Category Archives: rock

Zombie Obsession Post 6: Gender Roles/Sexism?

For this posting I will be comparing the female gender roles from the Japanese zombie film Wild Zero and from the American zombie movie I am Legend. I decided to blog about the gender roles/sexism because right off the bat I noticed the female roles in Wild Zero were completely different than in in the film I am Legend. And not only were the women viewed differently, but also gay/transgender relationships  were as well. This is important to point out because the film could be a representation of what is acceptable or what is seen as good entertainment in Japan. So here’s a list of all the “different” gender role moments I noticed:

1. Tobio is first seen as a helpless woman. She’s so helpless that Ace the main character, who is also her love interest, starts to cry because he feels to weak to save her. “I can’t even save one girl!” Ace cries out while sitting next to her.

2. Tobio is really a man, completely changing the “helpless woman” dynamic. Ace is so disgusted by this fact he runs away leaving Tobio to fend for herself/himself (Ace nor Tobio never say what pronoun Tobio wants to be called) in a room full of zombies. “Anything but that!” Ace yells while practically gagging.

 (Ace getting a vision of Guitar Wolf telling him to be with Tobio)

3. In the end, Ace realizes he loves Tobio and goes back to save her/him. “Courage and rock ‘n’ roll: That’s what he taught me on that night. Love has no boundaries, nationalities, or genders. That’s what he said. And he was right. And me, from now on, I’ll be with Tobio. The two of us forever” – Ace.

Tobio and Ace 2 (Tobio and Ace kissing as the zombie alien ship explodes in the background)

4.  One of the films main women (name never mentioned) is both “sexy and strong.” That rarely happens in American films, no matter what genre!

Ok, so now we’re going to move on to I am Legend. There is only one main female character in the film and that is Anna.

 Anna (Anna talking to Robert right before he sacrifices himself for her and Ethan)

Not much to say about Anna… Yes, she’s not totally weak; she did save Robert, but we never see her actually fighting….not even one zombie. So the film is saying only a ”big strong man” can kill a zombie? One word; lame.

Final Thoughts:

If I were to only judge Japanese and American culture based off of Wild Zero and I am Legend, I would say that Japanese society is more accepting of “strong” women and gay/transgender relationships in films than American society is. I now wonder if other Japanese films are the same way or at least similar. My guess is probably not… but I will still look into it in the future.

(1st picture taken from: http://sinaphile.files.wordpress.com/2011/03/wild-zero1.jpg)

(2nd picture taken from: http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-JrA8f6NyLRw/TzVYTbv-7HI/AAAAAAAAEBw/6rGrWbqXE8Y/s1600/Screen+shot+2012-02-10+at+11.41.22+AM.png)

(3rd picture taken from: http://www.hotflick.net/flicks/2007_I_Am_Legend/007IAL_Alice_Braga_020.jpg)

Music: More Deerhoof

Yes I decided to post some more Deerhoof tracks because this band is great and I’d like to show some variety in their sound. I’m still exploring their discography as they have many albums and, thanks to procrastination, it’s taken me years! The band itself is an acquired taste to be sure and I don’t expect everybody to get into Satomi’s vocal style. It took me a while to get into this band at first, and sometimes I still have to be in the mood for it, but once it clicked it really clicked. They are a bit of a weird band, but that’s what makes them great in my opinion. Deerhoof is a band that embodies different approaches to recording depending on the album at hand. Their early stuff was more “lo-fi” and felt like band in a room, playing the shit out these songs. An earlier record called Apple O, which introduced me to the band years ago, displays this rougher side. The song Dummy Discards a Heart is like a punch to the ears, but is one of the classic Deerhoof songs. The video I found of the song has some dude dancing in it, so look pass that. Instead you could watch a couple Japanese kids jam out to this song in a little room. It’s really up to you!

