Citation needed. Whilst this is a short and interesting read, it kind of wantonly jumps to conclusions like that in the quote above, in a manner that I think fundamentally undermines its...
Fear of an Asian-dominated future has inspired anti-immigration laws across Europe, steep tariffs on Chinese goods in the US, and violence aimed at Asian immigrants in the UK.
Citation needed.
Whilst this is a short and interesting read, it kind of wantonly jumps to conclusions like that in the quote above, in a manner that I think fundamentally undermines its persuasiveness.
I feel like most of the anti-immigration laws in the EU are as a result of middle eastern immigrants, not Asian (unless they're counting the middle east as Asia which is fair)
I feel like most of the anti-immigration laws in the EU are as a result of middle eastern immigrants, not Asian (unless they're counting the middle east as Asia which is fair)
Even though geographically it's correct, culturally the middle east and "sexy lady robots" Asia are so different that I'd consider it actively misleading if this is what they meant.
(unless they're counting the middle east as Asia which is fair)
Even though geographically it's correct, culturally the middle east and "sexy lady robots" Asia are so different that I'd consider it actively misleading if this is what they meant.
Europe's anti-immigration laws are pretty broad and vary throughout, so it's quite dependent on the individual law and country involved. Those from a MENA background or who "look Arab" to a...
Europe's anti-immigration laws are pretty broad and vary throughout, so it's quite dependent on the individual law and country involved. Those from a MENA background or who "look Arab" to a sufficient degree tend to have it worst, but at least here in Germany, there's a pretty shocking amount of racism to pretty much anyone who doesn't look white. It's not an either-or situation, European countries are happy to discriminate against both. Also, I would hesitate to say those laws are as a result of particular immigrants, rather than conveying more clearly the more accurate idea that they're in response to rising anti-immigrant sentiment against those immigrants.
I don't think it's a huge leap. Certainly fears of a rising Chinese economic hegemony have influenced US tariffs, especially under Trump. I can't speak to anti-Asian violence or immigration...
I don't think it's a huge leap. Certainly fears of a rising Chinese economic hegemony have influenced US tariffs, especially under Trump. I can't speak to anti-Asian violence or immigration policies across the pond, though.
I don't think the point the authors are trying to make is that European people are assaulting people of Asian descent in the streets because they're afraid of Kabuki girls on big OLED billboards in Night City. I think they're saying that these representations are predicated on a cultural anxiety about losing place economically, which is demonstrably true.
Blade Runner pretty much says as much straight out. The reason everything has both English and hiragana is because Japan is a dominant economic force in the setting, something that a fat lot of movies, TV shows and even political talking heads in the 80s and 90s assured everyone was an inevitability.
Japan's explosive economic growth proved unsustainable though, just in time for China to gin up an industrial base that ended up becoming the world's manufacturing center. That in turn informed Firefly's use of Mandarin, as it seemed a given that when Old Earth should go kaput and humanity had to move out into that weird, illogical solar system (look it up; the Firefly universe is supposed to be a single solar system for some damn reason), of course the Chinese would be major players in the exodus and eventual synthesis of the post-Earth society. Everybody knew that by 2002.
I think the intent of using such imagery in cyberpunk settings was originally a desire to inject something foreign and exotic yet vaguely familiar in order to signal to the audience that "hey, this takes place in a future where a lot of stuff has changed. Look, even there's even Asahi Dry billboards in LA, instead of Coca-Cola billboards in Kyoto! Isn't that weird?" The emphasis on the foreign makes some sense of the fact that despite there being all this Asian commercial imagery, there never seems to be all that many Asians hanging around.
I think it's outgrown–or to some extent, outlived–its original intent, though. Nowadays it simply seems to be a trope of the genre, just as much as some grizzled dude with a cybernetic implant questioning his humanity, or some skinny kid with questionable taste in hairstyles hacking the Gibson. It's just shorthand for "grimy future" now.
That said, I'll definitely pause to think the next time I see this cyber-Orientalism trotted out, especially in new productions. Is it just there because the creators think it's necessary, or is it actually playing off of current anxieties like when the genre was fresh?
It’s a short article and I can’t really tell what they want to “eradicate” or how they plan to do it. Movies like BladeRunner and TV shows like Firefly? I’ll admit that the use of Chinese in...
It’s a short article and I can’t really tell what they want to “eradicate” or how they plan to do it. Movies like BladeRunner and TV shows like Firefly?
