#start learning
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icarus-suraki · 2 years ago
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I've been thinking about a post that's been circulating here about the subtle racism present in Western/white danmei fandom (which is definitely there, whether one realizes it or not). And it reminded me a lot of 1990s anime fandom.
First, for the record, I'm white. Just so we're clear. Okay, moving on:
The DIC dubbed version of Sailor Moon was broadcast when I was 13, in 1995 (and I jumped right on it too). Around that same time, the SciFi channel was showing a handful of animes in rotation on Saturday mornings. There were a few dubbed anime and even fewer subbed anime on VHS at Blockbuster. 9 times out of 10, no one ever really knew how to pronounce "Neon Genesis Evangelion" or "Urusei Yatsura." And the general perception of "anime" in general was that it was raunchy at the mildest and only got progressively more pornographic from there.
But as these things started to appear in the US and be available to a wider audience, all these racist stereotypes of Japan and Japanese people started to surface too. To quote someone from the time, "Isn't manga the kinky stuff Japanese businessmen read on the train?" That was the perception: it's all dirty. (Sailor Moon, Dragon Ball, Ronin Warriors and some other early arrivals helped with that some, because they were clearly children's cartoons. But then we had to deal with the whole "children's cartoons" issue when looking at NGE and Miyazaki's movies. But I'm digressing and glossing over whole decades of localized anime.)
tl;dr: in the early and mid 90s, if you were a fan of anime you were very much a consumer of a "foreign" product.
So we loved it but there was a very steep learning curve when it came to actually understanding what we were watching, especially as the internet got bigger and better and we learned that, wait, there are outer senshi? There are whole other storylines?
And there was an entirely different visual language and cultural foundation to these shows (and later movies and manga and so on). Why the heck does she have a giant drop next to her head? Why is she holding that piece of paper? What does it mean to work at a shrine? A shrine to what? What's the deal with the cherry blossoms? Why does he have an expression like that on his face? What does it mean when the characters do this? And this was in the 90s, so the internet then is not what it is today. We had to fumble our way around and learn the details of these "foreign" cartoons, while contending with the stereotypes other people (usually adults lol) had about Japan, anime, and Japanese people. But we did learn! We'd read, we'd hit up the internet as much as we could, we'd talk to one another, we'd go to events and conventions and just try to pick up as much as we could. Because we were curious! We wanted to know!
We were lucky because within a few years we had Princess Mononoke in movie theaters (not many, but some) and Cowboy Bebop popped up and Gundam Wing came along and the internet got better and anime stopped being such a fringe interest and now there's better information and understanding (at least a little).
That's a long story to say that the Western danmei fandom needs to do the same thing: get down into the cultural source and learn stuff.
You have got to acknowledge that you are engaging with works from a culture that is not your own. You can't just slap Western concepts onto it and try to shove an entirely different culture into the framework of your own culture. That's not going to work. And, no, you won't understand everything right off. There's layers in here and you have to acknowledge that and start learning.
You're engaging with concepts and worldviews that are almost certainly not the same as your own, my fellow white danmei fans, and you have got to realize that. Step back from your notions and your expectations and, yes, your racism and stereotypes, and start looking at the complexity of an entire culture out of which a character you love has arisen.
Once upon a time, someone here on Tumblr wanted to do a presentation about how "magical girl" characters like Sailor Moon and Sakura Kinomoto were inherently feminist. The problem was that this person never even considered the ways "feminism" might look or be discussed in Japan. This person was imposing Western feminism on characters that were created entirely outside that worldview/mindset. Don't do that. It's unfair to the creator, it's unfair to the creator's culture, and it actually kind of stifles your opportunity for learning.
Will I ever understand Japanese culture as well as a Japanese person? Absofuckinglutely not. But I know more than I once did, which means I can enjoy more aspects of animanga than I used to. I can get more of it and I'm less likely to misinterpret the creator's intentions. I'm not that great at it and I love a good translator's note, but I can get more of some of it.
