Tag Archives: white washing

Scissors: Week 3

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The terms weeb and otaku are loosely defined. I learned them through social media, not cultural context. So for the purposes of this post, I will define them as I’ve learned them.

weeb – (n) someone, usually white or at least culturally Westernized, who really loves anime

otaku – (n) a Japanese individual who obsesses over Japanese created animated content, not necessarily anime since this includes video games, movies, and other consumable media that may not be strictly defined in the anime genre

First and foremost, I’m a weeb who will fight other types of weebs.

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Paper: Week 1

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Notes: 24 September – 30 September

Tuesday Morning – Introduction to Asian/American: Pop Culture Crosscurrents. Syllabus, covenant, schedule discussed and preliminary questions answered.

Tuesday Afternoon – Ghost in the Shell

The most recent adaptation of Ghost in the Shell received major backlash for whitewashing. A Japanese story featuring Japanese characters with clearly Japanese names was replaced by names considered Western/European and pivotal characters were played by Caucasian people. With monotonous acting, the dynamic story became static.

One could attempt to argue that the focus was on the profit over people villain concept or a social commentary on how capitalism values whiteness over people of color. But the story did little to address the race change or the class gap between the city and non city citizens.

The race change implies that to be palatable to America, they have to be white.

Wednesday – Creative Essay Introduction. What is home to you? Utilizing that definition, articulate how APIA’s find that meaning of home through popular culture.

Also, this program will help students become better writers. Writing is not a good/bad binary and to believe so limits aspirations and progress. Writing is a process with no end as one can only get better with practice.

Friday Morning – Blog set up and introduction. This is where we will post our assignments and notes which can help us track our progress of our learning and our final paper.

Friday Afternoon Lecture – It is important to remember history. History shows us how and why things happen so that we may learn what to avoid or what to pursue. The past shapes the present and predicts the future.

Friday Afternoon Seminar – APIA history is a legacy of balance – American/APIA, authenticity/caricaturization, profit/pride, and so forth. With a precarious position, many immigrants struggled to stabilize income, citizenship, and culture. Many had to perpetuate someone else’s oppression to alleviate their own, should they choose to relieve themselves of the burden.

Yet throughout their tumultuous journey, they’ve made history by planting the seeds of some of today’s common occurrences. APIA food, holidays, language, entertainment, etc. can be enjoyed throughout America.