By: Peggy Sue Wood | @pswediting

This is a topic that feels a little hypocritical to be writing considering the fact that our content seems to be all about romanticizing stories from other countries as an anime blog, but that is exactly why it is important to discuss. In our “Welcoming 2024” message, I posted on anime going from niche to mainstream, and how fans are involved in that. I stand by my statement that I think it is a really cool development. However, I also recognize that fans might romanticize the culture as a result of only seeing its “better” sides in anime and online. 

No culture, no society, and no group is perfect. Using even minimal media literacy can show that about any culture (your own and others) and today’s post, as much as I loathe to do so, is about this idea. 

Let’s start with the idea of “soft power,” a concept regarding international relations that refers to a country’s ability to influence other countries and achieve its objectives through non-coercive means, such as culture, ideology, and diplomacy. Unlike “hard power,” which relies on military or economic coercion, soft power seeks to attract and persuade other countries to adopt the ideas, values, and interests of the country projecting it, often through entertainment and educational means.

Soft power is often associated with a country’s cultural exports, such as movies, music, and literature, as well as its diplomatic efforts to build alliances and promote cooperation on issues of common interest. By projecting a positive image and promoting values that are attractive to others, a country can increase its influence and achieve its goals without resorting to force or threats.

Japan specializes in “soft power” and they’re proud of it. They should be, as the media is engaging and the methodology—for now—remains somewhat positive.

However, that does not mean that we shouldn’t be aware of it nor combat (through similar means) some of the ideas being perpetuated that conflict with our cultural values because romanticizing another culture can be problematic for a number of reasons.

Firstly, it can create a distorted and oversimplified view of a culture that fails to capture its complexities and nuances. This can lead to stereotyping and misunderstanding, as well as the erasure of important aspects of the culture that do not fit into the romanticized narrative.

Using Japan as a continuing example, the country has a massive issue with sexism and sexual assault. The country also is resistant to immigration, and with a rapidly aging population, and not enough births to replace the aging populace. This resistance to having more children or welcoming immigrants is a detrimental point for their society.

We see this come out in their media, as women are often shown in less diverse ways than their male counterparts on screen (rather it be in animation or live-action). That’s not just fan service, that’s a form of objectification, and, as surprising as it may seem, it can lead to dehumanizing people.

In an anecdotal example, one of my former professors described being forcibly kissed on trains in Hong Kong and Japan when she was younger. Her father moved them frequently as he served in different military bases and the people who made such moves against her were surprised by her “reluctance” and fighting. They had been introduced to foreign media where women were less conservative and wanton so the idea that a foreign girl would dislike being greeted with on-the-mouth kissing or not want to be sexualized was “strange.” They even made defenses that she was being two-faced or “tsundere.” This could stem from how a lot of tsundere characters are coded as European/Caucasian foreigners. 

These concepts overlap the idea of the dangers of a single story.

This is true of America and other countries too. In some parts of the world, the US is seen as an amazing place, and in others, we’re seen as bullies. Not aided by the behavior of some tourists.

Just as we regularly break down Western culture for both enjoyment purposes and educational examinations into cultural insights, so too should we examine Eastern cultures with depth. 

People and traditions of the culture being romanticized can reduce them to mere commodities for consumption or entertainment, perpetuating power imbalances and reinforcing attitudes by presenting the romanticized culture as either above or below when the reality is neither. It is just a different culture from our own.

While our blog is appreciative of Japan and other foreign media, and we try to respect other cultures for what they are, we think that it is crucial to do so in a way that acknowledges and respects their complexities and histories and does not reduce them to a simplistic or idealized fantasy. We hope that those of you reading also take this into consideration.

What we see is not always what it appears to be, and so we encourage media literacy. There are a lot of different definitions for this, but ultimately media literacy is “the ability to access, analyze, evaluate, create, and act using all forms of communication.” It is a skill you already use every day because media is all around us: from pictures on a wall, to articles on your phone, to music being heard. Even while reading this post you are experiencing a form of media literacy as you interpret the writing here because media literacy refers to looking at the message of a piece of media (the values and ideas that are promoted by the media or what the creators have intended to message to the audience) and what the media’s effects are (their influences or the results as seen on the audience).

Since all media is coded by the creators’ experiences and understanding, understand too that all messages are decoded by the receivers’ experiences and understanding. Like emojis having different meanings for different age groups or how one person may enjoy an anime while another hates it.

Consider John Bohannon’s “Who’s Afraid of Peer Review?” Article and the surrounding incident to the experiment described. Ten years ago, between January and August 2013, John Bohannon submitted fake scientific papers to over 300 journals owned by as many fee-charging, open-access publishers. Publishers we may generally trust at first glance like The Journal of Natural Pharmaceuticals—a journal that promised all articles were peer-reviewed. Bohannon writes in his article, “Who’s Afraid of Peer Review?” that these fake-study journal submissions “were designed with such grave and obvious scientific flaws that they should have been rejected immediately by editors and peer reviewers[,]” but 60% of the journals accepted them. Going beyond his paper, he decided to show how fake information spreads quickly, and with the help of a German journalist, Peter Onneken, one of Bohannon’s fake articles became a news article (How Chocolate Can Help You Lose Weight!) which soon went viral across the news. Corrections took far longer to spread than the initial information, so as you look into Japanese culture or really any culture, try to remember that just because you can double-check with other sources, doesn’t mean it is correct. A good way to protect yourself is to go to the main source.

We at TAV aim to give you accurate information. We try to speak from our experiences and to share our readings and insights, but we also recognize that to err is human. In general, this post is really a warning to ourselves and those of you reading that while it is fun to enjoy the entertainment we discuss on here (anime, manga, webtoons, games, etc.), you must keep in mind that these are coded pieces of media. Maybe not intentionally politically coded but certainly influenced by the culture that it comes from. So, as much as we enjoy these things, let’s not romanticize them.

With this said, what are your thoughts? Have you thought about this before? Or, can you think of a way you may have been influenced for better or worse by these media? Let us know!

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Copyedited by: Katherine Cañeba | @kcserinlee