Murder Most Foul…Japan Style

Here we are again in the darkness of the human psyche that is murder and the assorted mayhem that goes along with it. Today’s journey into the darkness is Japan. Our killer of the week is Hiroshi Maeue better known in pop culture as “The Suicide Website Murderer” from Osaka while his body count by serial killer standards was low,his crimes are notorious in how he trolled for his victims through a suicide help website. By suicide help I mean a website devoted to helping people complete the act.

What makes this the murderer of the week is not how he committed his crimes,but,where it makes unusual is the connection to a social website albeit a website devoted to how to kill oneself. Which is a sad social commentary on how social media is used for a number of ways and in this case someone to push another person further into the rabbit hole of madness that is suicide. Adding to that is the exotic location,by Western standards, of Japan with its long history of ritual suicide just adds to the mystery and the obsession of the media of the accused along with where the victims were found. By this obsession the victims become forgotten in the media feeding frenzy instead the details of where the victims were found are far more interesting to the reading public. And indeed Japan has a long history with things that are dark,forbidden and otherwise underground. These things are not discussed in the polite company that is Japan rather it is discussed in the highways and byways that is the web.

Why then is a culture that is revered the world over for its politeness,respect of elders,love its culture and people so obsessed then with murders when they happen in Japan however rare? Perhaps it again goes to the very nature of a suicide website or perhaps it is the fact there was a sexual component to the murders which again is not something discussed in polite company. Any one of these things could be the case,but, the fact remains that in Japanese pop culture themes of sex,violence,bondage and other imagery are there.  It is an interesting dichotomy which remains to be studied fully,however, with Hiroshi Maeue ;comics, biopics, hours of news media were created to feed this frenzy.

The end result of Maeue’s crimes were the website promoting how to end ones life was shut down hopefully with those on that website getting the help that they need. As for Maesue himself? Before his appeals were exhausted , he accepted the judgement of the courts of Japan despite what his defense team said and accepted that he would pay the ultimate price for his crimes. It is of a final and interesting note to mention that he was considered a lust killer with auto-erotic tendencies. The media ate that up as did the public til the next crime,the next killer or the next public scandal of the week.

 

Week 4, Monday: Lee pg 1-179

The first 179 pages of Lee’s Orientals repeated some information for me and I found that there was a bit of repetition (like how there was an ENTIRE PARAGRAPH, word-for-word, repeated on page 66 from page 65…?). Some of the repeated information felt more like reiteration, especially when it came to Acts or laws and dates and I appreciated that, because I feel very confident in explaining a certain Act or situation but am not always as confident on the exact title or year. However, even with the repeat information (whether appreciated and less personally needed) I found myself wanting to highlight and add marginalia to basically half of every page. The idea of organizing all of my ideas for these six chapters is daunting and overwhelming but also exciting. I doubt I will be able to include everything (and some of it my be fragmented and frantic) but here it goes…

Immediately, Lee introduces the book with a modern example of yellowface and quickly explains the “six faces of the Oriental” (page 8) as well as begins to grab hold of the purposeful difference between Oriental and Asian. This was a difference that I have never encountered in depth. In fact, a lot of the ideas and history that was brought up in the reading was more in depth because it focused on the Asian American Representation history instead of the immigration, day-to-day history.

For example, I have most definitely heard of Barnum and Bailey’s circus but have never thought of the origin or how it could have been developed through discrimination, especially racism and ableism (nor was the term “Siamese Twins” ever analyzed in previous readings). The discussion about the history and development of minstrelsy in relation to multiple People of Color in America was also an in-depth first. This history of yellowface, blackface, redface, and brownface is so deeply apart of American culture that it continuously pops up in our modern media and entertainment. Here’s a video I found by searching “fake Asian accent [TW: yellowface, racism]. In the video a non-Japanese/ non-Asian man dresses as a geisha and uses a fake accent as a promotional vehicle. And while the book clearly gives evidence to how yellowface has had much acclaim and was widely accepted (illustrated through the song in the 1880s as seen on page 37 and into the 1900s, page 70; then into 1957′s Sayonara Cuban actor dons yellowface for character who dons “whiteface”; and finally into last week’s analysis on How I Met Your Mother.) The difference now, one may argue, is that people are more critical of this and don’t accept it nearly as readily. There is more push-back and more the dynamic of racism has definitely changed. However, people are still using yellowface to be comedic. People are still viewing it as an acceptable thing to do. Even if they know it will “get a rise out of people”

