i dont like adding too much to posts i share since i feel like im always annoying but! the post about orientalism in wholesome game means so much to me and im so glad that it isn't just me rotating shit in my head like little rotisserie chickens and being a bitter betty
it's really weird to be into japanese culture and also be a fan of games. it's also weird to be of japanese heritage (though somewhat morphed through the generations im inheriting it from) and see everything so bastardized by virtue of wanting something "a little bit different" but also "whimsical" but also "novel and weird (in a good way)" if it makes sense
i see it two ways actually. american culture as a staple of "common place" in games where the devs arent even american (LOTS of games are set in the US tho they are developed in europe, for example) but still creating this fake image of what america feels like, propaganda of sorts. and japanese culture as a staple of "other, but wholesome culture" that is somehow non-offensive. there's no friction because a lot of ppl are inspired from wholesome slice of life stuff, or consume japanese media only on a surface level.
i wanna keep thinking about it but the more i do, the more it upsets me. this weird japanwashing of wholesome games, just painting japan as this conflict-free country where everything is awesome and good. what is so compelling about these things? especially when so many of these aspects can be found in your own culture in some parts? i want to know but i don't think i'll like the answers 🙃