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Forum - View topicBrain Diving - It's All Geek To Me
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Fronzel
Posts: 1906 |
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Why did anyone bother translating a shallow, stupid book on Japan from Spanish when we have so many shallow, stupid books on Japan written in English to choose from?
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here-and-faraway
 Posts: 1529 Location: Sunny California |
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Out of curiosity, are there any "foreigner living in Japan" books that you would recommend? I tried a few, but could never stomach them enough to finish. They were all so myopic.
I enjoyed reading your article though. Thanks! |
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eyeresist
 Posts: 995 Location: a 320x240 resolution igloo (Sydney) |
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Wow, this book does sound pretty bad. Especially the "little 'non-thinking' ants who simply copy and improve what they see". He seems to be one of those people who travels but never broadens his mind. Like a guy I knew who lived in Korea, who always complained about the food, the language and the customs as though they were doing all these things just to piss him off specifically. "Why for sit onthe floor that is stupid !!!&*!"
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doc-watson42
Encyclopedia Editor
 Posts: 1709 |
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I want an "advanced Japanese toilet".
As for books on Japan from the perspective of anime and manga, I highly recommend Gilles Poitras' Anime Companions and their Web site. |
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reanimator
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I saw the book displayed at Kinokuniya SF bookstore window. Upon reading the review, I'm glad that I didn't pick it up and take a look. Besides, the title itself is shallow to me. Personally, I prefer books translated from Japanese authors who have ample time to observe their geek culture with some kind of credential.
Anyway, geek is geek no matter country you're raised in. |
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enurtsol
 Posts: 14886 |
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Hahaha, I just mentioned this book a month ago in this very column.
Don't forget the ubiquitous vending machines that dispense everything. That's on Cars 2 too, and some kids actually asked about "Tires in vending machines?!" I wouldn't bet against it.
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GWOtaku
 Posts: 678 |
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Wow, thanks for reading this so I don't have to. The stereotypical, sweeping statements about Japanese citizens alone would've been more than enough to make me put it down early.
The narrow focus on Tokyo isn't good either, although I can give that a pass to a point since the book seems to want to be an introductory tome. |
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Shenl742
Posts: 1525 |
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Dangerously close? That's an outright ethnic slur if you ask me! I mean what the hell? If it weren't for the references to video games and "advanced toilets" you'd almost think this was written in the 50s or something! What an awful, awful sounding book. Nice to see you give it a good dressing down. |
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Yorl
Posts: 9 |
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It's hard to walk down a street in Tokyo without finding a 2nd hand shop of some sort. Anyway, I hate anything that labels itself as for "geeks" because it's usually just for boring people who think they are smart. Yes I'm a geek, but I'm also a jock, a musician, and a bit of a lech. Stereotypes for the loss.
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Nephtis
 Posts: 138 Location: Australia |
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I feel like Brian's taken a bullet for us. Just reading small amounts of this text through the column made me cringe; couldn't be happier I now can avoid this book entirely.
Having been to Japan myself briefly in high school on an exchange (though by no means am I saying I'm any form of expert) I entirely disagree with the concept of an alien nation. Sure, there's lots of aspects of culture that are different, but that doesn't make the experience feel like I'm going to another planet. Mind you I only was in Tokyo for a couple of hours at the airport, and spent most of my time in a smaller city in Hokkaido. I didn't feel that this area was super crazy and weird. The main differences for me was the sheer densisty of the population and the urban nature of Japan. Asahikawa (where I stayed) has 195,000 more people than the equivalent city in my own state in Australia. This is mostly because if where I come from - it doesn't make it seem so foreign that it's another world. It's times like these I wonder how many opinions out there that think Japan is so crazy and alien are formed because of books and other media forms that are written like this one. |
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enurtsol
Posts: 14886 |
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It's probably because most people here have only lived in 1 or 2 first-world countries.
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nemesiz
Posts: 6 Location: Bracknell |
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The Roads to Sata, written by the Englishman Alan Booth in the late Nineteen Nineties. It describes his travels from one end of Japan to the other. A brilliant read detailing his trials and tribulations while walking, and talking to the population and seeing the undiscovered Japan. The second book by Alan Booth, Looking for the Lost is technically a follow-up discussing his favourite walks. DO not read this until you have read Roads to Sata and please would no-one spoil the ending or comment about the Author. Lost Japan by Alex Kerr. Discribes the current situation affecting Japan, and how culturally the country is slowing changing. A good read and leads onto his second book Dogs and Demons explaining how Japan is affected by Bureacracy and Cover-ups. Hokkaido HIghway Blues by Will Ferguson discusses his exploits while hitchhiking across Japan. A funny read. |
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UtenaAnthy
 Posts: 694 |
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I prefer not to sit on the floor as it tends to result in pins and needles, but I don't have a problem with someone else doing so, and I will if the floor is reasonably clean and I don't have somewhere else to sit. Customs vary in whether they are A) something that I want to try myself B) something I don't want to try but do not have a problem with others doing or C) a violation of someone's rights which has to stop. I'm happy to try local food but there are some things that I will become nauseated if I even think about eating, and I really don't enjoy spicy foods. I can't make my tastebuds not experience pain when I try and eat them, if I went to France and tried to eat snails, for instance, the waiter would have to clean up a lot of vomit, it has nothing to do with closed-mindedness. I also agree that that "non-thinking ants..." is not only xenophobic, but seriously dehumanising. |
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bravetailor
Posts: 817 |
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I prefer to think of "non-thinking ants" as mainstream moviegoers, but anyway...
The truth is most people who write books or essays about another culture often have some kind of agenda. Some people overpraise the culture they're writing about and whitewash some of the dicier aspects, while other people write to basically say, "Look how weird they are! And look how inferior to us they are socially, psychologically, etc,." And this is evidence that just because you travel around doesn't necessarily make you a more worldly person. A person can go to every country in the world and still be the same moron he was when he left home. |
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Echo_City
Posts: 1236 |
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I'm finding some serious discrepancy between the preview for this article and the article's content.
Also, on books that were written by people who resided in Japan, what do you all think about Angry White Pyjamas? |
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