Part of this is explained in the racist excerpt from March 1867′s edition of the Springfield Republic, “Nature seemed to have furnished them [Chinese immigrants] with that particular appendage [braided queue] for the benefit of the Anglo-Saxon” (page 39). Another way to look at is the entitlement of white consumption (which is later illustrated through the changing of True Womenhood into New Womenhood and how the New Women was defined not by her Victorian motherly traits but by her desire and capitalist consumption as seen on page 177. This also touches on the male-centered homophobia and homoerotica that the Oriental eventually stood for). White consumption which not only is seen through the appropriation and aggressive stealing of culture but also in the entitlement to consume citizenship, land, jobs, and women.

We see examples of consuming citizenship and land in the history of not allowing immigrants to own land unless they become citizens but denying any Asian immigrant the right to naturalization through the Naturalization Act of 1790. Likewise, we see the consumption of land through the villainous depiction of created-space, such as Chinatowns. This is seen in Sax Rohmer’s Fu Manchu series (page 114).

We see the example of consuming jobs through the rivalry of Irish immigrants and Chinese immigrants. As two minorities (of the time) that were pitted against each other, there was high tension for Irish immigrants to prove themselves as white and reclaim the jobs they were not given based on discrimination. On page 65, Lee explains how white workers and Chinese workers worked together but there was still major steps taken to expel the Chinese workers.

And we see the consumption of women (both Asian and white) through the Page Act of 1870  which interrogated Chinese women who wished to immigrate yet there was an illegal trade happening which forced Chinese women into sex work (page 89). Media such as Poor Ah Toy or magazines (page 97) influenced white women to view their interactions with Chinese men (which- at the time- would still be mostly in house) as service workers as something to be weary and suspicious about. On page 129, Lee explains how the “dirty old man” trope was created with Asian men in mind and how the seemingly-innocent stranger became the one true fear for women (whereas domestic violence and abuse of all types were overlooked). Because white women who married men of color would lose their citizenship this effectively kept white women single for white men but also internalized the idea that there was something unnatural or wrong about marrying an Asian man.

Also noted: the TESC faculty Stephanie Coontz reference (page 86).

Paull [sic] H. Shin

Just connect: The most current news about Shin: On January 7, 2014 he resigned from the Washington State Senate after he was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease.

Accomplishments 

  • Earned a GED in 18 months
  • Was elected to Washington State House of Representatives in 1992
  • The first Korean American ever elected to the Washington State Legislature

 

Class Notes 1/21

1/21/14

  • Monkey Majik- Aishiteru
  • No class Friday.
  • You can combine texts/media in your writing posts.
  • Get creative with the posts.
    • Rock posts, insert music I listen to?
    • Paper posts: Reaction GIFs
    • Scissors: eh, just be make sure to be substantial.
    • Make sure to have all seven posts for the week in by midnight on Monday/Tuesday.
    • Make sure to site your sources.
    • Popular culture- A battleground of different visions of what the world is about.

The Grand Torino and The Debut

“Your birthday today, Daisy. This year you have to make a choice between two life paths. Second chances comes your way. Extraordinary events culminate in what might seem to be an anticlimax. Your lucky numbers are 84, 23, 11, 78, and 99. What a load of shit.” -Walt Kowalski

 

(This is an excellent example of unapparent foreshadowing. Plus, it’s funny that Daisy and Walt shared the same birthday.)

Connections:

  • Sue being the bridge between the Hmong and Walt
  • White privilege/savior
  •  Being the Martyr
  • Paradigm shift
Sue Lor: There’s a ton of food.
Walt Kowalski: Yeah, well, just keep your hands off my dog.
This sassy girl who wouldn’t take crap from anyone, by far my favorite character in this movie. Able to speak fluent Hmong and English, she was the translator for her mother and other family members when it came to communicating with Walt. Respectful, intelligent, and determined. So I was enraged when she became the “Disposable Woman”, a trope which is used to motivate the vigilante ( which in this case is Walt).
Which then triggered Walt to seek redemption for Sue’s severe battery. He knew Thao felt the same way, but also knew that if Thao tried anything he would be killed and the law would not care; at lease not as much as they would if Walt was killed. He was well aware of his own privilege, and used it to his advantage. From the doctors papers, it was clear that he was already going to die soon, and with his ungrateful disrepecting family members who really don’t care about him, he really had nothing to lose by dying. From hating the Hmong with every fiber of his being because of the scars of war, to caring about them as if they were his own family, caring enough to sacrifice his own life for a chance at happiness for them. I’ve met people like this before, and I know it’s hard to push past the fact that their hate is blind. But once they are able to see, that you are human too, it’s a life changing experience for everyone involved.
I truly connected to this movie on an emotional level, it moved me greatly.

