COM 101 : Entry 5

Saturday, February 28, 2009

Stereotypes and Prejudices: The Otaku

Recently, I came across this new video that originates from NicoNico Douga and I was reminded of the Maid Cafes commonly associated with Akihabara in Japan, as well as the activity known as Cosplay.

With stereotypes and prejudices being one of the main attitudinal barriers to intercultural understanding, it is interesting to see that even within a largely collectivist culture as portrayed by the Japanese and exemplified by the distinction between Soto (外) and Uchi (内), also known as out-groups versus in-groups, there exist a strong negative stigma associated with the Otaku.

What is an Otaku ?

In modern Japanese slang, the term otaku typically refers to a hardcore fan of any particular theme, topic, or hobby. Some of us might already know about the anime otaku (a fan of anime ), cosplay otaku (a fan of costume play, or dressing up as various characters) and manga otaku (a fan of Japanese comic books). However, types such as the pasokon otaku (computer geeks) and gēmu otaku (video games fans) as well as several others are hardly known to many. Though the term is generally known to be associated with males, there also exist many female otaku.

In other videos of the same maid and panda duo above, they have dressed up in other costumes and as such, can be seen as an example of a cosplay otaku. Not many people in mainstream society would dress up in costumes and film themselves dancing. This is also an example of the usage of new media, such as the internet, to gain fame yet remain anonymous at the same time. Apart from those who might know them personally, no one else would know their identity even if their videos get thousands of hits each day, unless they choose to reveal it.

(Cosplay Otaku)

(Stereotypical Anime/Manga/Figurine Otaku's Room)

The exact origin of the term 'Otaku' seems to be unclear, with speculation that it was first used by people working in TV or animation companies, spreading to viewers of anime (Japanese animation) and the closely related fields of manga and games. Otaku are stereotypically viewed as recluses, obsessed with their anime and spending money buying useless figurines or supporting their idols, sociopaths and in general, people who contribute nothing to mainstream society. (Ironically, doesn't all this contribute to the economy ?)

In my opinion, people should be allowed to follow their interests without fear of negative stigma. Different people have different interests, just like people have varying tastes in food, music, movies and the list just goes on. Thus, it is not right for us to judge others. Of course, this does not apply to interests that harms another human being or those that fall under crime. There has to be a line drawn.

The Otaku Murderer, 1988-1989

A 'otaku/moral panic' that greatly contributed to the negative stereotyping of Otaku was caused by the mutilation and murder of 4 little girls by Tsutomu Miyazaki between 1988 and 1989. When he was apprehended, police found a huge collection of anime and manga, some of it pornographic, as well as several horror and slasher films in his apartment.

The media picked on this fact and repeatedly labelled him as an Otaku, catapulting the status of Otaku into the class of sociopaths and outcasts. This is reminiscent of killing incidents in the West being linked to computer games, and as such, the collection might have been used as a scapegoat in an attempt to make sense of his actions. Remember that Stereotypes are a kind of preconception, technically defined as "generalized 2nd-hand beliefs that provide conceptual biases from which we 'make sense' out of what goes on around us, whether they are accurate or fit the circumstances."

Since the occurence of the Miyazaki Incident, "Otaku" has been strongly associated with negative stigmas, carrying with it a hint of fear and loathing. A line is clearly drawn between in-group (mainstream society) and out-group (otaku) members and as such, many innocent people who may like anime, manga etc. suffer simply by pursuing their hobbies innocently. With the media acting as a secondary source, people blindly take up their view point without checking their validity.

Densha Otoko (Train Man), 2004-2005

In 2004, a purportedly true story of an Otaku who intervened when a drunk man was harassing women in a train (sounds familiar ?) emerged on 2Channel, the largest internet forum in the world. After receiving thanks from one of the women whom the drunk was badgering, they subsequently started going for dates and became a couple. Throughout all this, he asked for and in turn received advice from many other 2Channelers, showing a real sense of collectivity in Japanese culture at this point.

(Look familiar ? You bet! This part was shown in class!)

In 2005, a drama and movie based on the story were released and they were well-received by the public.The closer look at the Otaku culture as well as the portrayal of the main character, an Otaku, in a positive light helped in alleviating the negative Otaku stereotype somewhat and allowing mainstream society to be more accepting with regards to certain aspects of the Otaku culture. In this case, we see that the media acts as a source promoting (whether intentionally or not) redemption of the Otaku culture, a role contrasting that during the Miyazaki Incident.

Discussion

Even within a local context, many stereotypes and prejudices exist, not necessarily relating to culture per se. For example, someone *cough* once mentioned to me that I seemed aloof due to a stereotypical view of my school. Are there any stereotypes out there that you find interesting ? Or in the context of the Otaku, do you think that they deserve to face such negative stigmas ?