Deerhoof began to expand their sound with 2004′s Milk Man, but really became more studio-centric after 2007′s Friend Opportunity. I already posted The Perfect Me, but another track that demonstrates Deerhoof’s studio playfulness is a song called +81, which sounds so angular you can feel the crunch. Another favorite is The Galaxist, which recalls a drifting sound that reminded me of old 1970s prog bands. In 2011′s Deerhoof vs. Evil, the band took a poppier route, creating an album that was more accessible. They started moving steadily away from the simple guitar/bass/drums/vocals combo to pursue songs and ideas outside their usual make up. A song like Super Duper Rescue Heads is much catchier and immediate than past deerhoof material, but still feels like it’s from the same band. There’s also track on the record in which Satomi sings in spanish which makes it pretty unique and it’s just a great song – Qui Dorm, Nomes Somia. It this kind of cross cultural influence that makes Deerhoof pretty unique compared to their peers. There’s also a playfulness and experimentation that defines Deerhoof and reminds me of groups like Pavement in that they never make the same record twice. Hell, they have two songs named “Flower” and both sound completely different from one another. Compare the “Flower” (2003) from Apple O and the “Flower” (2012) from the most recent record Breakup Song – there are definite differences of course, being a decade gap, and you can see the evolution in the newer track. However, there’s still a common thread that still makes each song sound like Deerhoof – the sporadic drumming,  angular guitar playing, Satomi’s unique vocal style, as well as the odd song structures bring it all under one banner. So I’ll end this post with another track from Deerhoof vs. Evil. It’s called Behold a Marvel in the Darkness and it’s a catchier song, not to mention a favorite of mine.

– My obsession “FOOD”

As my last obsession post, I’d like to talk about Kobe Beef. As I said in Hello Kitei page, one of the things which I was surprised since I came here was that everyone knew the word; “Kobe” as “Kobe Beef.” “I’m from Kobe in Japan.” When I introduce myself, most people look like they don’t know the name. So, I add to say “do you know Kobe Beef? It’s from Kobe.” To do so, everyone say “oh, I know Kobe Beef!” and I can keep conversation with them. This is one of my way to talk with new people. However, today I have to apologize for them because I told a lie. I found that the Kobe Beef which everyone knows is not from Kobe in Japan. All of Kobe Beefs which we can have in America are from here!!!

神戸牛According to American business magazine; Forbes, “The single most important element of my original piece was the fact (as in fact, not opinion) that no beef from Japan, not one ounce in any form, was allowed to be imported into this country by the USDA, starting back in 2009. ” Nevertheless, some restaurants say “Kobe Beef” in their menu. The fact is very interesting, because if I see the word when I go to restaurants, I must be proud of it. “Oh, my home town is here!” However, the beef isn’t “神戸牛(Kobe Beef).” It is Kobe Beef which is new brand basing on 神戸牛. So, if you want to have the original Kobe Beef, I recommend you to come to Kobe. (Actually, I’d like to say it. Please visit me after you have it, or we can go there together…)

In this quarter, I’m glad to research about foods as my obsession. First, I told about Japanese Sushi culture, and when I compared with American Sushi culture, I found that there were a lot of differences between Japanese foods and Japanese American foods. I could find Japanese American foods still had Japanese traditional foods culture even though they looked like different, and they were changing as new foods culture. Before I researched about foods, I had thought Japanese foods in America shouldn’t have said Japanese foods. However, now I change my mind. I’m glad to have Japanese foods here, because it’s amazing that Japanese culture has come to America and many people love it.

Gowe Obsession Korean Rapper Powerful lyricist

Through this journey of music of Asian Americans I found that Korean rapper Gowe has made it to my top list of popular culture throughout Asian Americans. This Korean rapper for this next song has done something that was so powerful to me. To take a classical type of song and blend it together into hip hop. Featuring Erin Kim. Beautiful voice. Hopes go out to Gowe for this one. Also had Korean subtitles. Powerful lyrics. Prayers and praises to Gowe and all other Asian Americans going through this. One Love.

Click here to view the embedded video.

 

Hunger Fu

After watching many films about Kung Fu and different fighting styles, it reminded me of the Hunger Games. There are all these different styles of battle in the movie. After the 24 tributes are reaped they are all put into a room to show the sponser their skills. For instance, Katniss has archery, Peeta is strong, morphlings are good at camoflauge, Finnick can swim/spear, etc. And Kung Fu, though they are all modes of battle, they are different.

There are many ways to teach the different styles of Kung Fu. In Shaolin Ulysses, many Asians have little temples, or studios where they can teach martial arts. Many people join in to have a sense of self-defense or stay in shape, or for the simple love of the art. In Black Kung Fu Experience many of speakers had lived in harsh times where Kung Fu had been their option for protection. Some also used it for art and expression. In the Hunger Games it is very similar to Black Kung Fu Experience, where survival is the drive for learning. Some tributes who get reaped may not have much of a special skill for survival; Rue, was good at climbing, running, and hiding, basics.

