For those of you interested in the history of the Kokoda Track campaign during WWII, but you’re not familiar with it, this short summary should help:
http://www.awm.gov.au/units/event_291.asp
It’s from the Australian War Memorial, a good source of information on conflicts Australians were involved in.
But what does this have to do with Anime, you ask? Well, actually not a lot to do with Anime itself, but about Australian relations with Japan. They weren’t always rosy, us and them. But why did these attitudes change? And why is it OK for young Australian people to be a fan of Japanese culture and animation where previously if you owned something Japanese in 1944-45 you would be ridiculed?
I guess it has to do with the fact that young Australian people don’t associate Anime with the Japanese people who bombed Darwin, they associate it with hip young people, who are sort of like them, but a tad different in customs. Also, Australia has become over the years a multicultural society, unlike Japan’s largely monocultural one, you can eat at Sushi Train or at Pavarotti’s (an Italian restaurant, and the only one I remember the name of), in the same city. I know, you’re probably thinking that it’s the same everywhere what with globalisation, but really you won’t be looked down on in Australia for eating more than your own culture’s food, and considering most Australians can’t even identify who we are as a culture, much less what Australian food is apart from a barbie with sausages, it’s easy to understand that Australians are interested in other people’s culture because we have trouble identifying with our own.
And take comfort in the fact that Australians have taste in their Anime consumption. Most of my Aussie friends hate Naruto just as much as you probably do, those of you across the pond in America who read this blog.
But it gets complicated. Why do Australians like Anime now when previously Australians thought Japan was just a country of kimono wearers and samurai? I guess it comes from the appeal of youth culture that one’s parents know nothing about. As Anime fans produce children (scary thought, but it’s a possibility that otaku who get girlfriends exist and are capable of reproduction and child rearing…) this may change, and Second Generation Anime fan spawn may bemoan that their parents fandoms and favorite Anime shows are boring and old fashioned. It’s terrifying to think of it, but don’t say it can’t or won’t happen when Anime fans start having children.
Wait until tomorrow for my next part of “Is it OK for Aussies to Like Anime?”, where I’ll be examining the debt Australian Anime fans owe to Pikachu and Goku in their iconic status and popularisation of Anime as an artform in Australia. For now, just enjoy this smiley:
🙂
Same thing goes for an american, and the british. We were all at war with them once doesnt mean we cant enjoy what each other has to offer.
I dont know what your getting at with the whole food thing, aus in multicultural, so is america, the u.k.
Tell me, what identifies an american? same things goes with what your saying about australia.
I really dont think you thought this blog through too much lol