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Japan is Wakanda (Black Panther video essay)

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BossAttack

BossAttack

Member
Oct 27, 2017
42,978
Must you anime weirdos ruin everything? Seriously, is this a parody?

NO, literally nothing in that video is right and is stated unabashedly without any support. If you're going to make a video essay, then you need to actually cite some fucking sources for your statements.

Just off the top of my head of the stupidity of this essay:
1. Wakanda is not Japan. And, Japan is not an isolationist ethno-state that has managed to preserve its culture free from Western colonization all the way to the present day.
2. The plot is not a heavy handed analog to Japanese cinema and/or folk lore. If anything the story is more influenced by the West, mainly Shakespeare.
3. Litreally none of the examples you mentioned regarding plot details is exclusive to Japanese storytelling ie ritual combat, varied color clothing to differentiate seperate tribes/noble houses, a hero with a code of honor.
4. Is this fucking parody?
 
signal

signal

Member
Oct 28, 2017
40,192
What is the gaijin living in Japan equivalent of Wakanda that I can compare myself to?
 
Booki

Booki

Banned
Oct 25, 2017
4,865
Brooklyn
This is why we upgraded to Era 2.0. I'm genuinely curious about the thought process that led to the premise of the video.
 
signal

signal

Member
Oct 28, 2017
40,192
This kind of sounds like a joke to be honest. I wonder if the guy is trying to make fun of all of the serious 'video essays' that get barfed out daily now.
 
Ferrio

Ferrio

Member
Oct 25, 2017
18,064
Someone explain that incels video he uploaded too, wtf. I don't even know what it's trying to say.
 
kmfdmpig

kmfdmpig

The Fallen
Oct 25, 2017
19,366
BossAttack said:
Must you anime weirdos ruin everything? Seriously, is this a parody?

NO, literally nothing in that video is right and is stated unabashedly without any support. If you're going to make a video essay, then you need to actually cite some fucking sources for your statements.

Just off the top of my head of the stupidity of this essay:
1. Wakanda is not Japan. And, Japan is not an isolationist ethno-state that has managed to preserve its culture free from Western colonization all the way to the present day.
2. The plot is not a heavy handed analog to Japanese cinema and/or folk lore. If anything the story is more influenced by the West, mainly Shakespeare.
3. Litreally none of the examples you mentioned regarding plot details is exclusive to Japanese storytelling ie ritual combat, varied color clothing to differentiate seperate tribes/noble houses, a hero with a code of honor.
4. Is this fucking parody?
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

This may be my favorite first post thread burial of all time.

As you say, Wakanda and Japan are not at all analogous. Japan has been greatly influenced by, and has in turn influenced, other countries for centuries.
 
IggyChooChoo

IggyChooChoo

Member
Oct 25, 2017
8,230
Wakanda is a pastiche of a lot of weird stuff, from real-life Rwanda and Burundi (which were isolated, militaristic kingdoms that were colonized relatively late), Ethiopia (which was arguably never colonized), Congo, legends about Prester John, a heavy dose of H. Rider's King Solomon's Mines (including the film version), plus a bunch of other stuff. It only seems somewhat Japan-ish if you are not as familiar with that other source material.

Edit: and Wakanda has had several iterations. The 60s version is even more influenced by King Solomon's Mines, and is frankly a lot more silly.
 
FF Seraphim

FF Seraphim

Member
Oct 26, 2017
13,719
Tokyo
Holy shit this video is wrong on so many levels. This is satire right?
Because if it isn't it is crazy how the guy "analyzes" Killmonger and Klaue. Please say this is a joke.
 
Claude Augario

Claude Augario

Member
Oct 27, 2017
1,991
rF3AMSH.gif
 
Ogodei

Ogodei

One Winged Slayer
Banned
Oct 25, 2017
10,256
Coruscant
If you squint at it right, Killmonger's cause could be seen in the rise of the Kokutai (the specific mode of government and emperor worship that led to the rise of radical nationalist Japan and WWII). A nation which alone among its cultural peers manages to preserve its independence, new government rises to power with an eye towards "liberating" its fellows (if you ignore the extreme chauvanism present in Japan's version of pan-Asian ideals), an idea that the nation betrayed itself by being isolated and by being soft.

But the elements there aren't quite right, since Killmonger had something of a point while Imperial Japan was just western imperialism with superficial differences.
 
sredgrin

sredgrin

Attempted to circumvent ban with alt account
Banned
Oct 27, 2017
12,276
Reminds me of the Breitbart take that T'chlla was really Trump.
 
cmalex23

cmalex23

Avenger
Oct 10, 2018
475
Nope. This is terrible. OP's friend should reevaluate his take on this. It borders on insulting.
 
Dyle

Dyle

One Winged Slayer
The Fallen
Oct 25, 2017
29,933
If you're going to make a such an out there comparison to specific elements of Japanese cinema or culture you need to do more than just make it black and white and say what the comparison is. He doesn't linger enough on any of the comparisons for them to have any real evidence for them, it's basically just "here's a single reason why it is sort of like Japan, ergo it is an allusion to Japan!". As it turns out, if you look at any superhero dual in black and white it will end up looking a lot like a samurai movie, but that doesn't mean that it's an allusion to a samurai movie.
 
Jam

Jam

Member
Oct 25, 2017
7,051
BossAttack said:
Must you anime weirdos ruin everything? Seriously, is this a parody?

NO, literally nothing in that video is right and is stated unabashedly without any support. If you're going to make a video essay, then you need to actually cite some fucking sources for your statements.

Just off the top of my head of the stupidity of this essay:
1. Wakanda is not Japan. And, Japan is not an isolationist ethno-state that has managed to preserve its culture free from Western colonization all the way to the present day.
2. The plot is not a heavy handed analog to Japanese cinema and/or folk lore. If anything the story is more influenced by the West, mainly Shakespeare.
3. Litreally none of the examples you mentioned regarding plot details is exclusive to Japanese storytelling ie ritual combat, varied color clothing to differentiate seperate tribes/noble houses, a hero with a code of honor.
4. Is this fucking parody?
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

Wewww lad.

This a hundred times over. Art is subjective but not to the point of fitting whatever narrative you want over the top of it.

Can't wait for the 'is Mona Lisa foreshadowing the eventual creation of the melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya?'

Not everything relates to Japan and Anime.

Why can't Wakanda literally just be Africa?
 

Dongs Macabre

Member
Oct 26, 2017
2,284
The problem with playing it too straight is that it goes over people's heads.

I really hope that's what's happening here.
 
Sybil

Sybil

Avenger
Oct 27, 2017
1,642
"comics sometimes parallel with real-life issues" well, sure. yes. is this going to be boring-
"so it was nice to see that Black Panther has brought to light...the isolationist ethnostate of Japan and its citizens" ooooooohhhhhhh my... god
 
headspawn

headspawn

Member
Oct 27, 2017
14,608
Did he get a passing grade for this?

edit, okay nvm, this is some next level troll parody. I've been had. lol
 
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