The Debut

 

whitewashed
A derogatory term used to describe a minority who has assimilated with western society. The “White washed” person does not necessarily abandon his/her own culture but rather embrace others beside his/her own. Some people take it as a compliment while others take it as an insult.

 

 

celebi-oMy reaction to most of the movie:

and then the ending:

tumblr_lpqv9pDJis1r0ojhto1_250

This is was a very light movie, at least compared to “Grand Torino“. And it left me with a a lot of things to think about.

  • Oriental versus Asian
  • Culture lost in translation
  • White-washing
  • Business before Dreams
  • Making things better for future generations
o·ri·en·tal  (ôr-ntl, r-)
adj.
1. often Oriental Of or relating to the countries of the Orient or their peoples or cultures; eastern.
2. Oriental Of or designating the biogeographic region that includes Asia south of the Himalaya Mountains and the islands of the Malay Archipelago.

 

Asian refers to anything related to the continent of Asia, especially Asian people.

 

I can recall a time when I was reprimanded for just saying the word “Oriental”. Little did the person know that I was just talking about an actual flavor of Top Ramen, little did I know the negative connotations this word held. Just looking up the definition, I could honestly see what this meant for some people. It tries to exclude certain groups from being “Asian”, it’s like saying you’re not American if you’re born in Hawaii. Which is obviously absurd.

This video reminded me how assimilation causes cultures to be lost in translation. For some families, it’s difficult to keep the culture of your family while trying to adjust to the new culture you are submerged in.

 

To be continued…

 

Robert G. Lee Readings

OrientalsThroughout the Lee readings I found that Chapter 3 stood out to me the most because it reminds me of my obsession and of Grand Torino.  Lee talks about what a women’s role is a what a men’s role is…I hate that comparison because really though..who says or who gets to say? I ask myself what makes up men’s work and what makes up women’s work? What’s masculine or feminine of the East and West? In chapter 3 under the section Displacing Women, Destabilizing Gender, Lee talks about how Chinese men servants did “women’s work” (104), and how it messed up the definition of what women’s work actually was.

I connect this with Gran Torino because there is also a lot of gender expectations when came to the Hmong culture in the Gran Torino film. Thao was made fun of because he didn’t act like “the man of the house”. His other family members would also make fun of the fact that Thao didn’t do manly activities like he was expected to. He liked to garden, which was considered to be a women’s job in the Hmong culture. On the topic of gender roles, Sue was a very strong female character. In the film, it was described that the women went to school and got an education while the men went to jail.

Rocky, Yet Permanent Topic

After much squabbling over what “obsession” I should cover and talking about ideas with my friends and classmates, I have finally settled to a topic I can settle for: video games. I cannot deny that it’s probably the most consistent thing I ever do. Games I’ll cover on for Asian American influence or influence from Asian pop culture will be ones I’ve played or hear plenty about. I don’t know if this topic is very broad, but if it is I can narrow it down to a specific brand of games, genre of games, or video game systems. I already have an idea for the first rock post that isn’t this post or the one before the previous one. I hope I can pull this off in finding connections in those games that relate to what we’re learning or about to learn.

 

Where I started as a gamer.

Where I started as a gamer.

newz and blues

1986 Challenger explosion

I’ve never read much into what happened on this day, watched any videos or view many pictures, let alone realized how many people lost their lives that day. Seven individuals were being sent on what I would call the adventure or a lifetime but within minutes the whole story changed sending the ship up into flames.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Paull [sic] Shin

Senator Paull Shin is stepping down from his place of senate as of January 7th, he continues to tell us that Alzheimer’s plays a roll in this decision. Shin is 78 years old, elected into the senate in 1998 and was adopted by an American soldiers after his life as an orphan on the streets of Korea.

Heres his statement after giving notice as well as the link listed right after leading to the article and a picture of Shin.

