Ooh, that's pretty interesting. Thanks for linking it.
It's the same reasoning some people use to explain why the family on The Cosby Show isn't actually black.
Basically, if a non-white character is behaving like a white (and usually also middle-class) character, then you can accuse the character's creators of whitewashing the unique, colourful and distinctive racial and ethnic reality of said non-white character by making him or her hold the same values and interests as would a white character in similar circumstances. (More or less; I can dig out the readings this weekend and quote them at you if you'd like.)
There are obvious problems with this position, but it's also valid for a number of other reasons. Mostly this centres on the idea of the US/North America as a melting pot of cultures and a place of forced assimilation. Do our disproportionately represented ethnic populations ascribe to values, attitudes and lifestyles that are our (white, middle class, Christian) values and so forth, that is,did we force them to become like us and therefore give up their own lives? Are we misrepresenting extant cultures? Or are certain values and the rest of it universal? This is where media theory and anthropology and sociology collide and make a big mess of everything.
In Hiro's case, well... he's a giant otaku. deadbrowalking seems to be saying that Hiro's particular brand of fanboying isn't uniquely Japanese enough. Leaving aside the fact that globalization and increased international migration and business stuff has made sure that Western pop culture has pretty much obliterated any hope of individual nations' cultural sovereignty, yeah, Hiro seems to be oddly obsessed with American comics.
But there are hundreds of thousands of North American kids who go to anime conventions and watch Cowboy Bebop and know what hentai is. Cultural products hop across oceans now like never before. As with any under-represented group on television or film, the minute a member of that group shows up they bear the burden of representation: by virtue of being the only one, they get to stand in for their entire group. Veronica Mars did this for hard-line feminists early this season. But Heroes does have more than just one Japanese character interact with Western culture: Ando makes a Spock reference, the boys in the bar in the first episode are doing karaoke to Backstreet Boys... it's not like Hiro's alone in this.
On the other hand, it's an American show. If the characters were referencing Akira and, like, Genji rather than X-Men and Star Trek then the American audience would have a harder time following what is an American product.
There is for sure a lot in how Heroes treats race, but it's part of a much larger theoretical debate than can be fully explored in a post of that length.
So what do I think? There are some good points (not original or ground-breaking, but still good) and it's definitely worth talking about what this incredibly popular show does with race, mostly because they've tried for diversity and because it is so very popular of a series.
As for the question about why one of the black (or half-black) characters aren't the fanboys? Kind of irrelevant. Sure, Hiro and Ando can be read as clownish, gimmicky characters, but having them there is also a good reminder of the global scope of the world of the show. And, in the last episode, the pair of them and their relationship grew a touching new dimension that brings them further out of being cartoons and closer to being real people. They were darned close before, but now... it's there.
Gah. I always end up going on and on when you ask these questions. :P
no subject
It's the same reasoning some people use to explain why the family on The Cosby Show isn't actually black.
Basically, if a non-white character is behaving like a white (and usually also middle-class) character, then you can accuse the character's creators of whitewashing the unique, colourful and distinctive racial and ethnic reality of said non-white character by making him or her hold the same values and interests as would a white character in similar circumstances. (More or less; I can dig out the readings this weekend and quote them at you if you'd like.)
There are obvious problems with this position, but it's also valid for a number of other reasons. Mostly this centres on the idea of the US/North America as a melting pot of cultures and a place of forced assimilation. Do our disproportionately represented ethnic populations ascribe to values, attitudes and lifestyles that are our (white, middle class, Christian) values and so forth, that is,did we force them to become like us and therefore give up their own lives? Are we misrepresenting extant cultures? Or are certain values and the rest of it universal? This is where media theory and anthropology and sociology collide and make a big mess of everything.
In Hiro's case, well... he's a giant otaku.
But there are hundreds of thousands of North American kids who go to anime conventions and watch Cowboy Bebop and know what hentai is. Cultural products hop across oceans now like never before. As with any under-represented group on television or film, the minute a member of that group shows up they bear the burden of representation: by virtue of being the only one, they get to stand in for their entire group. Veronica Mars did this for hard-line feminists early this season. But Heroes does have more than just one Japanese character interact with Western culture: Ando makes a Spock reference, the boys in the bar in the first episode are doing karaoke to Backstreet Boys... it's not like Hiro's alone in this.
On the other hand, it's an American show. If the characters were referencing Akira and, like, Genji rather than X-Men and Star Trek then the American audience would have a harder time following what is an American product.
There is for sure a lot in how Heroes treats race, but it's part of a much larger theoretical debate than can be fully explored in a post of that length.
So what do I think? There are some good points (not original or ground-breaking, but still good) and it's definitely worth talking about what this incredibly popular show does with race, mostly because they've tried for diversity and because it is so very popular of a series.
As for the question about why one of the black (or half-black) characters aren't the fanboys? Kind of irrelevant. Sure, Hiro and Ando can be read as clownish, gimmicky characters, but having them there is also a good reminder of the global scope of the world of the show. And, in the last episode, the pair of them and their relationship grew a touching new dimension that brings them further out of being cartoons and closer to being real people. They were darned close before, but now... it's there.
Gah. I always end up going on and on when you ask these questions. :P