The Enigma of Gender Roles in Japan and the Takarazuka Revue

In my opinion, despite all the media that it exports to America and the whole world, Japan’s cultural personality is very hidden and confusing to even the well educated. I guess it is hard to really apply our sociological imagination, or our ability to connect the dots between group and individual actions and motivations, to a different culture like Japan.

The greatest difference that always seems at the forefront in my thought is American individualism versus Japan’s sense of duty, collectivism, and strict norms on public behavior. Another is the competitiveness and inflexibility of their educational system. There is also the perception of widespread xenophobia and racism in Japan, which may annoy or infuriate a Japanophile and make the idea of relocating very troubling.

Though these differences are great, I believe that one of the greatest areas of misunderstanding deals with the personality traits of Japanese women in a country seemingly defined by strict patriarchy and media portrayals of women that seem incredibly shallow compared to even Hollywood standards.  The stereotypes, ranging from the hyper super cute anime character to the shy, “better seen not heard” student, worker, or wife,  contrast  greatly against the dynamic roles often played by and lived by men in movies, business, and politics.

One recent example I discovered, which both entertains and illustrates just how much I don’t know about this area, is the Takarazuka Revue. The Takarazuka Revue is a theater company composed of an all female cast which was started in 1913 as a sort of response to there being no women in Kabuki (traditional Japanese all-male theater). Since its inception, the Takarazuka Revue has become a huge hit and draws millions of fans. Read more »

Ellen Page, Cisco, and the China Connection

Watching commercials sometimes gets me annoyed and rarely gets me angry. Most of the time, I just try and zone out as to not be influenced into buying something I don’t need.  This is not the case with the recent ads from Cisco featuring popular young actress Ellen Page. Not only do these commercials annoy with their cheesiness, fail to actually present a product I might want to buy, but they ironically make light of the human rights violations the company is perpetrating in their cooperation with the oppressive government of China.

The two main Cisco advertisements I have seen are: 1) where she goes to a classroom in her hometown and meets kids who are going on a virtual field trip to China and 2) where the small town’s city hall has a police control center with video screens connected to local surveillance cameras. Read more »

Vaseline Promoting Self-loathing Skin Whitening in India with Facebook

Skin whitening is very popular in India despite the social and health consequences. Here are two articles, from Feministing and CBS News, about a new Vaseline campaign on Facebook India where people can whiten their profile picture.

Guess I’m going to have to buy another brand of lotion now.

Gary Coleman Dead

From running for Governer of California to punching people as a security guard, Mr. Coleman had his share of personal problems like many child actors. Sadly his life has come to an end, all from what seems to be a simple fall.  =/

Best wishes to his family.

From Philadelphia Cop to Taser Hero

All my life, ever since I was able to think about my future, I wanted to be someone. I would be a man who could, at the right moment, fulfill his destiny. But my Pa taught me that in this dark world, this world… cold as a gun, you have to understand that if you miss your shot… your one shot… you’re dead as a doorknob.

Yeah, I was just a kid at the time, but I took a break from my Kit Kat bar and took a bite of it while thinking, “I ain’t gonna lose to nobody, no one.” I swallowed my masticated chocolate covered wafer, took a long drag from my candy cigarette, looked my old man right in the face, and told him what I was thinking.

“Pa, I em not like you, I AM a winner. I don’t lose. I don’t get defeated. I won’t die.”

Well, my Pa was right. My time was near. I had been on edge for over two decades, keeping my whuppin’ stick handy, ready to give some punk a beat down. I didn’t let the times pass me by, and after seeing some guy heckle John Kerry, I knew my stick was old news. I didn’t become a cop to be old school. I wanted to push the envelope when it came to taking care of punks.

Finally, when the time did come… I was ready.

My baby had charged all night.
I had my lucky cap to keep the light out of my eyes.
I even had my lucky gun to keep the flies off my hotdog.

When I saw my enemy, I didn’t hesitate, and as I raised my arm and twisted my body to take aim like God raising his sword of epic wrath, I thought in that moment… everything clear:

“I don’t lose to punks… I won’t die . . . I WIN.”

[Inspired by Times Online]

Thoughts: Offshore Drilling and Energy Independence

I’ve never been successful in my attempts to balance the needs of energy independence and a safe environment in my mind. Nevertheless, even I have to admit that right now the debate over offshore drilling has dramatically swung in favor of those against it. Now lets see how long it takes for us to forget and start blaming ‘tree huggers’ for high gas prices.

Even if we don’t end up expanding off shore drilling, we are still dependent on foreign and domestic oil and natural gas, which cause climate change, air pollution, and makes us dependent on often tyrannical regimes. That said, renewable and clean energy is not a silver bullet either. Wind power is expensive, solar is not efficient enough yet, and ethanol is pointless because any conservation or gain is negated since the process to make it uses an equal amount of greenhouse gases to grow and process the corn (tractors, trucks, etc), not to mention it raises food prices worldwide.

[Resources: Daily Kos and CBS News]

P.S. -  Oh, and where are the end of the world people these days? Volcanoes, earthquakes, war, terrorism, wars on terrorism, pirates, dark water… but at least they haven’t made a Pirates of Dark Water remake yet… yet.

