People, that's the point of this thread, to stress that Anime is NOT racist! What part of this are you not getting? I started it in response to another thread who, needless to say, blew the entire subject completely out of proportion.
And another thing, I didn't say that there were NONE...yes I'm quite aware of the many African-American media in the U.S (i.e BET network), but truly the majority of media is well...the Majority. Case closed. Now I'm going to start a new thread about my fav. pairing in Anime
. Go to that site I posted. Like I said, it sums everything up for people curious about this stupid subject. Now I suggest we drop it here before it gets out of hand! Seriously.
I mean, the minute you bring up racism people get all bent out of shape. It's a simple discussion, that in fact goes AGAINST the concept of racism in Anime ([roving that there is none). I truly suggest that you go to that site. And I don't know why you find this offensive, I'm simply stating the facts, Anime is not racist, however many areas of Japan are not aware of many of the issues that plagued America (as far as racism in concerned) being that Japan is a roughly homogenous country. You know what, better yet, just read this (an excerpt from the website, seeing that people aren't visiting it to begin with...oh God this is gonna be long):
How do the Japanese perceive Blacks? Remember the analogy of how a Japanese seeing a foreigner is like a child seeing an elephant for the first time? Well, if you are black, it's more like a child seeing a unicorn.
Most Japanese have heard about unicorns such as Eddie Murphy, Michael Jordan, or Whitney Houston, but to see a real one is unimaginable. First of all, the specific term for Black person is kokujin (which literally means Black person) I seldom heard this term; I definitely heard gaijin more than anything else. From my
experience, there seems to be a few words that capture what many Japanese think of Blacks, I call them the K-words: kakkoi, kowaii, and kowaii so. Kakkoi means cool or hip, kowaii means scary , and kowaii so means sorry or pitiful. From my conversations with Japanese, these are the common justifications for such ideas: Blacks are cool because they seem naturally gifted at entertaining, singing, dancing, and athletics, or, Blacks are scary because they always seem to be in trouble with the law and they also carry guns (though many Japanese believe that ALL Americans carry guns), and lastly, Blacks are pitiful because they are the victims of racist oppression and can't get their act together because they don't seem to have strong cultural values like other people, especially like us Japanese. To hear such views was no shock to me because they are the same images and ideas that the media continues to perpetuate and feed, about Blacks, to the world.
Before coming to Japan, I asked my Japanese friend, Takeshi, what would be the worst thing a Japanese person could call a Black person. Takeshi, who had came all the way from Nagoya to Howard University in
order to study Afro-American studies (when I first asked Takeshi how did he found out about Howard, he told me that he was listening to a CD by Shai and while reading the linear notes, noticed that they gave many
thanks to their alma mater, Howard University), was definitely the best person to ask. Takeshi told me that the Japanese word gorirra ( gorilla ) comes to mind, but that it wasn't specifically used towards blacks since
many Japanese often use it to refer to any big, husky, and unattractive person. To specifically refer to a Black person as a means of degradation, Takeshi said, someone would probably say sambo gorirra. If you haven't guessed it, the Japanese term sambo is equivalent to the black-faced white entertainers from the early 19th century that would poorly imitate Blacks; hence, the sambo character. Even the Dragonball character, Mr. Popo, represents the sambo character with his jet-black skin, big wide eyes, oversized red lips, and subservient speech and mannerisms. Its impossible to live in Japan for a long period of time and not see the sambo character on aprons, slippers, or on key chains. I once read where someone saw a Japanese college student with a sambo character on her slippers with the words, N i g g e r Head. To me, such things are very offensive, but for many Japanese they are kawaii (cute). Not until I asked how they would feel if I sold little yellow dolls, with buck-teeth and slanted eyes did they understand why I felt so offended. Another word I should mention was daisansekaijin which literally means third world person, which does not just single out Blacks but any dark-skinned person who looks as if they came from an underdeveloped nation.
I honestly don't believe that these words and beliefs
represent how most Japanese feel towards Blacks. If
anything, they are extreme declamations and beliefs that
only an extremely small portion of the population would
believe or use. As said before, Japanese are some of the
kindness and most respectful people around. To take the
derogatory words from above as what Japanese really
think of Blacks would be like a Japanese person watching
a show like MTV Cribs, and believing that most Americans
must live as lush and fabulous as movie stars and
entertainers. The above is more like inside information
that you probably won't get from a generic "Guide To
Japan" book.
If anything, the Japanese are guilty of being ignorant of other cultural issues, but this comes from living in an isolated and homogenous culture. When I first went to an elementary school for a visit, the children surprised me when they tried rubbing my skin to see if my color would come off. Yet these were the same children that
would cry because they didn't want to see me go. Still, ignorance can be ugly. One of my Black friends once told me that some old man held out his hand for her to shake. Seeing this as an opportunity to extend her
friendship, she shook his hand. As she shook his hand, he began to lean over, with his tongue out of his mouth, preparing to lick her hand. Before he could accomplish his goal, she pulled her hand away and angrily asked what he was trying to do. His reply was that he wanted to find out if she tasted like coffee. Such incidents as these happen more in Northern Japan where it is more rural and the influx of foreigners is very rare....
There's more on the site but this is just a taste of it. Now I do hope that no one was offended by this, but instead informed. Either way, it doesn't make me like Anime any more or less, however it is rather interesting to me, and I hope to you as well.
I would've put this under the actual thread but it's closed. I think the name of it was Anime Racist? and it just got me thinking. Many of their posts were understandable but others, like myself, just didn't understand the MAIN issue...(i.e why there aren't many blacks in anime). So I found that guy's site and well, it pretty much answers that question. Nothing big. Just thought I'd put it up for anyone who had posted under that thread, or was also curious about the issue.
. And I do agree. No one is pure anything, everyone has a little bit of some other race down the line believe it or not, and that further proves our point: to belittle or berate another race is to belittle and berate yourself. Love yourself, and you can't help but love everyone else. 