[EVA][SPAM?] Japanese Culture and Evangelion

[Peter Schelenz]

> Reischauer's information is out of date and in many cases no longer
applies.
> Furthermore, Reischauer failed to realize that he was dealing only with a
> select "elite" section of the population (ie:
> bureaucrats/politicians/corporate officials = top university graduates and
> other elites), which is understandable seeing as how he was a foreign
"VIP"
> and only met/dealt with these types of people.


Thanks Bochan_Bird.  Oh well... my number one resource on Japanese culture
is outdated...it IS about 25 years old though, I kind of suspected it to be
so.

So you are saying that the "husband like another child" doesn't work
anymore in society?  It seems to hold true in some anime though-my most
used example, shinji's "alternate reality" in Evangelion.  Or was Anno just
using it to sendup typical traditions?  I do think it was meant to lampoon
typical anime, but I was wondering if the cultural subtleties are true.  Or
maybe I'm over analyzing.  American TV plays off cultural stereotypes
often, perhaps this is the case as well.

Ah, the well-known self-held misperception that Japanese are "special".
> This is a holdover from the pre-black ship days when Japan was still
sealed
> off from the rest of the world and the Japanese viewed themselves as
special
> or different from other peoples.  You occasionally run into this in areas
such
> as language (how can foreigners speak their difficult language!?) or even
> something as basic as using chopsticks -- even Chinese/Korean people are
> sometimes complimented on how well they (as foreigners) use chopsticks. 
:P
> Basically, people (including the Japanese themselves) just need to get
over
> the "Japan is special" syndrome...

Yeah, that still exists..I suppose it's like Russia-once you have a certain
amount of power and influence, it is hard to let go of.

I think Evangelion can be understood without understanding the intricacies
of Japanese culture, but I think it could be, "enriched", perhaps, if I
were more familiar with their normal lives.  Obviously in this "small
world" we live in, they aren't that many differences from nation to nation,
for better or worse (a debate in itself). But another related question-
Lain is an attack on the values adopted by Japan due to the American
influence after World War II (on one level, anyway)...would you say this is
just the Japanese believing themselves to be "special", frustrated at the
loss of identity, or other?  

Sincerely
RN