Yeah, but Russia suddenly tried to westernize, and that screwed them over even more.
I think Russia’s collapse had more to do with problems specific with Russia than with communism in general.
I also think the success of Japan and Germany had more to do with traits specific to each culture than with any kind of fascist ideology. Japan was the only Third World country that chose to modernize itself after coming into contact with colonial powers - this was before Japan became fascist. Japan and Germany both had very strong societies before fascism, and they still do after fascism. Other examples that it has more to do with specific countries than the political systems would be as Cless pointed that China managed to survive 50+ years of communism, and that fascism still couldn’t turn Italy into a serious country.
That’s to be expected. Russians, in general, had been indoctrinated with the idea that everyone must be equal. A member of a population raised on communism would hardly have the impulse to make oneself stand out, to separate oneself from the masses. It would at least take time to reacquire that impulse, upon which capitalism relies. Hence, the sorry state of modern Russia, even as it tries to westernize.
<i>originally posted by Admiral Nagumo</i>
I found some interesting cosplaying ideas. To the Japanese dressing up as a Nazi is the same as dressing up as any Anime villan.
And that’s a pretty big problem.
Cosplaying as Nazis is fucking disturbing. End of discussion.
Yes, that’s a value judgment, and I’m making it without taking into account cultural history/values of Japan and passing judgment on them anyway…
…but it also happens to be TRUE. Nazi Cosplay is fucking disturbing. Even for “battle reenactment” societies, it’s kinda sketchy. (Yes, somebody’s gotta play the badguys, and some people do like playing the badguys better, but what sort of person would want to and get really into playing THOSE badguys? o.O)
Even in the somewhat legitimate context of historical reenactment societies, I’d cast a wary eye towards anyone who was too excited about portraying the Nazis.
Trivial things like cosplays and “fads” … ugh, I’ll just shake my head and hit submit post at this point.
The fascist tendencies in Japan are a part of the culture, have always been a part. Japanese society has always been very hierarchical. The reason Japan was fairly stagnant, till the late 1800’s, is that it followed a <i>set</i> hierarchy. There was no concept of advancement, and therefore no drive to advance. The idea of advancement between classes came to Japan in the late 1800’s.
Have you seen <i>The Last Samurai</i>? I won’t spoil anything, but, if you have seen it, or plan to: watch the Japanese soldiers as they face the samurai. Watch their cruel resolve. They have the opportunity to do what commoners <i>never</i> did: <i>advance</i>.
So, lingering in the Japanese mindset were two important concepts: the older idea of extreme class separation, and the newer idea that one can <i>advance</i> between those classes. Together, applied on a global scale, these concepts enabled Japan to become powerful.
Japan and Germany both had very strong societies before fascism, and they still do after fascism.
“Strong society” is vague enough to mean little. I would argue that a “strong society” becomes strong by embracing the concepts of class separation and of advancement between classes.
Not as disturbing as Neo-Nazis.
Just sad there are more Neo-Nazis around than people who cosplay Nazis too.
I see your point, but you must understand that Japan and Nazi Germany were Allies. It’s a little different from their point of view.
Touche.
Though I’d wager they’re connected. Passage of time, people die and/or memories fail, newer generations are less aware of what it was really all about cuz they weren’t there. Getting further removed from it, people don’t take it as seriously, and you get jokes that trivialize the past and/or other romanticizing the past. “oh, things/they couldn’t have been that bad.”
Oh yes they were.
And in this particular case, that attitude brings up the ugly head of the holocaust denial people.
Well said Kaiser. I also like to add that playing an anime villian is different from playing a Nazi. An anime only hurt other anime characters and aren’t real. Nazi’s did exist and hurt millions of people, if not a billion (have to look at the casualites of war especially with the Russians).
One of the problems with communism is that ti never started in the right places. Marx said that it had to start in undutrialized societies where the proletariet rise up. Russia wasn’t an industrial society when ti adopted communism, China was the same, but it has had more success. Basically, the conditions in which communism were set up in Russia weren’t right, so it’s failure isn’t exactly a surprise.
They’ve just extended from Jews to immigrants.
Anything that isn’t white and looking like them actually.
And you must understand that “a little different point of view” and moral relativism have some exceptions. This would be one of them.
