Daily Archives: February 8, 2021

Reading Time: 7 minutesExamples of Anti-Blackness in anime Sister Krone from The Promised Neverland (left) and Maki from Love Lab in Black-Face (Right)

Anti-blackness is one of the root causes of most oppression and racism in the United States, but it is not just an American problem. Anti-Blackness is everywhere. It exists in one way or another across the globe. It is ingrained in many parts of society and culture, from education and media to politics and entertainment. So, it is no surprise that anti-blackness exist in anime.

The term anti-black, simply put, means to be opposed to or hostile toward Black people. Race equality think tank Runnymede Trust also defines it as the specific exclusion and prejudice against people visibly, or perceived to be, of African descent. What most commonly refer to as Black people. Additionally, non-Black people with darker skin, such as Latinx, Indians, and Filipinos, also face forms of racism rooted in anti-blackness. Theres also colorism, a type of discrimination in which lighter skin is privileged over darker skin, among people of the same race or ethnicity. Non-Black communities have negative stereotypes about Black people, and these communities will distance themselves to maintain some level of power or privilege as they position themselves closer to whiteness.

Anime, as I mentioned, is no stranger to any of these things either. Anime has a long and, unfortunately, on-going history with anti-blackness. Frankly, a very likely reason for that is racism and prejudice formed through the earlier portrayals of Black people in American media. American media representations of Black people were not always seen in a positive light and propagated misconstrued, and racist images meant to represent Black people at that time.

It is possible the first representation that Japanese audiences saw of Black people was through these racists and stereotypical portrayals. And while it has been well over 70 years since those depictions, they still contributed to the negative attitudes towards Black people. Which in turn, is why there are many offensive and problematic portrayals of them in anime.

While I love seeing Black characters in anime, I hate it when a show will use stereotypes and or character designs that are reminiscent of racist caricatures. It reduces the characters to be the butt of a terrible hateful joke and takes away the representation that they could have been. It sucks when the industry you have invested time, money, and love in, just like any other fan, doesnt always love you back. It hurts when creators and studios in the industry choose to depict Black people in such a disgustingly racist way.

One of the most glaring examples of this is Sister Krone from The Promised Neverland. Sister Krones design is inundated with racist implications, calling to mind black Americans image popularized by minstrel shows. This is something a lot of people dont like to hear, but its objectively true. A mere side-by-side of Sister Krone and, say, an old drawing of Aunt Jemima will confirm this to be the case: the massive lips, huge nose, stronger musculature, and general servant-like aesthetic all contribute to an image of that oh-so-pernicious depiction of black women, one that has not entirely faded from cultural consciousness.

Sadly, the racist depiction of Sister Krone is not a rare occurrence in recent anime. Other relatively recent examples of anti-blackness and racist depictions in anime include Love Lab and Terraformers.In Love Lab, a school-aged girl who does full blackface acts like a soul singer because she wanted to experience Black. In the same episode, another character mentions how their older brothers fetishize Black women.

While in Terraformers, a sci-fi anime about a space crew terraforming Mars. When they arrive, they get attacked by giant mutated humanoid cockroaches called Terraformars. The TerraformArs are purposefully designed with stereotypical Black features, some of which are very reminiscent of racist caricatures.

I could go on and list more examples, but I think you get my point. Anti-blackness exists in anime. It has been a part of its past and, unfortunately, continues to exist to this day. And with so much anti-blackness in anime, it is a wonder sometimes how I can enjoy and consume content from an industry that still participates in the use of racism and stereotypes. Well, for one thing, not all anime are racist or relies on racist stereotypes for Black and other non-Japanese characters. Furthermore, I refuse to let the poor and disgusting racist choices of some creators and studios in the industry make me hate a medium that I love.

Personally speaking, as a Black woman in America, I am always aware that I live in a world where certain parts of society see me as an other. Viewing me as someone that exists outside of what they deem is the norm. That I am not automatically seen as a person who deserves the same rights, respect, and privileges as others. So, I am not usually surprised or shocked when I see that something is anti-black. I am disgusted and angry, but sadly Im not shocked because I have always been aware that I live in a world that doesnt always see me or treat me with the respect that I deserve as a person. That being said, I can enjoy, appreciate and consume anime while also not making excuses for its part in anti-blackness. I deserve to enjoy anime, too, just like any other fan. Black people deserve representation without stereotypes and racists jokes because that is the bare minimum.

Additionally, anime has a special place in Black culture. Personally, a Black anime fan, what I love about it the most is that it inspires me. Sometimes I can even find relatability in some characters and themes. For example, many of my favorite anime features characters who face impossible challenges they have to overcome or face prejudice and doubt from others around them. Nonetheless, they dont give up. Either through hope, love, friendship, or inner strength, they persevere to achieve their goals. So I can see why that resonates with me, and maybe others, so strongly.