Sen. Shin announces immediate retirement
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Jan. 7, 2014
Sen. Paull Shin, D-Edmonds, today announced his retirement from the Washington State Senate, effective immediately, in the attached letter sent to the Governor, his legislative colleagues and his constituents.
“It is with the deepest regret that I resign from the Senate,” said Shin, who had served honorably in the Senate since his election in 1999. “I have loved this place and the work we do here on behalf of the people of Washington. Unfortunately, I have determined with the assistance of my family that recent health problems and a diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease make it impossible for me to represent my constituents in the manner they deserve.”
Shin grew up as an orphan in South Korea during the Korean War and was adopted by an American soldier and brought to America. Shin received a GED and eventually a Ph.D. from the University of Washington and taught for 31 years in Washington’s higher education system. Sen. Shin was elected to the Washington State Senate in 1999. Prior to that, he served in the House of Representatives from 1993 to 1994. He is the Senate’s Vice President Pro Tempore, which presides over floor action in the absence of the Lieutenant Governor and President Pro Tempore.
During Shin’s legislative career, he has championed higher education, support for the developmentally disabled and other vulnerable members of our communities, and expanding trade with foreign countries.
“I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of you for your help and support over the years,” said Shin. “It has been a tremendous privilege to be a member of the State Senate and work with such wonderful colleagues. I am grateful for the camaraderie, the work we accomplished, and the valuable lessons learned. I would also like to thank my wife and children for their love, support, and shared belief in the importance of service. Most of all, I would like to express my thanks to the citizens of the 21st Legislative District, who placed their trust in my stewardship for all of these years; it has been my honor and privilege to serve them for the past 17 years. I look forward to assisting the Senate in making this transition as smooth as possible.” http://blogs.seattletimes.com/politicsnorthwest/2014/01/07/state-sen-paull-shin-resigns-citing-alzheimers-as-factor/

World War 2 Stragglers

http://www.mercurynews.com/obituaries/ci_24962199/onoda-japans-last-imperial-soldier-dead-at-91

Mr. Hiroo Onoda is the last World War 2 straggler to pass away at 91 years old on January 21, 2014. Mr. Onoda ‘emerged from hiding in a jungle in the philippines and surrender, 29 years after the end of World War 2, has died.” He passed away at a hospital in Tokyo that day. Onoda was an officer in the military and in 1945 he was given order to stay behind in order to spy on American troops. Onoda was the son of a teacher, and he himself worked for a aJapanese trade firm in Shanghai after he finished high school, thats when he was drafter into the military. He seems to me like a true hero, someone with great loyalty to his country and someone that should be recognized and known, honestly without being told to look up stragglers I never would have known or hear about it most likely, which saddens me. Its like we forget so many veterans of so many wars.

HIMYM (How I met your mother)

http://www.tv.com/shows/how-i-met-your-mother/slapsgiving-3-slappointment-in-slapmarra-2991996/

Overall this episode is intact offensive in multiple ways. Why couldn’t they have gotten and actor that was an asian girl instead of using a white girl and apparently putting on dark eye makeup and bright red lipstick with a kimono makes her an asian. Secondly, making up lines like the slap of a million exploding suns, its all offensive and as someone who is japanese takes it as racism.

Obsession 2

I obsess on Korean pop-music, especially ‘BIG BANG’ as I mentioned on last post.

apop2

‘BIG BANG’ is a South Korean male group formed in 2006, the group consists of G-Dragon(my feve..haha), T.O.P, SOL(Taeyang), D-LITE(Daesung), and V.I. Big Bang is known for their unique urban-originated music and fashion style.

apop3

 

apop5

 

apop7

From 2009 to 2010, Big Bang expanded their endeavors to Japan, and were voted “the Korean group that Japanese fans wish to see the most”.

apop6

The photo above was taken at their Alive Tour 2012 in Japan.

They held world tour in 2012 :Seoul, Singapore, Malaysia, Taiwan, the United States, Japan, Hong Kong, Lima, Peru, the UK, London , and England.

 

 

Orientals’ Reading p.51 – 179

In chapter two “The Coolie and the Making of the White Working Class”, the one thing that kept popping out at me was the term “John Chinaman”. The term represented a Chinese immigrant or sojourner working in America during the 1800s. They were typically looked down upon because of their docile nature and the numbers they came in, taking almost all the open job positions that paid less than minimum wage. This generated an envy and despise for the Chinese. When they tried to become Americans, they were unaccepted because of their skin color. They were also compared to the Irish immigrants, via John Chinaman versus “Paddy” the Irish worker. Americans back then found the Irish just as untamed as the Chinese, but accepted them over the Chinese because of their “whiteness”. Regarding marriage, any white woman who pursued a Chinese man was immediately on the same level as him and could not recover after such choice, even if she tried hard to be accepted by white American society again.