 

Asian Import Guitars: The Up-Side

So far I’ve written about Zen Guitar and several about its application to my practice/playing, Asian/American guitar & bass players, connections between guitars/music and motorcycles… so are there any other crosscurrents between Asia and the US?

Of course! Starting with the connections between East & West manufactures. The reasoning for US builders branching out to include Asian versions of their instruments varies. Most simply want to add a lower cost version of their instruments that appeal to begginers and the budget minded. Larger companies such as Fender add that having guitars built in several Asian locations enables them to meet production demands around the world.

Many Asian versions of American models are very high quality. Most are reasonably priced– usually around half what their original American made versions sell for. The lower prices are usually atonable through use of lower quality woods, parts, and the lower cost of manufacturing usually through subcontractors. For instance, World Musical Instrument Co, in South Korea is one of the worlds largest manufacture of guitars. They are a subcontractor for all the big names such as Fender, PRS, Gibson, and many other companies. Cort and Samick are also Asian makers of the three who claim to be the worlds largest. Either way, these factories produce far more instruments than are produced in the US. And this is good news for beginners, the budget minded, or anyone who wants a nice guitar at a lower price than an American made guitar.

Among the more popular Asian/American imports is G&L. It’s the company founded by Leo Fender (founder of Fender guitars), and the last place Leo worked before his death in March 1991. G&L recently added a line of imported guitars under the “Tribute” banner. These are guitars built in Indonesia to G&L’s specs and fitted with American made G&L electronics– which is one of the things that sets the Tribute series apart from its competitors. Typically the Asian import models from companies such as Gibson, Fender, and PRS, feature electronics that are “designed by” the parent company. This means the quality of the guitars electronics are a far cry from that of the parent companies.

Surfing YouTube’s collection of head-to-head videos shows that the Asian models are very close to the quality of the US versions. Here are a few such videos– some results are very surprising!

USA vs Inport G&L comparison (great history & info, less-great musicianship in this video)

Click here to view the embedded video.

G&L Tribute L-2000 Bass review

Click here to view the embedded video.

Another US manufacturer, Music Man (a division of Ernie Ball) also have an Asian import series which are marketed under the name “Sterling by Music Man.” These basses have received quite a bit of praise as well:

Click here to view the embedded video.

The Gibson guitar company has been building guitars and basses in the US for many, many years and are considered among the leaders in the production of musical instruments. Their Asian import models are marketed under the “Ephiphone” moniker.  There have been a lot of issues with Gibson in the last 10-years or so that call into question the quality of their US made instruments. This video compares the US made Les Paul model with an Asian made Les Paul model. Again, the results will surprise you (musicianship is much better with these guitarists…):

Click here to view the embedded video.

US Gibson vs. Asian Ephiphone “Slash model” comparison

Click here to view the embedded video.

All of this is the up-side of the Asian import guitar market. Stay tuned for the dark-side… coming next~

 

Final Influence

Within the American cartoon world, there has always been cartoons that don’t show enough female representation. If there is female representation, it is either societies overexageration of feminity or the representation is  very far and few. Throughout the 1990′s, most cartoons had a predominantly male cast with one to four (if we are lucky) different female characters. The lack of representation doesn’t lie within just cartoons but throughout our modern American pop culture.

Cartoons are a thing made predominantly for children but just because it’s catered toward children, it doesn’t mean that cartoons are not important to the development of a child’s brain. Cartoons are one of the first things a tiny human being is going to see. It is important from a young age to teach girls that they ARE strong. That they don’t need to be rescued like their Disney princess counterparts.

Forgive me for incorporating Beyonce into this, seeing as Beyonce doesn’t have much to do with anime, but I wanted to quote the woman who was featured in her most recent song “Flawless” and I am going to use this lens as a way to compare the words of Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie and her lecture “We Should All Be Feminists” with Sailor Moon.

“We teach girls to shrink themselves, to make themselves smaller.” 