So then what do we do about anti-blackness in anime? How can I love and enjoy a medium that clearly doesnt always show me the same love back?

Well, for one, as I said before, anti-blackness is everywhere. But just because I cant escape it does not mean I have to tolerate it. Ignoring anti-blackness by never watching any anime ever again wont put an end to anti-blackness. To be clear, Im not saying to continue to consume specific work that is repeatedly racist or anti-black. I am saying you should also speak out and let the creators and other fans know that their work is problematic. You, me, and any other fans of anime have the right to share our critiques and opinions, and the artists should listen to them.

I love seeing Black characters in anime because I love seeing characters that look like me in the things I love. However, that reflection should not come at the cost of being made the butt of racist and anti-black jokes.It is sad to say that even in 2021, we need to call out anti-blackness in pop culture, but if we dont then, it will continue to exist.

We have to demand better and set a standard for how Black people should be represented respectfully because, frankly, we deserve better and it is the bare minimum. There is no excuse for anti-blackness or racist themes to exist in anime or any medium for that matter.We have to demand better and set a standard for how Black people should be represented respectfully because, frankly, we deserve better and it is the bare minimum.

Thankfully there have been anime creators in the industry over the years who put in the work and effort to make their series diverse and do not use racist caricatures or stereotypes for their characters. One in particular that emcees to mind is Shinichir Watanabe. Watanabe. is a Japanese anime television and film director who is best known for directing widely popular series such as Cowboy Bebop, Samurai Champloo, Carole & Tuesday, and Space Dandy. Watanabe is also well known for making anime that represents a racially diverse world.

During an interview following the conclusion of Cowboy BebopWatanabe had this today about diversity in anime.I paid a lot of attention to skin color. Also to using multiple languages. Lots of times when you watch anime, the characters all have white skin all the characters in fantasy stories all have white skin, which I never liked. I wanted to have lots of characters in Bebop without the white skin, and if people werent used to that, well, maybe it would even make them think a little bit about it.Im grateful to creators likeWatanabe who have worked to make anime more racially diverse and inclusive. Itwas anime like Cowboy Bebopthat first showed me that Black people can exist in anime.

Now there are more creators in the industry who are doing the real work to represent Black characters in anime better. This is done by broadening the spectrum of skin tones, and putting in more effort when it comes to illustrating features like hair texture, lips, and palms of hands. Some great examples of this include Black characters being more respectfully and accurately designed, such as Ogun Montgomery from Fire Force and Aran Ojiro in Haikyuu. Another preseason these characters representation is important is because they are Black characters living and existing in their shows version of Japan. They an example of how Black people and other races can be included in anime.

Other examples of improvement are anime series with Black-lead characters like Carole & Tuesday and Cannon Busters. There is also more Black and BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) representation behind the animation, like voice talents Zeno Robinson and Anairis Quiones who voice various characters in anime series. And now theres even DArt Shtajio, a Black-owned anime studio located in Tokyo, Japan, founded by twin brothers Arthell Isom and Darnell Isom.

It means a lot as an anime fan that these creators are putting in the effort to give proper representation to Black characters. Their work helps to set a new standard for how Black characters deserve to be represented in anime.So, while the anime industry does have its issues and problematic past with anti-blackness, there is hope for more improvement to come as more creators put in the work and intentional in portraying Black characters. I have hope that as time goes on, the industry I love so much will love me back the same

LaNeysha is a host on So Heres What Happened, andDid You Have To?. she is also responsible for developing strategic marketing and communications plans to assist with brand recognition, growth, and community engagement. Self-proclaimed low-maintenance cosplayer. Has an ever-growing anime and video game list to work through but always looking for more

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Originally posted here:

Anti-Blackness in Anime: Loving an Industry that Doesn't Always Love Me - But Why Tho? A Geek Community

Fans of Amazons premiere science-fiction series would do well to spend their time between seasons catching up on its anime forebears.

Its the future. The Earth has united under a single government and failed to deliver on the utopian promise of its technology. Those on top maintain their power by extracting wealth from colonies hanging in orbit. After generations of life in space, the space colonists begin thinking of themselves as a new strain of humanity and strike against the declining colonial center. This is the backdrop of both The Expanses current season and Mobile Suit Gundam.

The Gundam franchise is a touchstone of the Mecha anime genre, featuring young pilots fighting battles inside 60-foot tall robots. It began 41 years ago with a television anime series that performed poorly with the child demographic its sponsors wanted to attract, but fatefully overperformed with teens, college students, and women; whose support lifted it to become one of the highest-grossing global franchises of all time, on par with more familiar American creations like Batman and Spider-Man. Its sequels, spinoffs, and tie-ins have continued ever since. Roughly half of Gundam titles share their setting with the original show, known as the Universal Century timeline, and the rest are divided between numerous timelines of their own. No matter the setting, each installment iterates on the themes and aesthetics of the original. Mobile Suit Gundams influence falls wide across the science fiction landscape, and The Expanse reflects it clearly.

