having a politicized armed forces, but the way I see it moderates are losing ground to fringe groups because the 2000 election made it seem that voting was no longer working hence conspiracy theories start cropping up. I don’t like being called a baby killer when I haven’t fired a shot in anger, at the time I signed up I could not fathom that an idiot issue of gay marriage could deliver everything to the Republicans’ advantage.
Even if the public religious pretenders won that election nothing has really changed the way they have wanted abortion is still legal, and gays simply go to San Francisco or a local Unitarian minister to get married if only in spririt, most cops would not even waste their time to stop it since they have real crooks to catch. The religious are losing the culture war most people of this up an coming generation have met at least one homosexual if not more and most could not care less about the alleged sins of same sex couples when heterosexual couples can be wracked with jealousy, infantcide, rape, and murder.
In regards to Iraq while it has degenerated to a decidedly sad state, the sad fact is that the US cannot simply pull out unless it is willing to allow the Sunnis and Shia kill eachother. We broke Iraq and I cannot see any solution to this as even partition would just create another India and Pakistan. The US may have tactical elagance but I don’t think that we are currently as strategically gifted. The most curious thing about Islamic extremists is that they are divided along Shia and Sunni lines which is why there was condemnation of Hezbollah (sometimes referred to as the Shield of Israel) by Sunni governments and even they worry about Iran being nuclear as it would change the balance of power. As much as Islamic extremists would like to have a big old Pan-Arab state there is no heir apparent to Nasser. Even if Israel was not part of the equation the Arabs would be caught up in regional wars to determine who ought to be the leader of this grand state if extremists could just run wild. Even if Osama bin-Laden were to rise up and take the helm there is no gurantee that he can even hold everyone together since a “great warrior” is not neccessarily a great leader. I could see Osama being killed in a coup or becoming a Mao in a desperate bid to hold onto power.
As to the end of oil even if humanity were to be wiped out I would not be suprised and I am sure we will not be missed as Earth can survive us. Still technology may yet give us a fix as I am sure that we are in the same mindset that people of ye olde times faced when an energy source was dwindling, like wood, coal, whale oil, and etc. If nothing else the US military seems perpared for the end of oil the Army and Marines are looking into hybrids and electric since we like being sneaky, and the Navy is bloody proud to the be nearly all nuclear and has invested heavily in free electron lasers and positronic rail cannons to replace air power. AIDS seemed all but undefeatable years ago but we are making progress in at least slowing it down. Afterall Eastern Europe and the USSR survived Stalin I am sure the same human spirit to endure and survive is within all of us.
>>> Afterall Eastern Europe and the USSR survived Stalin I am sure the same human spirit to endure and survive is within all of us.
I guess we need to believe this, for if we don’t believe this, we truely are doomed.
Crusader, you didn’t break Iraq: it was broken long before even the first Gulf War. Saddam did A LOT worse to us that you ever could, no offence.
I agree with Azar. Though Iraq seems like quite a mess, conversations with people who are actually there paint a very different picture.
Never trust the media. There is no news like bad news. If any organization is more guilty of using selective memory to further their own gains, its the media. Learning the sad truth from soldiers who were with these news crews is disgusting. They will report on a battle that never happened; casualties that sounded horrendous but in reality amounted to scrapes and bruises; report insurgents as Iraq ‘civilians’.
Compare the Iraq of today with the Iraq of yesterday. Today, there is daily violence directed at the US military and the occasional citizen. Yesterday, Citizens would ‘disappear’ for using a cellphone. Mass graves; torture rooms; chemical genocide on their own people. Tens of thousands died for what? For a dictators paranoia. You might think the same about Bush, but if you go back in time the war was supported by BOTH parties along with two of the greatest speakers, Russia and Britain; hardly a one man decision. Iraq might not seem better than it was before, but unlike before the citizens have a choice whether to change or not. Its yet to be seen if they take this chance and run with it, but it was given to them and foreign lives are being lost every day to enable this choice.
The Politics of the world today are far more complex than any one organization likes to make it out to be. In the age of worldwide media, political parties that dont care about the good of the country, and political correctness so outrageous you can offend almost anyone without even knowing it, you must keep an open mind to the situation. Just going with who is loudest wont work anymore.
Parris island isn’t fictional!!! I CAN GO THERE AND GET MAGICAL MARI-TAN POWERS! No, seriously, I could.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parris_Island