
Logan Paul and the internet need to stop treating Japan as clickbait - ShubhamBadal
https://www.theverge.com/2018/1/11/16875188/logan-paul-aokigahara-suicide-forest-japan
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supreme_sublime
>A country with a rich and complicated history

> Search Google or YouTube for “weird Japan,” and you’ll find a goldmine of
> terrible content stereotyping Japan as the sum of its most bizarre media and
> traditions — a metric that would reflect poorly on any country — and
> treating the idiosyncrasies of its oddest subcultures as quirky national
> characteristics.

Yes, if you search for "weird Japan", instead of, I don't know... "Japan
history" you'll find different videos. Same thing if you take a bit of a
stereotype about Americans. Search "Crazy America" and you'll get a ton of
videos about that too. Is that an awful stereotype that cannot allow us to
appreciate the history and culture of the United States?

> The internet has often repackaged the complexity of Japanese culture as a
> series of bizarre, cartoonish memes, but it is particularly sad to see the
> deaths of Japanese people treated as macabre entertainment.

The internet has also done the same thing with American culture. "Muh
freedom", calling Americans "burgers", etc is all over the internet. The
simple truth of the matter is, Japanese culture is pretty different to
American culture. People like things that are different about the cultures,
why would they care about the things that are the same?

>My connection to this story is personal as well.

I could have guessed that after the first paragraph.

All that said, I'm not trying to defend Logan Paul specifically, I really
don't like that guy and find him to be a talentless moron. I just think this
whole "The internet is only reductionist towards MY culture!" thing I see
constantly to be ridiculous. Let people have their jokes, let them have their
entertainment. What I find the most annoying is the brazen lack of respect
that Logan showed in his videos. His antics wouldn't be acceptable in the
United States, so it frustrates me because now there are people in Japan who
think that is how Americans act. The difference is, I don't blame them for
thinking that if that's their only interaction with an American.

The Japanese are notorious for loving to see their culture spread to other
places. If all Americans know about Japanese culture is Kimonos, tentacle
porn, anime, ninjas and samurai; I'd be willing to bet the majority of
Japanese people would be happy they even knew that much. To expect people in
one country to know everything about another country without ever even
visiting, or living there, is asinine. Foreign people only knowing certain
things is completely expected.