So dig in to the cultural foundations and stop shoving Western cultural concepts onto works that weren't created in that milieu. (Yes, I said "milieu!") Get curious! I am begging you to stop assuming and get curious! Ask yourself "why?" and then get to researching!
For your first assignment, stop writing fanfic where Lan Wangji sounds like a robot. He uses short, perfect, referential phrases because he's elegant and educated. In English, the most elegant characters use elaborate language. Not so in many Chinese works: the fewer and more perfectly chosen the words, and the more meaning lying within those words, the more refined and educated the character is. It's like he's so good with language that he doesn't even need to use it anymore.
At least, that's my superficial understanding at the moment. I've got tons more to learn.
So let's get learning and stop shoving our expectations, assumptions, worldview, stereotypes, and cultural baggage onto works that exist and were created outside all of that. Let the works stand on their own and learn their foundations.
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americanphysco · 3 months ago
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prlssprfctn · 2 months ago
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Jason refusing to admit that Bruce and him are alike, while Bruce being oblivious to their raging similarity is the funniest case scenario ever.
Tim, waking up after a nap, and seeing a familiar big figure standing with his back to him: Hey, Jason.
Bruce, turning around, confused: Jason left an hour ago.
Tim: ...Sorry, you look like twins
Bruce, sighing: I wish. But we are not, really.
Tim: ??????
Some goon, shivering from fear: B-Batman, please, spare me!
Red Hood, leaving the shadow, even madder than before: Do I look like fucking Batman to you, man?
Goon: I-I mean, when you are standing in the darkness with your arms on your chest, and say "Now, talk"—
Red Hood, irritated: One word, and I am putting a bullet in your empty head.
Goon: Yesss, sir.
Damian, staring as everyone in the house first put cereal in the bowl, and then add milk, while Jason and Bruce demonstratively (and obliviously) do it in the opposite order in the perfect synchronisation: Why do they—
Alfred, shaking his head: Please, don't point it out, Master Damian. Either way, they will start arguing, and Master Jason will instantly teach himself to do it in the opposite way.
Damian, rolling his eyes: Whatever.
Dick: So, do you all know that Bruce and Jason refuse to admit that they are alike?
Everyone: (nod)
Dick, smirking: I fucked up Bruce's files and Jason's guns in the span of a minute...
Everyone: Why would you do that—
Bruce and Jason, from the opposite sides of manor, in the same furious voice: RICHARD JOHN GRAYSON
Dick: ...Just to demonstrate to you THIS. Now, if you don't mind, I'll go get back to Blüdhaven.
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mroddmod · 6 months ago
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rough seas
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maibeloved · 7 months ago
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Guess who is back in their gravity falls phase! (After it being dormant for almost a decade!)
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omegaversereloaded · 3 months ago
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chinese comrades have our back ❤️🇨🇳
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asinglebluefeline · 1 month ago
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He works alone.
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techno03 · 10 months ago
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Hi Guys👋,
I am excited 😊 to share this with you. I challenged 🤝 myself to learn python in 50 days and share the daily progress report with you Guys.
As I already know some basics of python, so don't waste much I jump to conditional statements in python.
