Hiya!
Haven't posted anything in awhgile, so I thought I'd add to this, even
though since I've sold my computer, I'm syuck using painfully overprices
internet caffes with tiny keyboards that cause far too many spelling
mistakes... gomen.
Not much to say or add, but I thought I'd throw in a few comments...
What I concentrate on are the characterization and
cultural things. I often get told "you don't know what
the hell you're talking about... I read all the books in
the library on Japan...so you can't know more than me."
Or "my 50-60 year old Japanese neighbor told me..." Come
on now. First... how much is modern day America like
America 10 or 20 years ago? Well.. Japan is a living
society so stuff does change. So that middle age to
I'd also add that just about anyrthing you read about Japan is terribly
Tokyo-centric. Much to the annoyance of the rest of Japan (and especially
the Kansai region), foreigners seem to think that Tokyo _is_ Japan... which
it isn't. Just like any nation, it isn't uniform--the way people act, and
think, and the dialect they use, varies wildly across the country. Down in
my end, the dialect they use (sanuki-ben) is virtually unintelligible to
Tokyo-ites. So, at the end of the day, those wonderful books you might read
about Japan, like, say, Culture Shock:Japan, are in my opinion virtually
useless. They're a decent starting point, but they're far from giving a
'true' impression of the country... just like any single book about England
or Canada or America would never even assume that it could capture the full
cultural diversity of these countries.
The best way to understand, is that the Japanese are
generally about 20 years behind the US as far as Pop
Culture is concerned. Right now, they are going through their
eighties phases. Pop music is insanely popular, and casual dressing
is bright colors and collars. You get the idea.
I really can't agree with this. Actually, it's just a silly statement to
make. it's a _different_ pop scene, but it's not like their these sweet
innocent naive people just hopelessly behind in the music scene, still
chasing after the trailblazing West. Yes, some western music, like Bon
Jovi, remains unfortunately popular in Japan; and yes, much of the pop music
is painfully derivative and just plain crap. Then again, it's not like the
West has too much stuff be proud of at the moment. Seeing crap like Limp
Bisket, System of a Down, Linkin Park, or whatever, not to mention the
numerous sad boy and girl-bands ruling the charts, didn't exactly thrill me.
To a certain extent, the Japanese strike me as more... cunning, or at
least sharp, with their crap pop music. It's so obviously engineered that
there's almost something beutifully cheeky about it. _Nobody_'s going to be
fooled by the dubious talents of Morning Musume (and even they're getting
kind of old now), but you can't deny the genius in their design and
marketing. The Japanese rule pop, and marketing... which is why every major
star has their face pasted on every sellable product they can. Krysuty the
clown could take lessons. 80s? Hardly--the pop scene here is cutting edge
(though still crap).
And that's talking about the pop scene. Japanese DJs are world class.
These guys rule, and you can find them everywhere... even tiny little rural
clubs (like I tend to go to) have amazingly skilled DJs spinning music on
most nights. Don't believe this misconsception that the Japanese are a
decade behind the west. They're not. They suffer from some kind of
insecurity regarding their own cultural scene, but they're still creative
some pretty cool stuff.
***Well.. actually hip hop, rap and black culture is
pretty much becoming the "in" thing now. I wouldn't say
it's hit what will be it's peak (I think), but... as far
as dating goes... blond hair and blue eyes is giving way
to afros, locks, bald heads and baggy clothes. Try...
Utada Hikaru, Dragon Ash, Link Park, Misia, m-flo...the
list goes on and keeps getting longer. Actually ska and
reggae are pretty big in Japan too...
I've seen the full range as well. Hip Hop, when it happens is properly 'hip
hop'. I don't know where they get their image of the music from, but most
Japanese I've seen, when they decide to go out for a night of hip hop, do it
full-out... it's almost like stepping into a Halloween party. The guys all
have the bloated jackets and touques on, no matter the heat, and shades and
surly attitues. The girls are even better--anything from bikinis, high
heels, and fur coats, to... whatever. And always attitude. It's great fun,
if a bit odd at times.
Well, wanted to go on about more, but probably better if I didn't... and
can't really afford it anyway.
-Mike Noakes
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