What Sailor Moon has taught me was to NOT make myself small. This show was one of the first in which it told me that I can be just as strong as any boy because Sailor Moon and her female soldiers were risking their lives and the safety of the world rested on THEIR shoulders and no one else’s. They fought battles on a daily basis and received cuts and bruises like none other, and even to the point of taking on missions where they KNEW that they were most likely going to be killed, yet they went into the mission with their heads held up high and came out victorious.

“We say to girls, ”you can have ambition, but not too much. You should aim to be successful, but not too successful, otherwise you will threaten the man”

One of Sailor Mercury’s biggest dream was to be the best doctor in the world. When she wasn’t fighting crimes, she was constantly studying and always made sure to never forget her studies because she understood that in order to be a successful doctor, one needs the best education that they can get. With this dream of hers, no one ever questioned her gender. Not even the men that would rarely appear on the show, as a matter of fact, most of the men applauded her brains and her effort.

Tuxedo Mask is the only male character who is featured as a main character and while this character occasionally helps with missions, more often than not, he turns out to be the damsel in distress and Sailor Moon has to save him quite often. He never questions his masculinity either and instead is grateful for the Sailor Soldiers in helping him.

“Because I am female I am expected to aspire to marriage. I am expected to make my life choices always keeping in mind that marriage is the most important.”

Shows will always have some sort of layer of problems. It’s really  hard to avoid and to try and please everyone is sometimes impossible. I am more than happy to admit that Sailor Moon does push for an aspiration towards marriage whereas the other shows produced for young boys during that time did not have the same message. Yet there are other characters in this show like Mercury, Uranus and Neptune et cetera who do not have the same aspirations as the other soldiers do to marriage.

“We raise girls to see each other as competitors, not for jobs or for accomplishments which I think can be a good thing. But for the attention of men.”

I couldn’t agree more. In Sailor Moon S, with the introduction of Neptune and Uranus, everyone is competing to find the “purest soul” and it’s either for  themselves or for the safety of the world. Very rarely does this show showcase the soldiers fighting for the attention of a man, and on the occasion that this does happen, it is always featured in a fill-in episode and is not of huge importance to the major plot of any season.

I know for some people they find shows like Sailor Moon disgusting and that it showcases underage girls wearing school girl uniforms with their panties flashing and over-sized breasts but I feel as though this is a very shallow way of viewing this show in particular and other cartoon shows that might feature something similar to the Magical Girl fgenre. Sailor Moon was catered specifically for young girls. Not for men (although all are welcome to watch). This may seem like a harsh opinion but for me it is the men who take a show as innocent as this and make it into a pedophiliac fantasy. I say this because I identify as a feminist, and I have the right to behave however I want, I have the right to wear whatever I want and I do not want to live my life where I am constantly being policed on how I behave simply because I am a woman and Sailor Moon has played a major role in my influencing who I am and what I stand for today.

Sailor Moon is more than just school girl uniforms, it’s about strength, and the unity that comes with friendships. This show is devised of an assortment of characters and all of them are very different from each other, but instead of focusing negatively on their differences, they utilize that difference and work together to overcome either the antagonist or conquering something within their own personal lives. This is so important for the development of a young girl in this modern age. There are more cartoons with the damsel in distress trope than there are of empowered women in cartoons. Don’t even get me started on the lack of women of color in cartoons. (As a side note, because I don’t want to get too heavily into this but just to let everyone know, Sailor Moon is not white.)

In conclusion, shows like Sailor Moon has influenced our pop culture in the United States. With shows like The Powerpuff Girls, or My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic  it is very obvious to me on how these shows connect with each other. Whether its the Powerpuff Girls fighting crime or the My Little Pony gang coming together in building a strong friendship despite their differences.

W8: Obsession5

K-pop music

 

I have met a lot of American who are interested in Japanese popular culture, especially  Anime since I came to USA. I even feel Anime became new Japanese symbol through pop culture all over the world. On the other hand, Korean music became symbol for Korean popular culture in the world. I found interesting article: “Top 7 reasons for K-Pop Music’s World Wide Popularity”. (http://voices.yahoo.com/top-7-reasons-k-pop-musics-world-wide-popularity-10481125.html)

I especially agree with three reasons: Fun dance moves, Years of vigorous idol training, and Government support.

Firstly, K-pop music is characterized by dance performance.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Click here to view the embedded video.