Fans of each franchise recognize the similarities in the other, and there are even some Easter Eggs that seems intentional. The first of the Free Navys meteorites to strike the Earth destroyed Dakar, the home of the Earth Federation congress in 1985s Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam. That series also originated the repeated maxim that Earths souls are weighed down by gravity, a line paralleled in Commander Thorsens interrogation of Bobbie Draper: [Gravity]s different when youre there. This oppressive pull-down. It pulls the spirits down with it. That scene was set on the MCRN Scirocco, possibly named for Zeta Gundams final antagonist, Paptimus Scirocco, a man changed by his years spent orbiting Jupiter. But the parallels arent a list of click-bait references, theyre the undergirding assumptions on how science fiction should reflect the world.

Gundam was a watershed moment in the Mecha genre. After it aired Mecha would be split into the super robot and real robot subgenres. The Expanse stands apart for building drama and narrative tension out of Keplers laws, but Gundams own version of realism, though mostly aesthetic, was revolutionary in its own right. Its mechs are treated like any other category of military equipment; only distinct from tanks and planes in their tactical niche. Ammunition and replacement parts are constant concerns. The space colonies are ONeill cylinders, a favorite design among futurists, both strong and fragile in particular ways that boost the believability of the action within them. Small, accurate details ground the walking robot conceit, like only using zero-emission electric vehicles within the sealed atmospheres of space colonies, the ubiquity of sealed drink pouches in zero-g, or characters on EVAs pressing their helmets together to speak in the vacuum of space. Most significantly, our protagonists were in a war between factions of humans, not defending themselves against the alien invaders or monstrous beasts of super robot anime.

That innovation is the strongest link to The Expanse. Gundams wars are born of peoples self-interest, driven by ideology, and rooted in material reality. James S. A. Coreys setting is, at its highest levels, a web of interrelating nodes. Resources are extracted, trade links established, and opportunities exploited across incredible distances so great that individuals become blind to how every action creates a reaction. Colonization of exoplanets moves forward, so Martian terraforming is unnecessary, so the meticulous plan of Martian society falters, so the Free Navy can act without restriction, so millions die in a meteor strike.

Meanwhile in the Universal Century, a revolutionary dies, so an opportunist takes over, and builds a military regime called Zeon, and the independence movement becomes fascist. After winning the war, the Earth Federations special forces violently suppress the colonies, becoming authoritarian themselves, which starts a civil war, creating an opportunity for a new Zeon movement to return. Each conflict, and each individual, is a product of their material reality. Its hard to bridge the gaps when humanity no longer shares the same sky.

But even with all the terrible acts, there are fewer outright evil people than one might expect. Even Zeons royal family are shown in moments of grief, and hoping for their fathers approval. The villain is the war itself, and the yardstick for measuring villainy is how each antagonist relates to it, from those prolonging the war for their own purposes, to the conscripts just hoping to see another day. Somewhere in the middle is Ramba Ral, who treats his place in the Zeon military as his 9 to 5. He even kisses his wife goodbye when he gets into his robot. But thats contrasted against the moment he curses the Earth Federation for making him fire at press-ganged teenagers, absolving himself of responsibility as he pulls the trigger. Its a complexity you might put against Anderson Dawes as he drifts back and forth between gang boss and political figure, his childhood hardships never far from his mind.

What The Expanse and the Gundam franchise share is an impulse to reflect the world as it is, but on a grander scale. To use genre trappings to heighten the contrast, and make the truth more visible. Its magical realism without the magic. They approach that goal through a materialist lens, and set an array of pieces out on a board bigger than the Earth can hold, to see how each still exerts a force on all the others. If youd like to see this in practice for yourself, the following is a list of five Gundam titles that each exemplify a piece of the brands connection to The Expanse.

For Rocinante fans: Mobile Suit Gundam (1979)

The originator. Nearly all the above examples of parallels come from first Gundam so I wont repeat them. The series follows a group of young people, mostly civilians, who are forced to flee in and crew an Earth Federation warship to escape a sudden attack on their home colony. They navigate the space between enemy attacks and allied neglect as the war changes each member of the crew. Like the Rocinante crew, they come to be the best hope for a peaceful solar system, despite having no home to truly rely on.

For Free Navy Fans: Mobile Suit Gundam: Chars Counterattack (1988)

Marco Inaros was not the first person to strike at the colonial elites of Earth by lobbing asteroids at them. He wasnt even the first to broadcast a premature victory speech turned civics lesson while wearing a uniform with an abstracted bird emblem across his chest. This theatrical film is a sequel to the three animated tv series that preceded it, paying off 9 years of intertwining plots and character arcs. At its core is Char Aznable, a charismatic leader that feels like a very direct inspiration for Inaros, and every major player gets a moment to puzzle over just what exactly motivates him. It also introduces new young characters, who will return in this years upcoming feature film Mobile Suit Gundam Hathaway.