The Why Behind Health Care Reform

Through the whole health care debate, I feel that people in in the halls of power and in the streets have lost sight of the ‘Why’ with health care.

Every reform minded person is always on the defensive, seeming to rationalize their decision to support the Democratic health care agenda from the attacks of people who have no ideas of their own.

By being on the defensive, the Democrats in Congress look like they are making excuses for every cost and program in their bills.

“It has death panels!”

“It’s going to tax your kids!”

“You will lose your health care!”

“It’s communism!”

The way people on the left have tried to answer these questions, they make it sound like they are trying to convince themselves it’s right, and they hear so many bad things about their views that they almost become apathetic to health care reform.

Here’s a quote from a Senate staffer that echos this:

The worst is that I can’t help but feel like the main emotion people in the caucus are feeling is relief at this turn of events. Now they have a ready excuse for not getting anything done. While I always thought we had the better ideas but the weaker messaging, it feels like somewhere along the line Members internalized a belief that we actually have weaker ideas. They’re afraid to actually implement them and face the judgement of the voters. That’s the scariest dynamic and what makes me think this will all come crashing down around us in November. (via TPM)

What those in favor of health care reform need to realize is that this is a once in a decade opportunity to make this country better.  It is important to stay aggressive and be on the offensive. It’s even more important to stay motivated and be able to bounce back from defeats like yesterday’s Massachusetts Senate election and persevere.

So what is the Why behind health care reform?

It’s simple really. This country spends more on health care than any other and gets worse results based on the percentage of people covered, overall quality, and quantity of life.

This fact directly attacks the status quo, which is what conservatism by definition wishes to preserve. Make them have to defend the status quo, and stay on the message that without changing the status quo the nation will be worse off.

Health care reform doesn’t cost money in the long run, it saves money, it saves jobs, and dammit, it may even save this country’s economic standing in the world over the next century.

On top of that, push forth the conviction that health care is a right just as much as education is a right. Neither one was written into the Constitution, but they are equally important for a person to reach their full potential in our society.

Those in favor of health care reform must also realize that 59 seats is still a majority. Don’t pretend the Senate is now split 50/50 and proceed to create a health care bill that lacks anything that the minority may find disagreeable. To do so wouldn’t be compromise between two groups, it would be defeat for those wanting to change the status quo.

Danny Glover is Also a Jerk

Out of fairness, (and thanks to poorkmart for pointing this out) I think we should also call out Danny Glover’s idiocy, which joins that of Pat Robertson regarding asinine explanations for the causation of the disaster in Haiti.

Here’s what he said in an interview on GRITtv: (video after the jump)

This is a great moment for another type of internationalism, you know. (And and I and) I hope we seize this particular moment because the threat of what happened to Haiti is a threat that could happen anywhere in the Caribbean, to these Island nations. You know there’s all this peril because of global warming, (because—) all this peril because of climate change, and all of this. (And we need to find, this this, when we when we back) When we do what we did at the climate summit, in Copenhagen, (this is the response—) this is what happens, you know what I’m saying. But we have to act now.

Not as malicious, nor clearly worded, as compared to Robertson’s comments, Glover’s statement is still self-serving and ignorant. Global warming, or the failure to prevent it, caused the earthquake huh? I guess it caused the buildings to be inadequately constructed and equipped to handle the force of an earthquake that would otherwise not have been so devastating too.

Be a supporter or naysayer of the global warming theory, clearly earthquakes happen as a natural part of geotectonic plate movement, and it is ridiculous to try and use the “threat of global warming” to explain or suggest we can avoid such disasters. More so, I think in general, it is ridiculous and callous for anyone out there to be politicizing or using this tragedy in anyway to bolster one’s own cause.

Read more »

Pat Robertson is a Jerk

A day after the horrendous 7.0 earthquake in Haiti, Pat Robertson had the gall to blame the victims themselves, the likely 100,000 dead Haitians, as well as their country and its history for their hardships.

Something happened a long time ago in Haiti … they were under the heel of the French, uh, you know, Napoleon the third and whatever … and they got together and swore a pact to the devil, they said, we will serve you, if you get us free from the Prince. True story.

I can’t believe Pat Robertson would say such a thing… Ok, I believe it. Still, it’s way over the line. This man is a jerk. I hate it when people bring up divine intervention, or the lack of it, when it comes to tragedies.

If a violent bus crash involves no fatalities, it’s the result of “the power of prayer” and “God watching over them.” However, if all the people on the bus die, it’s “God’s will.”

This is pretty illogical, but for the most part, it is just a coping mechanism for people dealing with death and hardship.

In this case, Pat Roberson’s comments go beyond any attempt to look for comfort and understanding for said tragedy, and instead craft a manufactured pseudo-history revolving around Haiti’s “pact with Satan.” How does he find cause and effect between an earthquake and the religion of Africans who fought in one of the only successful slave revolts in the history of the world??

Anyway, watch for yourself after the jump. Read more »

Breaking Down Beck: 9/12 Principles, Part 2

Before we conclude our overview of Glenn Beck’s 9/12 Principles, the first half of which we covered in Part 1, let’s take a quick look at 2009′s Misinformer of the Year courtesy Media Matters.

Principles 6-9 after the jump. Read more »