Superflat

I won't lie, I was coming into this blog posting blind. I'm not a huge fan of Japanese video games or culture. That's not to say I don't respect it, it just doesn't appeal to me for entertainment purposes. However, I found "Earth at my Window" extremely informative.

I had never really thought of the fact that the pushing for a culturally identity in Japan had probably started around the time of the atomic bombs. I agree with Murikami about just how long lasting the effects would be from such a tragic, devastating period in Japanese history. The bombs left Japanese culture floundering. There were United States troops stationed there acting as a reminder of what occurred. So much death and destruction, especially long term, captured the Japanese culture. I would question whether there was really more to life than waiting for death if I had been put in the same situation. It's easy to see why Japanese films and anime consistently put forth protagonists who were extremely anti-war. "Howl's Moving Castle" is one of the few Japanese films I've seen. I never really looked at all the symbols, like how war corrupts and destroys Howl. Then there's the fact that the film was looking to distance itself from American films. Sophie represented the searching for an identity between the old and the new.

I just feel like I can understand Japanese video games a little more fully now. Now that I can step back and see how many of the games show real human difficulties, such as poverty, hunger, pride, etc. I'll have a little more of a grasp on the art style and design of the games. I think the area that struck me most was how the games seek to identify an inner self, as well as a collective self, while also trying to represent the personal taste, indigenous culture. Critiquing the horrors of war and how it can wear down the soul of a man is a topic that I think could translate to Western culture. Especially with the state of the nation and world at this moment, I can't see how it could hurt anything. I also like the idea of video games showing life as fulfilling, having energy and cheerfulness. That might not be the climate of society, but I think that's why it's needed the most.

Don't get me wrong, I don't necessarily think we'll ever escape war, or that we'll ever be happy with life in the moment. Even the idea of creating humans, a step above robots, is still such a large goal for our species, I can't see it ever stopping. But why can't we at least be happy, and try to promote that while trying to condense our propensity for all of these unnecessary things.

The commercial was an ambivalent experience for me. I'm not a fan of cartoons/animes, but I was a fan of the message. The superflat movement, if I understand it right, promotes humanity, in a sense, while critiquing consumer culture, or a production line society. I do think humans are already acting more robotic and disconnected from what it means to live, to have a self identity. I respect that the most out of Japanese games and culture. Humans are the ones who possession emotions, the capacity to love, the capacity to sympathise, the capacity to create things that make us feel connected, but also leave us feeling like an individual. Maybe if the focus was more on culture and people, then perhaps the world could be a happier place, a place filled with amazing understanding and sharing.

However, I don't think Western cultures really ready for that type of individuality, for that type of optimism, at least, not right now. I think the problem comes from the fact that we in the West are still focused on reality, on watching people doing the things we do everyday. We're also focused in on what the celebrities are wearing, where they're eating, who they're dating, and so on. We're not a culture that's focused on being different, on being an individual, we're all about keeping up with the Joneses. Buy these shoes, where this brand, drink this coffee. I sound like a hipster right now, but it's just the truth, and there's nothing wrong with that. This is just how the past has shaped our current culture. Maybe it'll change, but not anytime soon.