For Tech Fans: Mobile Suit Gundam: 08th MS Team (1996)

What if Romeo & Juliet was a Vietnam War movie, fought with giant robots? This 12-episode series, originally released direct to video, follows a platoon of Federation pilots in a ground campaign through Southeast Asia. The team and their robots are both slapped together from spare parts. This may be the Gundam title that takes the real robot designation most to heart. A gummed-up air filter will reduce your fighting strength as easily as enemy mortars. And heat is lovingly animated, both in a shimmering desert and the way beam weapons melt, burn, and scorch different materials. The central dramatic question is whether Ensign Shiro Amada can be relied on to kill the enemy, after he loses the ability to dehumanize them. Shiro, like James Holden, is a character at his best when hes a step or two more moral than the world around him.

For Churn Fans: Mobile Suit Gundam Thunderbolt (2015)

This pair of films is the most stylish of all Gundam titles, with a free jazz soundtrack and electric action direction. Its also the most grim by far. Characters only have happy moments, outside of flashbacks at least, in the second film. And not particularly often even then. It asks if war makes monsters out of men, or reveals the monsters that were always within, but wraps its bleak outlook in exhilarating, acrobatic violence through wrecked monuments to earlier battles. It was also left on an incomplete ending, with no announcement on further adaptations of the manga source material. Well see if thats another parallel to The Expanse after season 6.

Fo Beltalowda: Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron-Blooded Orphans (2015)

This is the only title on this list set outside the Universal Century timeline. In this setting, life on Mars is cheap. Cheap enough that companies would rather give child workers risky surgeries that let them plug their nervous systems into heavy machinery than teach them to read or give them on-the-job training. The trauma and poverty foisted on these teens make them fiercely loyal to one another, with a powerful bravado. They may have been born on the Martian dust, but theyre Belters through and through. The setup sounds like bait for teenage edgelords, but the shows commitment to the truth of its characters, and showing the audience possible avenues of action their blinkered experience will not let them imagine, makes IBO a gripping tragedy. Every step the protagonists take is another nail in their coffin, even their greatest short-term victories.

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The Expanse and Mobile Suit Gundam: two sides of the sci-fi coin - The Spool

Elon Musk has mentioned his plans of taking humans to Mars for a while - and he finally has a timeline for it.

Elon Musk, the SpaceX and Tesla boss, appeared on the exclusive audio-only Clubhouse app Sunday night, joining The Good Time Show to talk all things Mars, memes and monkeys playing video-games in their heads.

About Mars specifically, for the first time ever, Musk has mentioned a time-line to get humans on the red planet. "Five and a half years," Musk told hosts Sriram Krishnan and Aarthi Ramamurthy at the beginning of the show, reports CNET.

While that's not a hard deadline. Musk listed a number of caveats -- there's a raft of technological advances that must be made in the intervening years.

"The important thing is that we establish Mars as a self-sustaining civilization," he said.

The strange thing is the deadline may be a little ambitious, as even USA's leading space agency, NASA, had a much more different date, one which is seven years after Musk's time. The Perseverance uncrewed rover will arrive later this month to take rock samples and search for signs of ancient life on the Red Planet - but the first humans aren't due to arrive on a NASA funded rocket until at least 2033.

That will be part of the Artemis - to the Moon and Mars - mission that will first see a sustainable presence established on the lunar surface.

Musk also answered other questions about Mars. 'Over time you can make Mars Earth like by terraforming the planet by warming it up,' said Musk.

When asked if he would allow his children to go to Mars on a future rocket trip he said 'if we're talking about the third or fourth set of landings on Mars I'd be ok with that,' adding that 'so far none of them are jumping to go to Mars'.

This isn't the first time Musk has spoken about civilization on Mars. A report in November last year found that SpaceX will not be recognising any international law on Mars and will instead follow a set of self-governing principles that will be laid down during the Martian settlement.

Elon Musk appears to have very subtly slipped in a clause into the terms of agreement of Starlink satellite broadband services that SpaceX will make its own set of rules on Mars.

The Starlink terms of agreement reads: For services provided on Mars, or in transit to Mars via Starship, or other colonisation spacecraft, the parties recognise Mars as a free planet and that no Earth-based government has authority or sovereignty over Martian activities. Accordingly, disputes will be settled through self-governing principles, established in good faith, at the time of Martian settlement.

Maybe with its own laws, Musk wanted to beat NASA at reaching the red planet from the start. If that's the case, he's right about his time: getting there much ahead of NASA.

Link:

Elon Musk Shares Plan of Getting Humans to Mars By 2026. That's 7 Years Ahead of NASA - News18