Mock Cockpit wrote:I sometimes watch the "Japanese at the Arse End of the Universe" show and I'm sorry I'm not seeing the yay Japan cheerleading. The show is clearly about the journey the reporter takes to the destination as well as the personal stories of the Japanese people in those out of the way places. It's clearly fluff but they go to some pretty interesting places and meet some interesting people. Lightweight but enjoyable imo.
I didn't think that was soo much cheerleading as much as clueless when the occasional tool on there is propped up as an expert....when they are clearly pretty clueless about where they're living or not able to communicate with the locals as is implied. On the other hand, as you say, I've seen some cool places and people as well.
wagyl wrote:chokonen888 wrote:Mmmmm, I was mainly getting at the nationalistic sentiment attached to "nippon" vs the casual pronunciation given to "nihon."
I suppose there is a swelling of pride and hand to the heart when you hear "United States of America" compared to "United States," "the States," or "the U.S." Don't make me mention "Statesside."
Not really?
wagyl wrote:I know it is slightly different but there is I think a nuanced difference between "Great Britain" and "Britain." I think Wage Slave was in the right area with his poetic, nationalistic romanticism stirring Albion.
I'm not British so I can't really comment there but when you're literally adding "Great" in front of a country name...isn't that kind of different? The more I thought about it, the closest thing I know is nationalistic Koreans spelling Korea with a C.
Yokohammer wrote:The examples the author of the article posted are only a very small sampling of what's going on. There is some form of "Foreigners think Japan is amazing" or "This is why Japan is awesome" on the tube pretty much every single night. It's a fairly recent trend, I think, unless I simply never noticed it before. There are a couple of shows that people might lump into that category that I actually like though. There's one on Saturdays that shows made-in-Japan products and the people who use and appreciate them overseas. Today it was hand-made phono cartridges and a saw-file for woodwork. The overseas users invariably send a message of thanks to the usually small manufacturer, bringing a tear to everyone's eye, etc. That's cool. Good stuff. It's the over-the-top self praise shows, and there are enough of them lately, that are the problem. One has to wonder what happened to one characteristic of Japanese culture that is truly praiseworthy: 奥ゆかしさ, or 検挙 (modesty/humility). I could be wrong, but although the "Cool Japan" type shows have been around for a while, the overwhelming deluge of self congratulatory programming seems to have started around the time Japan was awarded the 2020 Olympics. It is getting a bit tiresome.
I don't think it's a recent trend but it's definitely being amped up recently.
My well traveled Japanese buddies always seem to explain it by "saaaa, Japanese have this inferiority complex." Not surprising they see Korea as a more extreme of this as well.
I mean...shit, if my fav hockey team wins, I'm happy for them but their success doesn't say anything about me personally, their home city, nor do I attack others who might question the reasons why they were successful or hate on them. Getting emotionally involved is one thing, grasping at it to prop up your identity is another.