I’ll admit that the use of Chinese in Firefly was rather random. I think it was a rather cheesy attempt to make the science fiction setting seem a little more foreign, but not too foreign - it’s still a western in space. More Asian actors would have helped.
One of the themes of BladeRunner is the use of images of sexy women by corporations for commercial purposes. This is decidedly from a male heterosexual point of view, but it’s rather disturbing how enticing images of women are used to take advantage of alienated, lonely men. And the science fiction aspect is “what if it’s not just images?” Her plays into that, too.
Though, it’s sort of having it both ways. Blade Runner critiques the use of female images in a way that’s also an excuse to put more images of sexy women in the movie.
Similarly, a serious anti-war movie can be an excuse to have combat violence in a movie, which people like to watch even though we’re being told how terrible it is.
But I’m willing to forgive that sort of thing if it works well in the movie.
It’s been a long time since I watched Firefly, but I remember thinking that, given the importance of China to the culture depicted in the show, it was strange that there were no Asian characters...
More Asian actors would have helped
It’s been a long time since I watched Firefly, but I remember thinking that, given the importance of China to the culture depicted in the show, it was strange that there were no Asian characters to speak of. In fact, I don’t recall a single one, although as I said it’s been fifteen years or so. I always wondered if it was deliberate, if the idea was that the Chinese had kicked everyone else off Earth or something like that.
Just to add, Japan loves Bladerunner, and it's hugely influential in Japanese Sci-Fi media. While it hits different in a Japanese context, sexy Asian robot ladies unsurprisingly appeal to a...
Just to add, Japan loves Bladerunner, and it's hugely influential in Japanese Sci-Fi media. While it hits different in a Japanese context, sexy Asian robot ladies unsurprisingly appeal to a certain audience outside of the west too.
I think it's a wish for media to avoid the trope. Until quite recently, Asian women have often been slotted into a handful of roles in American film/TV, submissive prostitute types being a pretty...
I think it's a wish for media to avoid the trope. Until quite recently, Asian women have often been slotted into a handful of roles in American film/TV, submissive prostitute types being a pretty frequent one. The sexy Asian robot is a furthering of that role in that the being doesn't have a soul or free will or choice; it can only obey. Similarly, Asian men are either emasculated unlovable geeks or evil henchmen. It's pretty tiresome.
This article feels like it ignores the historical context behind some of these themes in American Sci-Fi media. When many of these works were created, there were deep-seated anxieties over Japan...
This article feels like it ignores the historical context behind some of these themes in American Sci-Fi media. When many of these works were created, there were deep-seated anxieties over Japan seemingly starting to surpass America and replace it as an international super power. Racism absolutely played a role, but I think the Orientalism has a lot more complexity than the author gives it credit for in Sci-Fi media from that time period like Shadowrun.
You probably should've linked to Electric Gonorrhea: The Noisy Killer, but hopefully Tilderinos use better logic than Fry. P.S. Sorry for the reddit-style comment. lou started it.
You probably should've linked to Electric Gonorrhea: The Noisy Killer, but hopefully Tilderinos use better logic than Fry.
P.S. Sorry for the reddit-style comment. lou started it.
Citation needed.
Whilst this is a short and interesting read, it kind of wantonly jumps to conclusions like that in the quote above, in a manner that I think fundamentally undermines its persuasiveness.
Still, as I say, interesting ideas.
I feel like most of the anti-immigration laws in the EU are as a result of middle eastern immigrants, not Asian (unless they're counting the middle east as Asia which is fair)
Even though geographically it's correct, culturally the middle east and "sexy lady robots" Asia are so different that I'd consider it actively misleading if this is what they meant.
Europe's anti-immigration laws are pretty broad and vary throughout, so it's quite dependent on the individual law and country involved. Those from a MENA background or who "look Arab" to a sufficient degree tend to have it worst, but at least here in Germany, there's a pretty shocking amount of racism to pretty much anyone who doesn't look white. It's not an either-or situation, European countries are happy to discriminate against both. Also, I would hesitate to say those laws are as a result of particular immigrants, rather than conveying more clearly the more accurate idea that they're in response to rising anti-immigrant sentiment against those immigrants.
I don't think it's a huge leap. Certainly fears of a rising Chinese economic hegemony have influenced US tariffs, especially under Trump. I can't speak to anti-Asian violence or immigration policies across the pond, though.
