November 29, 2010

I’ve noticed that most Japanese are relatively unaffected by the use of stereotypes. They throw them around like there is nothing offensive about them but when they say them it’s not like their trying to offend somebody. It’s funny when they say something like, “Oh, you’re from India, so you must be good at math and calculations then?” or “Of course since you’re America you want to eat hotdogs right?” with such a straight and innocent face, but if you said something like in America you’d might have some trouble around the corner. This is based on the general masses though, they would never do this on national television or something–at least I hope not.

A particular stereotype of America–although it may have been somewhat of a parody–was a game for the original Xbox called Metal Wolf Chaos. It’s a game about the President of the United States who has to put a stop to the Vice President of the United States after he enacts a coup d’�tat. Sound pretty crazy right? The game pretty much makes the President a national hero, showing how caring he is for the people, how much justice and freedom mean to him, and how he would sacrifice his life for his people. I’m not trying to diss the real President, but I doubt he would–to this extent–be that honorable. As corny as the dialogue is in this game, my favorite quote is, “I’ll head to Liberty Island to rescue my men. And the reason is: Because I’m the President, of this Great United States of America!” Throughout the game it just exemplifies how the President is a bad-ass with a heart of gold. (BTW-he fights the VP in his metal suit of armor). Here’s a video of it. VID

Here is a picture of the cover of the game.

Location: Japan