Forum - View topicINTEREST: "Goeppels-chan" Puts Moe Spin on Nazism in Fan Videos
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Guile
Posts: 595 |
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I'm from the Netherlands and I find this to be quite interesting actually, and I don't really need American being offended on my behalf. Not that I would know either, as I wasn't born back during World War II so it didn't affect me regardless I've never really understood the notion of being offended by things, it doesn't do anyone much good. I don't really get offended by anything though, admittedly.
Germany's ideology of banning and pretending Nazis didn't exist always struck me as odd. I find that more problematic than any kind of parody of Nazism. It seems dishonest to try to rewrite history, even if you regret it. I think Japan is more open about it because, yes, it is a part of their history as members of the Axis but unlike Germany they can poke fun at it or try to turn it into a positive thing. Hetalia is a really good example since it's primarily about the Axis Power anthromorphications. Japan also has alot of series that cover the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and use post-bombing settings. The bombings also seem to be quite an influence in a lot of creator's anti-war series, like Go Nagai's works. Japan in general seems hard to offend, and they take tragedies and try to make something positive about them. Whether it's Hetalia or Grave of the Fire Flies. |
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Arale Kurashiki
Posts: 751 |
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It's neither.
"I have never had negative emotions regarding anything, ever" I find this rather hard to believe. Something, at some time in your life, has made you sad, angry, upset, etc. Don't let the internet treating the word "offend" as a joke make you forget the word's actual meaning... And regardless, a lot of people here are just saying they don't like it, for such and such reasons. Not liking something is just as valid of an opinion as liking something. It's probably worth mentioning that there are still plenty of right-wing nationalists in Japan, although other people already have. In fact if I remember right in Japanese politics right now there's somebody trying to remove the peace thing. I don't know what their intentions were, but it might be something to look into if you or I or anyone wants to understand more about what axis-glorifying works might actually mean in cultural context. |
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Kikaioh
 Posts: 1205 Location: Antarctica |
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That's the general opposite of my understanding of German vs. Japanese views of WWII. Having spoken with Germans in recent years, my understanding is that German people are very socially conscientious about the country's history during WWII. And with Japan it's the opposite, where WWII is a topic of conversation that's generally avoided. The saying I've usually heard is that "Germany remembers too much, Japan too little", which doesn't quite jive with what you're saying. |
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Guile
Posts: 595 |
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Well I mean in the realm of race, gender, religious, or political reasons. Getting upset at being turned down for a job doesn't seem to qualify as being offended to me, specifically if we're talking about the context of this thread.
That's odd, because Nazi imagery is flat out banned in Germany to the point it prevents some movies and games from being released there, or if they are, they are heavily censored. Obviously we can't judge a culture and it's people as a whole and individuals have different views, but at least on the government mandated level, it seems to be frowned upon to the point the Wolfenstein series wasn't released in Japan until 2014, and the Nazi imagery and themes were replaced. |
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Kikaioh
Posts: 1205 Location: Antarctica |
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I think that has to do with the government being very careful to crush with absoluteness any potential nazi presence in the country because of how terrible a part of their history it was, not as a means of forgetting their past. |
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enurtsol
 Posts: 14761 |
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Yeah, since Japan was an ally of Germany during WW2 and thus the Japanese people were never at the receiving end of Nazi atrocities, to Japanese these are all just fun and games. Recall that Nazi costumes in Japan are just like any other ordinary costumes that can be used for parties.
It's just human psyche to be not sensitive to something that seemingly happened a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away. It's even farther in Japan where Germany’s role in WW2 is not really something that’s taught much in schools, much less Nazi and Japanese WW2 atrocities. Of course the Nazis and the Holocaust are studied, but for obvious reasons much more attention is paid to Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Thus, many Japanese are unaware how the depths of Nazi-ism go.
Wait till ya talk to them about "comfort women" |
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Kamagor
 Posts: 32 |
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Just when I think I've been surprised by Japan...They continue to surprise me more.
Also, can we leave Hatsune Miku out of this? We really don't need her pushing Nazi propaganda. |
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jmfsilenthill
 Posts: 1863 Location: Chinese cartoons are srs biz |
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This is just really weird. But Japan kind of has the "dindu nuffin" attitude towards WWII, so it's not really all that surprising. I realize I'm generalizing, but I feel like I've seen this kind of thig before.
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arromdee
Posts: 71 |
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That doesn't count. It falls in the general category of "stories about things that happened during the war", but it's a different kind of story. In fact, that's a prime example of the bad Japanese attitude towards the war: events where the Japanese suffered are anti-war and used to show how horrible war is. Events where others suffered... aren't. It's a very skewed perspective that they can only get away with at all because Westerners feel guilty over nuking Japan so will rarely say anything when the Japanese emphasize only the suffering of the Japanese. The Japanese aren't going to portray the atom bombs as being dropped by cute girls who do amusing things while laying waste to Hiroshima. And Goeppels-chan is not being used to show how war makes people suffer. That's the difference. |
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stefand
 Posts: 53 Location: Germany |
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that's right, what is banned, are the nazi symbols (e.g. the swastikas in Hellboy are censored (they had no problem with the nazis in Indiana Jones, though)). Nevertheless you have a lot of documentaries about the nazis and you really learn a lot about third reich in school, many scholl classes visit concentration camps, etc.. So everyone is in fact aware of how awful the nazis where and this ort of thing would be unthinkable in germany and would be seen as a mockery of the victims of the nazis. Nevertheless you have to be amazed how the japanese can moefy really everything.... |
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Agent355
 Posts: 5113 Location: Crackberry in hand, thumbs at the ready... |
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Being offended by this is a matter of basic empathy towards those who suffered during WWII and the impacts of it which lasts through to this day. If someone would make a cutesy cartoon depicting adorable anthropomorphic atomic bombs singing about how happy they are to bomb Japan and end the war, I doubt many Japanese people wouldn't be offended. Because they remember the bombings and the devastation they caused and are sensitive to it, just as any people who suffered a horrible, tragic catastrophe during war remember.
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EricJ2
 Posts: 4016 |
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Think that was part of the creator's "trolling" to have a cute sympathizer, let alone an iconic pop-cliche' one, like the Nazi Hello Kittys on the Internet--Given that, being software, Miku can never say no to a job, which were both pretty much the reasons how we got "Senbonzakura" in the first place. (Which was a much better wartime-trolling song, and cuter.) |
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Utsuro no Hako
Posts: 1034 |
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Only liberals are offended by Nazis? Has it occurred to you that some people here might be in one of the groups the Nazis targeted for extermination, and laughing at this is the same as joking about wanting to kill them? |
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yuna49
 Posts: 3804 |
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Japan's ties to Germany go back well before the turn of the 20th century. Prussian advisors came to Japan after the Meiji Restoration to help "modernize" the Japanese military. There's a fairly detailed presentation of the historical links between Germany and Japan here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Germany–Japan_relations Standard histories of Japan often compare the two societies in terms of feudal structures and military organization. |
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Redbeard 101
Oscar the Grouch
Forums Superstar  Posts: 16935 |
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If you're wondering where your pointless or trollish one liner/picture post went it was removed. As were pointless responses to said pointless one liners. Some posts that remain were also edited. We're allowing the thread to stay open because there is worthwhile discussion going on. However, given the topic let me be clear that we're watching this thread closely. All further one liner or trollish posts here will simply be removed. So please just don't post them folks. Thanks.
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