I don't think the point the authors are trying to make is that European people are assaulting people of Asian descent in the streets because they're afraid of Kabuki girls on big OLED billboards in Night City. I think they're saying that these representations are predicated on a cultural anxiety about losing place economically, which is demonstrably true.
Blade Runner pretty much says as much straight out. The reason everything has both English and hiragana is because Japan is a dominant economic force in the setting, something that a fat lot of movies, TV shows and even political talking heads in the 80s and 90s assured everyone was an inevitability.
Japan's explosive economic growth proved unsustainable though, just in time for China to gin up an industrial base that ended up becoming the world's manufacturing center. That in turn informed Firefly's use of Mandarin, as it seemed a given that when Old Earth should go kaput and humanity had to move out into that weird, illogical solar system (look it up; the Firefly universe is supposed to be a single solar system for some damn reason), of course the Chinese would be major players in the exodus and eventual synthesis of the post-Earth society. Everybody knew that by 2002.
I think the intent of using such imagery in cyberpunk settings was originally a desire to inject something foreign and exotic yet vaguely familiar in order to signal to the audience that "hey, this takes place in a future where a lot of stuff has changed. Look, even there's even Asahi Dry billboards in LA, instead of Coca-Cola billboards in Kyoto! Isn't that weird?" The emphasis on the foreign makes some sense of the fact that despite there being all this Asian commercial imagery, there never seems to be all that many Asians hanging around.
I think it's outgrown–or to some extent, outlived–its original intent, though. Nowadays it simply seems to be a trope of the genre, just as much as some grizzled dude with a cybernetic implant questioning his humanity, or some skinny kid with questionable taste in hairstyles hacking the Gibson. It's just shorthand for "grimy future" now.
That said, I'll definitely pause to think the next time I see this cyber-Orientalism trotted out, especially in new productions. Is it just there because the creators think it's necessary, or is it actually playing off of current anxieties like when the genre was fresh?
In case you hit a pay wall or sign up request, read here.
It’s a short article and I can’t really tell what they want to “eradicate” or how they plan to do it. Movies like BladeRunner and TV shows like Firefly?
I’ll admit that the use of Chinese in Firefly was rather random. I think it was a rather cheesy attempt to make the science fiction setting seem a little more foreign, but not too foreign - it’s still a western in space. More Asian actors would have helped.
One of the themes of BladeRunner is the use of images of sexy women by corporations for commercial purposes. This is decidedly from a male heterosexual point of view, but it’s rather disturbing how enticing images of women are used to take advantage of alienated, lonely men. And the science fiction aspect is “what if it’s not just images?” Her plays into that, too.
Though, it’s sort of having it both ways. Blade Runner critiques the use of female images in a way that’s also an excuse to put more images of sexy women in the movie.
Similarly, a serious anti-war movie can be an excuse to have combat violence in a movie, which people like to watch even though we’re being told how terrible it is.
But I’m willing to forgive that sort of thing if it works well in the movie.
It’s been a long time since I watched Firefly, but I remember thinking that, given the importance of China to the culture depicted in the show, it was strange that there were no Asian characters to speak of. In fact, I don’t recall a single one, although as I said it’s been fifteen years or so. I always wondered if it was deliberate, if the idea was that the Chinese had kicked everyone else off Earth or something like that.
Just to add, Japan loves Bladerunner, and it's hugely influential in Japanese Sci-Fi media. While it hits different in a Japanese context, sexy Asian robot ladies unsurprisingly appeal to a certain audience outside of the west too.
I think it's a wish for media to avoid the trope. Until quite recently, Asian women have often been slotted into a handful of roles in American film/TV, submissive prostitute types being a pretty frequent one. The sexy Asian robot is a furthering of that role in that the being doesn't have a soul or free will or choice; it can only obey. Similarly, Asian men are either emasculated unlovable geeks or evil henchmen. It's pretty tiresome.
This article feels like it ignores the historical context behind some of these themes in American Sci-Fi media. When many of these works were created, there were deep-seated anxieties over Japan seemingly starting to surpass America and replace it as an international super power. Racism absolutely played a role, but I think the Orientalism has a lot more complexity than the author gives it credit for in Sci-Fi media from that time period like Shadowrun.
Don't date robot.
You probably should've linked to Electric Gonorrhea: The Noisy Killer, but hopefully Tilderinos use better logic than Fry.
P.S. Sorry for the reddit-style comment. lou started it.
Excellent title