It took a long time coming...

 Yes, I have been immensely slack and lazy but I have finally written another blog post. Apparently more free time just produces a frantic rush of idelness not productivity.

Many things to do and Xmas pressies to buy and wrap.

But finally, the third and final installment of my ramblings on Japanese culture and Anime.

Part III - What I think they think of us.

Another reason why I had to rethink the whole submissive Japanese women stereotype was chiefly because of some comments/observations my Japanese female friends and students made about how women are presented in Western media.

"Why are women made to look so stupid in movies?" Yuki once asked me.
I had (and still have) no answer to this.

She explained that when she was younger she thought that all western women were blonde and stupid based on Amercian TV shows and movies. The other students seemed reluctant to agree as they didn't want to seem rude. They said that their female western teachers were smart (so sweet). Yuki then said that that was what she was about to say. She was surprised when she first started learning English and travelling and meeting English-speaking women. They weren't all blonde and stupid in reality, but the western movies she had seen made her believe that they were. She said Hollywood movies were annoying because the female stars were often stupid and silly. The two examples she gave were Bridget Jones and Ally McBeal. She said she couldn't believe that these women were supposed to have professional jobs. She did not think it was believable that lawyers or journalists would spend their time running around after men and stupidly falling into embarrassing situations. She said that they should be fired immediately for such behaviour.

To her it was insulting that these 'silly' women were presented as the heroine types. They were pretty but had no admirable qualities other than their appearance.

Then the other students all agreed. The blonde stereotype was bizarre to them. They couldn't understand why the hunky heroic male types would fall in love with these bumbling idiot women or why young girls would look up to them. But what really annoyed them was that the ditzy stereotype had now been pushed into professional roles.

I was a little confused at first. I had seen a reasonable amount of Japanese TV at this point and to me it seemed there was no shortage of giggling silly Japanese schoolgirl types. But further investigation revealed the answer.

Dizzy women (especially young) are an 'acceptable' stereotype as comic relief only. It was offensive to these women that the giggling, incompetent girl would be presented as the heroine in an action movie or as a female representative of a respectable profession. Heroines were supposed to be role models. Dignified, intelligent and worthy of respect, not ridicule.
The more Japanese media I became exposed to, the more aware of this I became. Even in traditional Japanese folk stories and fairy tales, the heroines are incredibly stoic. They don't cry their hearts out to fairy godmothers, they grit their teeth and put up with whatever torments the villain has in store for them. Endurance and dignity in the face of adversity seem to be the recurring qualities of heroines. Grace and beauty are also important.

Another interesting feature of Japanese folk tales is the fact the heroines are often mothers. Mothers are frequently absent figures in western fairy tales. The heroine's mother died when she was young leaving her a defenceless orphan or worse still, at the mercy of an evil stepmother. The idealised Japanese mother in fairy tales in the ultimate sufferer. She often endures a lot of pain and suffering for the sake of her child or children. Frequently, being reunited with her long-lost children is the equivalent of the happy ever after wedding to Prince Charming.

Hmm, this is becoming rather rambling…

In a vague attempt to link all these thoughts together, let me say that there is a connection between fairy tales and the way women can be presented in modern media.

I would say that often the storylines of modern Western films are still essentially the fairy tale. Heroine is rescued by the handsome Prince Charming and lives happily ever after. Now because the modern heroine is likely to have a job and be financially independent unlike her traditional 'orphaned-princess working in the cellar' counterpart, she is destitute and defenceless against the torments of her world in another way. The modern heroine suffers a kind of social poverty/hardship - malelessness. Bridget Jones is tortured socially by family and acquaintances about being maleless and has the whole threat of being a spinster, dying alone and being eaten by her german shepards.

It is still the fairy tale storyline - Woman who needs to be rescued by a heroic man. However, the Japanese are far less connected to this tradition. They are probably now all familiar with Cinderella but it is not quite so deeply ingrained in their culture. The idea of women needing to be rescued is not quite so established. For their heroines are frequently capable, strong and intelligent.

Interestingly, the Western shows/movies with strong, action heroines as the lead like Buffy and Tomb Raider seem to be immensely popular in Japan.

Maybe with more westerners watching a range of Japanese movies/shows and with Japanese viewing more girl-powered themed Hollywood productions, we'll stop thinking of them as 'submissive' and they'll stop thinking of us as 'stupid'.

Epilogue
Grumble at the latest Empire magazine. Yay, they finally did an article about anime but unfortunately they had to throw in some popular misinformation.

From their: 'You know you're watching anime when…' column
"… Female characters are generally either subservient waifs/rape victims or demons."

Ironically, they have a full-page ad for Princess Mononoke on the page following the article.