The Unexpected Yet Oddly Similar

As a foreigner, more specifically, as an American, I have found that regardless (and maybe because of) of our education as children, all that which is not American or familiar in some way is not just different in our minds, it is OPPOSITE. Just like in high school English class, where we are taught that Benvolio and Tybalt are foils, opposites of one another. One is a Montague and one is a Capulet, and the two don't mix. Polar opposites, I guess you could say.

It is with this caution and uncertainty that I pursued my interest in Japan. My entire life, I knew nothing about Japan except what was presented to me through the filter of American popular culture, and even then, I was interested in it because it was so opposite of everything I knew. No one in my family had ever even remotely thought of studying Japan in depth or, even more extreme, traveling to Japan. This is not to say that they are close minded or uncultured or anything of the sort. One reason could be some residual feelings left over from WWII that, until today, I never even considered.

If you look at American history and all the wars we have fought, Japan is the first nation in Modern history, that Americans dehumanized as a nation. After Pearl Harbor, America was at war with ALL of Japan, not just key members. Even during WWII in Europe, America wasn't fighting a war against all of Germany, just the Nazis and Hitler. It wasn't this way in the Pacific theater. As you can see from this propoganda from the times, America unified against an entire nation, and it is hard to see any other modern correlations.




So what am I getting at? The truth is, ever since the war and beyond, the Japanese people have stayed far from our understanding, linguistically and in terms of distance. This American dehumanization of Japan led to a cultural blind spot that we have filled with ideas of an exotic and very different Japan. And on the surface , it does seem to be the case. Japan, by its very nature is a closed country, xenophobic even, compared to America. Japan doesn't tend to bring itself to the international table, and when it does only the drastically different things, the things which arouse the senses because they are novel, make it across the divide. What do you know about Japan? Does you knowledge on the subject pretty much end with one of the following things? It's not uncommon for this to be the case.






So, who are these crazy Japs? (don't tell me as an American you have never heard or used the term yourself) Are they just kimono-wearing, technologically futuristic, tea drinking, sushi eating, silent, expressionless people? I'll admit coming here, the language alone created an instant barrier. THEY were Japanese and I was NOT. Opposites. I assumed they would not laugh out loud or show the vast arrange of emotions that we loud Americans do. Much to my surprise, though our nations don't touch and only intercept when needed, Japanese people and Americans are so similar that I sometimes forget I am in Japan, until I see myself in a mirror. I find myself less surprised every day by the things I thought only happened in America.

Examples: My Otosan loves the Beatles and hates Yoko Ono, though she is Japanese. Moms use those same baby carrying backpacks in Japan. Garbage day is on Thursday, just like at home. (Although the garbage truck plays the ice cream truck song and this is no ice cream truck to speak of). Anything made in China is considered cheap and possibly hazardous to your health. My host mom struggles to figure out how to connect their new HDtv to their DVD player. People eat McDonald's and drink Starbucks even though it is expensive and a waste of money. Women still gossip about their neighbors. Little kids play baseball in the park after school every day. Junior high students are all awkward looking and there is a definite 'cool crowd' and a 'not so cool' crowd. People do react the same to news. Japanese display a wide range of emotions and my parents tend to bust out in laughter regularly (mostly at my fumbling over language). Sudoku. Scrabble. Dressing up your Chihuahua like Paris Hilton dresses hers up. TV reality shows. The travel channel (Last night it was on Italy, so I translated it for my parents). People make fun of KimJunIl. My parents thought the scene with him singing in Team America was hilarious. The politicians are corrupt and they are always on the news. No one here understands why curling is an Olympic sport. People love plain old chocolate. Japanese people feel that America and it's people must be so drastically different; opposites, even.

My point? It's kind of generic, and has been said before, but we are all the same when it boils down to being human. Cultures and habits all have their equivalencies in another culture. People are surprisingly predictable, and tend to follow the same patterns daily, whether it's an American or a Japanese person.

Just some thoughts.

-Sarah.