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Oct. 27th, 2012 06:34 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
dmxratedRealized earlier today that this is exactly the same day of the year that I started my second completed playthrough of Earthbound back in 2003.
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Just been reading some articles online, particularly this one (a transcript of a speech given in 1995), about how and why Japan suppresses individuality as much as possible. Given the tactics used through the school system, it all sounds a lot like Nazi Germany, as described through Disney's classic short Education For Death.
So far, Jake has warned me about possible trouble should I ever attempt to make a living in Japan, and I do plan on speaking to a lawyer about it if it ever comes to that. But if I am able to set up an anime studio there, I will seek to create an anime series or movie exposing "harmony" for what it really is and how the whole thing works.
Yes, I am aware that this will more than likely invite trouble, and that things are likely changing for the better anyway. The author of the hyperlinked article states that what few forms of art Japan has, such as noh, kabuki, and the tea ceremony, are designed to support the system that preaches sameness, but the existence of manga, anime, and Japan-produced video games are a clear symbol of individual creativity. He also mentions The Beatles early in the article and how they influenced change in the UK, while no equivalent has done so in Japan, but the fact that Earthbound creator Shigesato Itoi derived a lot of inspiration from that band obviously says something.
Still, the fact does remain that Japan's tendency towards conformity is talked about a lot more than about whatever freedom people do have to think for themselves and choose their own paths in life.
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Just been reading some articles online, particularly this one (a transcript of a speech given in 1995), about how and why Japan suppresses individuality as much as possible. Given the tactics used through the school system, it all sounds a lot like Nazi Germany, as described through Disney's classic short Education For Death.
So far, Jake has warned me about possible trouble should I ever attempt to make a living in Japan, and I do plan on speaking to a lawyer about it if it ever comes to that. But if I am able to set up an anime studio there, I will seek to create an anime series or movie exposing "harmony" for what it really is and how the whole thing works.
Yes, I am aware that this will more than likely invite trouble, and that things are likely changing for the better anyway. The author of the hyperlinked article states that what few forms of art Japan has, such as noh, kabuki, and the tea ceremony, are designed to support the system that preaches sameness, but the existence of manga, anime, and Japan-produced video games are a clear symbol of individual creativity. He also mentions The Beatles early in the article and how they influenced change in the UK, while no equivalent has done so in Japan, but the fact that Earthbound creator Shigesato Itoi derived a lot of inspiration from that band obviously says something.
Still, the fact does remain that Japan's tendency towards conformity is talked about a lot more than about whatever freedom people do have to think for themselves and choose their own paths in life.