“The Third Sex” was an unusual chapter for me. I never really thought of Asians being something of “immoral desires”. I’ve heard Asians being referred to as exotic, but not as something as such as this. The whole chapter reminded me of a psychology lecture that I kept getting lost in. They reinforce Asians as a dark lust with the mentioning of the Chinese and Japanese women being coerced to work as prostitutes overseas and away from their homelands. In fictionalized writing, the Chinese woman was a counterpart to “John Cinaman” with the identity of “China Mary”, who was docile but also mostly passive. Two writings, “The Haunted Valley” and “Poor Ah Toy”, talk about the different roles Chinese played as a love interest regarding their genders. Although I’m not entirely sure, in “The Haunted Valley” the character, Ah Wee, is first thought of to be a male, but is later to be revealed to be a female. She is the interest between Gopher and Dunpher, which results in Dunpher being poisoned by Gopher after Dunpher accidentally killed her, and Gopher going insane after the whole predicament. Ah Wee’s role represented how a foreign love interest would destabilize a white American’s life. In “Poor Ah Toy”, the protagonists, Ah Toy, is hired to work for Fanny and her sister-in-law’s husband and children. He is able to work well, but becomes disheartend after the death of his mom. Feeling sympathy, Fanny cares for him and this develops into a mother-and-son kind of relationship. Ah Toy begins developing feelings for her, but is unable to for another man has walked into Fanny’s life. In an attempt to win her, Ah Toy tries kisses her hand, only to be met with shock and shame since he was not only a servant, but not white. He kills himself, but asks to be buried on Fanny’s property so that he will always be with her. The thing this chapter seems to tell me is that interracial relationships back then were suspected to always end in misery for one party or both. The stories did not really degrade the Chinese in them, but made it clear that any attempts to be with them will result in a not-so-happy ending.

Chapter 4′s “Inner Dikes and Barred Zones” refers to plenty of information I heard from last quarter. The one thing that immediately struck me as familiar was the actor Sessue Hayakawa, a Japanese actor who we learned about in Japanese American History in the Pacific Northwest. The role he plays in the movie The Cheat is one that tries to alter the white woman’s life, but is stopped by the white male lead. Aside from that, I finally found the origin of the term “Fu Manchu” in this reading. For a great while I’ve heard the term in some places I can’t remember, but I remembered the name because of how simple it sounded. Now that I know it represents the “oppressive and evil” Asian, it kind of reminds me of something else too.

Yeah, this happened.

Yeah, this happened.

I found it interesting how they depicted the Chinese in Broken Blossoms. Cheng Huan was seen as this caring and humble Chinese man who took it upon himself to take care of Lucy Barrows after she is abused by her father, Battling Barrows. The two form a bond, but it’s short lived when Battling takes back Lucy and proceeds to beat her death. Hoping to save her, Cheng tries to rescue her, but she is already dead. Cheng confronts Battling and overcomes him through the use of a handgun. Unable to live with the dead Lucy, Cheng kills himself afterwards in front of his altar. It’s probably one of the few films this book has told about that try to show a different message that not all Chinese are of the “Yellow Peril” that was soon to come forth.

Finally the last chapter “The Cold War Origins of the Model Myth Minority” tells about plenty of cases that were explored in last quarter’s reading, such as the case of Gordon Hirabayashi and his stand against the military curfews on Japanese Americans. There was also the mention on how to tell the difference between the Chinese and Japanese. While it did not include the visuals, the physical descriptions remind me of the the pictures we saw last quarter. The Cold War “scare” of the Red Menace was mentioned, along with the apparent rise of Communism. The fact that America could have rounded up all the Chinese Americans just because they originated from nation that’s now Communist kind of says that it takes awhile to learn from history, but then again they didn’t officially redress the interned Japanese Americans until much later. The reference to the “model minority” always seems to amaze me. Science and math were never my forte’, but English and reading I found pretty good. Anything above Pre-Calculus to me is a real nightmare.  I’d rather be good at drawing doodles than forming equations. That stuff just could never sit in my head for too long.