K-Pop Idol Stars hit songs usually have dance moves that are intriguing, yet simple, inviting viewers to dance along.

Secondly, in order to form a new idol group, they have to go through a period of training that varies from 3 to 5 years. Not only they receive dance and vocal training, but also personality and character training. They also would learn foreign language training, as they are expected to be international stars that could speak not only Korean.

def-dance-skool-in-seouls-gangnam-district-is-one-of-the-thousands-of-k-pop-training-schools-that-have-popped-up-recently-around-south-korea

 

 

Finally, South Korean government greatly supports the K-Pop music industry in order to advance to  world markets.

“Recently South Korean government remodeled the Olympic Hall into a K-Pop concert hall with more than 2000 seats. They also support overseas concert, and plan to launch a K-Pop academy.They seem to realize that K-Pop music has a potential to further introduce South Korea to the international world, and they really utilize that potential.”(http://voices.yahoo.com/top-7-reasons-k-pop-musics-world-wide-popularity-10481125.html?cat=33)

 

These reasons made K-pop music so popular in USA.

Kpop_fans_in_poland

 

Rocking the Asian Portrayal in American Video Games

This post will focus on Asian characters portrayed in games made here in the United States. Unfortunately there aren’t many as I hoped there were, but this will have to do. I could’ve done John Woo video games too, but I decided to focus on some famous few, I think. If I were to do ones made in Japan, the list could go on forever, but there would be repetitious features and qualities among the characters, such as this. Back to the subject, these characters have some noticeable stereotypes.

First off after learning about the whole Fu Manchu stereotype, I couldn’t think of a better character to fit that than Shang Tsung from the Mortal Kombat franchise.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Not only does he sport the same look, or at least some aspects of it via the facial hair, but in the games he is known for his ability to manipulate people, even physically via sorcery. Thankfully he doesn’t have the stereotypical Asian accent, but while we’re discussing the video game series Mortal Kombat, it should be noted that the head villain throughout most of the series is Shao Kahn, whose aesthetic and probably his name, have an Asian appearance.

Shao Kahn

The helmet, the shoulder armor, the evil in his eyes?

Another Asian character would have to be Kasumi Goto of the Mass Effect series, respectively only 2 and 3. I first have to be honest in that I never played the game, but instead watched my brother play it because I just wasn’t really into the game. I played the first one, but not the others. Anyways, in the game, she is a thief who is masterful with the skills of stealth and infiltration. Sounds like a ninja, or in this case a kunoichi right? One couldn’t really tell if she was Asian based on her physical appearance, or at least I can’t, but her name gives it away. Also she mentions to the player if one his or her crew mates like “Japanese girls with a penchant for kleptomania”. And while we’re on this topic, she does possess a “strange” behavior that seems foreign to the rest of the crew. What kind of crew mate decides to raid a person’s underwear drawer during a party where everyone is having fun dancing?

Click here to view the embedded video.

Scouring over web sites to find American games that featured Asian characters, I never thought I’d have to come to Def Jam: Fight for NY. The character here is Kimora, who is based on a real woman named Kimora Lee Simmons, a former fashion model. I never have heard of this woman before, to be honest. Anyways, back to her video game depiction. She is wearing a kimono-esque dress that was probably made just for sex appeal. Sure the game is all about fighting, and it confuses me after reading about Def Jam in Kato, so I won’t say it’s stereotypical that she can fight. That aside, there was one thing I just had to, well, just watch at 0:43 of this video and maybe you’ll understand.

Click here to view the embedded video.

One more game that I forgot to mention was Bloodwake for the old Xbox. I remember this one well because it was one the first few games that I played when we got our Xbox, alongside Project Gotham Racing. Anyways, the game’s protagonist, Shao Kai, is apparently left for dead by his older brother Shao Lung. This game takes place in a setting that’s primarily Asian-themed, with exotic islands and “clans” that wage battle against each other via armed boats. Shao is only Asian by identity, but his older brother has this peculiar “accent” that’s supposed to make him sound like an evil Asian archetype, that or the voice acting was shoddy, which seems accurate for a game of its time.

Click here to view the embedded video.

I know I could’ve mentioned more, like Faith from Mirror’s Edge or Chell from Portal, but I think this is enough. Also, thanks to this article for giving me references on where to find depictions.