The countries involved in said alliance were in the wrong; a wrong Germany is suitably embarrassed about. To the point where Nazi imagry is ILLEGAL there, and German schoolchildren are obligated to go on field trips to the places where the concentration camps were. No cosplay there: flash a swastika and it’s off to the can for you.
Japan’s allies were more than just another really really bad badguy (and the japanese were hardly squeaky clean themselves, see the Bataan Death March and the Rape of Nanking for further details). Just because Imperial Japan was allied with Nazi Germany doesn’t make trivializing cosplay and “a different point of view” okay. In fact, I think it makes it even more imperative that it be taken more seriously over there.
Well, I don’t know what makes one society or nation stronger than another either, but I know it has more to do with whether or not they’re communist or fascist.
I think its kind of alarming that Japan has a Nazi fetish. Maybe they haven’t recovered from WWII as well as everyone thought they had.
Keep in mind these are just kids, just dressing up as their old allies. They might just think the uniforms are cool and don’t even back up what the Nazi’s did. I’m not sure. I do know the Japanese have a Nazi party though.
I know about Bataan and Nanking. I don’t however read about them as much as I do the Japanese Navy. The Imperial Japanese Army, like the German Army, comitted some of the worst war crimes in history. Tojo was pretty bad, but you must look at why the Japanese treated POW’s so bad. They were considered cowards for not fighting to the death. The Japanese saw them as dishonored so they treated them awfully. Plus the Japanese guards were considered dishonored for being a guard, so there was some bitterness as well. There is no right in it though.
Wow, Japanese kids look really old. I mean that second guy looks like his at least 30. No wonder people always think Asians live to old ages. They just age terribly; which means that when they are 30, they really lok like 90 or something.
On a side note, what exactly is “cosplay?” I’ve searched several distionaries and can’t fidn a definition. None of them have the word. I thought I was just being stupid in not knowing what it means, but it isn’t in any distionary.
Dressing up as a Nazi doesn’t make you pro-genocide, just like dressing up as the devil doesn’t make you evil, just like dressing up like an angel doesn’t make you any less of a child rapist.
These are COSTUMES people, not statements of faith.
Edit: You won’t find cosplay in a dictionary, unless you have some kind of anime convention dictionary. It’s then you dress up as someone else, cos is for costume, play is for acting.
Info, maybe that guy is 30…
And cosplay usually means dressing up as fictional anime or videogame characters. I guess it could also mean dressing up in historical costumes.
And Hades, I think it is troubling that dressing up as Nazis is becoming somewhat of a fad in Japan. It shows that maybe a lot of Japanese wish they didn’t lose WWII, maybe they haven’t accepted they were in the wrong.
It’s healthier than the current female dress “fads” in America. I can’t walk three blocks without getting a fucking hard-on.
Edit: It doesn’t show that at all. Read my above post.
What would be the alternative? Putting them in those Muslim suits 
Your above post says because its only a costume its alright. But fantasy is never only fantasy - if these Japanese have fantasies about pretending to be Nazis it could very possibly mean they sympathize with the Nazis.
No, but walking around in cut-off jean shorts that barely cover more flesh than a thong can maybe be improved upon, JUST A BIT
Edit: You’re thinking WAY too hard about a harmless subject. People don’t sympathise with everything they dress up as. And the people dressing up are 3rd or 4th generation kids who weren’t even born before the war ended, and raised in a modern society with things like halocaust museums to teach them about how horrifying WWII was.
That’s my point… Nagumo only addressed the issue with the kids, so I was trying to point out that the guy isn’t a kid and should know abotu WWII and the Nazis.
The diffence between dressing up as a Nazi and dressing up as the devil is that the devil is a belief. Some extreme Christian groups may find it offensive because of what the devil represents. However, many aren’t Christian, so the devil is merely a symbolic character. The Nazis are real and affected many people around the world. Not only that, but they did things that the devil could only dream of doing. also, most people don’t dress up as the devil every day. They dress up as the devil on halloween or at festivals or something like that. There aren’t really any holidays for dressing up like a Nazi. Also, dressing up like something generally means that you want to be associated with it or show your affiliation, like, interest, or approval of/with the group.