Thank you for speaking up about this.
this history is rarely taught in schools and im really passionate about it!
Honestly I applaud you for speaking up about your beliefs but I just think that they only did that because the whole manga was just about making their faces super super eccentric and stuff and yeah, like if you look at the old people they have such saggy face that it's unreal and that's just an example about the fact that they wanted everything to look maximalistヾ(❀╹◡╹)ﾉ~
Most Japanese have no idea of what the government did to Korea and China during the second world War, do you really think they'll care about something from the 1800's?
feeling like you’re misinterpreting something but maybe i’m wrong. it’s very unlikely that this author wrote and drew this manga thought to themselves, “hmm…let’s add a black character…how about we throw in some sambo lips for good measure! i love black face minstresly!” lol no.
in the last paragraph i wrote, i said even if it’s not intentional, the caricature still comes from a dark and inhumane history. do i think everyone who makes a oh so hilarious watermelon joke about black people understands the historical context? of course not!
(almost immediately after the emancipation of slaves in the mid 1800s free black people began growing watermelon as a cash crop in order to gain self sufficiency after the centuries of enslavement. in order to downplay their self sufficiency, pro slavery white people in the south stole the symbol of freedom and made it into one of ignorance and caricature).
but it doesn’t make it right! intent is not the end all be all. it doesn’t absolve you from the hurt you inflict. the fact that the mangaka almost 100% did not know that what they were drawing was offensive is much worse to me. it means it’s only that much more normalized and part of the cultural zeitgeist. all the more reason to discuss and reflect.
also, everyone should care about slavery tf. my great grandfather’s father could not read or write. he was born into slavery. not just “something from the 1800s.”
and japanese people should care about their government’s atrocities! we should all speak on it! people *should* care about injustice.
Yeah... But they don't... Have you seen how the Japanese answered when Koreans demanded the government to admit their wrongdoings about the confort women?
So my point is the same, if they don't care about the history of their own country from the 1940, which is pretty recent BTW, do you really think they'll care about a slavery that had nothing to do with their country?
And why do I say they have no idea of what happened? Because they don't teach that on Japanese schools... They only talk about the Germans and Americans, they have ZERO classes about the role of Japan in the war, they only know how unfair the bombings were...
So that's why they won't really care about Americans or other people complaining about the way they draw black people...
I mean, even the way the author describes USA and the protagonist is already pretty stereotyped...
so your point is that because japan doesn’t care about the nanjing massacre or the atrocities they committed during the second world war why would they care about slavery? sure, that makes sense. i’m aware that they’ve written/rewritten many of their textbooks to downplay the systemic rape and massacring they committed.
i don’t give a fuck that they don’t care. and i could give a fuck that they don’t know! imma speak the truth REGARDLESS. i’m writing this comment on a piracy website where the author has NO CLUE what the fuck is going on. in some schools in america, in TEXTBOOKS, they teach about the economic benefits of slavery. america doesn’t care. america never came through with reparations, and they likely never will. because of this ignorance often perpetuated by places of supposed learning, means it’s all the more important to speak facts and acknowledge history.
also, it’s not just “the way they draw black people.” it’s a STARK reminder that the way WE are seen, we being BLACK PEOPLE, is still heavily influenced by slavery and minstrelsy. even in *japan*. yeah, the main character is stereotyped as well, but that’s not from a history of chattel slavery lol. they don’t have to care. i can’t change anything in this world but myself. everything else is out of my control and power. i accept that. but imma still talk my shit. i’m not gonna stay quiet when my people are disrespected and dehumanized. maybe it doesn’t seem that way to some, but oh well.
Thankyou for clarification! As Brasilian, I can say that any country with a slavery history would be annoyed with this portrait of black people
Props to you for trying to educate a mangago comment section. Japanese media used to have more caricature-like depictions of white people as well, but along came globalization and shifting beauty standards…. Now we generally see a distinct yet flattering depiction of their different features (eri’s prominent brow ridge, high nose bridge stand out to me). I have no idea how long it will take for them to give the same respect to more characteristically black features. But in the meantime it’s good to spread awareness.
so a lot of people seem to be confused at why the portrayal of the black man towards the end is racist: yes, we often have bigger lips. no one is denying that we have different features. those features should be embraced and loved! but to know why the image is offensive you need to understand the history of blackface minstrelsy in the united states.
in the 1800s, at the height of chattel slavery, the most popular show to see in america was a minstrel show. it’s hard to put into words what a cultural phenomenon this way. the blackface comprised of white people darkening their face with burnt cork, and drawing on big red lips. they portrayed stupid, happy, and clumsy slaves. they sung and danced (often happily about slavery) and made their stump speeches. all the while real black people were suffering one of the biggest evils in history. treated worse than animals. minstrelsy was used as a justification to continue slavery during the abolitionist movement. as if to say, “look at them! we can’t end slavery, they’re so happy on the plantation.” minstrelsy was SO popular that many of the caricatures have a legacy to this day. jim crowe, the mammy, sambo, jezabel…once you know, you can’t help but see it in most media. and the black character in this book is an obvious example of this legacy.
but wait golfdad! what are you talking about? this is manga? from japan! how would they know the dark history of blackface? do they even know what it is? well…
in 1854 commodore perry of the US had a mission to open the borders of japan for trade (or else). he succeeded through threats, and for a celebration of the end of japans long isolationism, he decided he would bring the finest of american entertainment. you guessed it: a live blackface minstrel show. and minstrelsy actually became an art form in japan, even up to the 1920s and 30s. not nearly as much as popular america of course. but japan had very little ethnic diversity. this was some of their first depictions of black people. ever. of course it would have aftershocks in the cultural zeitgeist for years. blackface went VERY out of style in america. but even to this day, in japan, you can find people doing blackface only a few years ago. the intent isn’t malicious. it’s ignorant. but ignorance does NOT absolve something of its hurtfulness.
i have studied minstrelsy for years now. i am black and american. even if it’s not intentional, it’s clear that the caricature comes from a deeply inhumane history. which is clearly offensive.
yeah yeah, tldr. but you’d be surprised how many people don’t know this history.