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egophiliac · 2 months ago
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don't think I'm not still obsessing over 7-12
#art#twisted wonderland#twisted wonderland spoilers#twisted wonderland episode 7 spoilers#twisted wonderland book 7 spoilers#twisted wonderland episode 7 part 12 spoilers#twisted wonderland book 7 part 12 spoilers#sorry it's even scribblier than usual :') hopefully my chickenscratch is legible#anyway come here and join me in the corner where we go to be embarrassing about anime characters#just. between riddle and trey's dreams i've been thinking a lot about how#trey knew this kid for like two months when he was nine and then never really got over him or how their friendship ended#which. honestly. understandable given the circumstances#and then when they finally met again riddle acted like they'd never met before and neither he nor trey ever intended trey to be his vice#but every time riddle talks about his childhood post-incident it's basically#'oh yeah i constantly thought about trey and che'nya and fantasized about still being friends with them! this is fine and normal'#(there's a bit in one of his birthday cards where he talks about crossword puzzles and shit man that one got me)#idk. i can't put this into words very well#just...the implications that riddle was actively resisting trey's friendship#(presumably because it ended SUPER badly last time and he's learned that if he shows he wants something it gets taken away from him)#and trey had to work REALLY hard to just to get to the point they were at by the time canon starts#that was progress somehow#y'all can call him boring all you want but trey's defining feature really is that he keeps being like#'everything's fine :) this isn't a big deal :) i don't care that much'#(trey on the inside: THIS IS THE BIGGEST DEAL THAT I CARE SO MUCH ABOUT AND I WILL NEVER LET IT GO)#anyway i continue to be absolutely murdered by the timing of riddlepunzel directly after this#riddle's line about not wanting to keep standing in front of a door that's never going to open...#hey. hey silly gacha game about anime disney boys.#you are not actually allowed to do this to me#oh shit oh damn i'm out of tags and i haven't even talked about cater yet. NO BUT I HAVE LOTS OF FEELINGS THERE TOO --#(i am crushed under a falling safe looney tunes style)
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halfchun · 5 months ago
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you can easily return to the past, but no one is there anymore ⏰
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poorly-drawn-mdzs · 9 months ago
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HOT, SINGLE, UNSTUDIED SPONGES. 3000 NAUTICAL MILES AWAY. Come sail the distance and read Tiger Tiger!
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millionsknives · 8 months ago
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YAYYY YIPPEE WAHOO・゚:*☆ヽ(^▽^)人(⌒◡⌒ )ノ☆*:・゚
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bacchuschucklefuck · 2 months ago
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january month of yuugi
#yugioh#ygo dm#yugi mutou#idk what was in the water on 2025 opening but it really got me thinking hm. I will finally draw yuugi#ygo has been in my dna for like close to a decade at this point and yet. I have never attempted to draw anything for it#until now. my audacity has finally reached quota#wishshipping saved my ass this lunar new year and its not even an exaggeration. thank you kazuki takahashi for the boys. rest in peace#mutou yuugi I love u.... u r my son#not mentioned in this stack but dsod's decision to thin yuugi's choker is the funniest shittiest character design decision on earth#like as a detail its so nothing. when u zoom out it just looks like a shadow dropped wrong somewhere. I have come to terms with#the other fashion choice for him in that movie but the tiny ass choker I don't accept. that's stupid. big it#I rly like the vision of older yuugi being like. obnoxiously polite and cheerful#specifically in a way that's not like ceding space for everyone else. like it's clear at all time that he's Like That#and nobody will be able to stop him from being Like That#and also tbh I can never imagine him leaving domino for long (<- definitely not projecting my city slicker ass on him)#I think the game shop's been where he's safe to be himself for so long that he'd want to keep it running and extend#that shade to other kids in the city too. his loyal customers are so scared of disappointing him for no reason#.... typed huge wall of text abt jou leaving domino for tournaments etc frequently but always coming back to hang out with yuugi#I am actually ill abt them huh.... maybe ygo was the progenitor honestly maybe it started me on the two blokes who do fuckall ships#yuugi is so cute but I do know in my heart tho he does Not cook. that kid has never learned and will never manage#I know he doesnt even have water in his office whenever he works. scared of spilling#its a good thing hes got friends galore now people are blowing his phone up wasting their sms toll telling him to drink water#(slowly tipping into mania) I just think he's so neat. love that boy he's so cute
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daily-snufkin · 2 months ago
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🌿 DAY 21
Yoinks
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lokutofu · 30 days ago
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Lois didn’t expect Clark to actually listen
(Based on the Archie Comics panel!)
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