Drama Queen - Ch. 9 - What's With That Face?

[jojoka]

IF there is reference to real world, the aliens are very clearly representing US americans, not Arabs or Africans. The aliens are technologically superior which the Arabs/Africans are not, compared to Europeans/Americans. But the US was and kinda still is technologically superior to Japan, especially in the decades after WWII. And we know that US americans (soldiers) are obnoxious, loud and rude, just like the aliens in the manga.
So yes, it is from the perspective from a Japanese (the older ones, anyway). That‘s how they see Americans - invading aliens.

I think the inspiration is a mixture of social issues in Japan clearly the scenario is inspired by the Meiji restoration but in the earlier chapters the aliens resembled more of modern Okinawan troubles with American soldiers and the main characters reaction to the aliens of they pretend to be like us but aren't us is a very real perception Japanese have on non-japanese Asian migrants. Most of the Japanese don't even view themselves as Asian and just as Japanese, it really doesn't seem to just be the aliens are American or European and instead that the Aliens just represent a population of non-Japanese who have settled in Japan.

 

[Saybah]

Yo Megumi Fushiguro, you're kinda being like, a drama queen right now.

 

[weleasewodger]

They are vapid as hell, though, so by manga logic, they deserve death.

Neckbeard logic

 

[Onsokumaru]

They are vapid as hell, though, so by manga logic, they deserve death.

It's not about being vapid, it's about whether they faked the meteor or not. If they did, that is very evil.

 

[Onsokumaru]

I 100% expect for the meteorite story to have been staged, but I found the counterpoint by the professor to be so weak and preachy that I’m starting to question what quality of writing to expect from this author

I wouldn't be surprised that the professor is trying to make humans that hate aliens angry on purpose, so that he can recruit the loudest ones.

 

[PsyFarrow]

It's not about being vapid, it's about whether they faked the meteor or not. If they did, that is very evil.

Even then, I'd argue every alien we've seen so far is entirely unconnected to this hypothetical staged meteor. Putting the responsibility for that on the common alien is like saying American citizens "deserved" 9/11 for what their government got up to in the middle east.

Looking at an entire demographic as though they're a unified blob comes naturally to the human brain, but it's an incredibly inaccurate way to view the world.

 

[Angry_Panda]

Even then, I'd argue every alien we've seen so far is entirely unconnected to this hypothetical staged meteor.

I keep coming back to the 'Golgafrincham 'B' Ark' scenario from The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.

All of the aliens we've seen are kind of... dumb. Or officious, or lazy, or otherwise jerks and largely useless. Suppose their culture decided to 'purge' their home planet of some or all of this group of people, and set up (or took advantage of) a meteorite headed toward Earth to engender goodwill in humanity. Then they said to this group, "we've just saved a planet, all the locals will treat you like kings, why don't you relocate there and have an easy life?"

It would explain why we're not seeing any particularly shining examples of alien-kind. It would also explain why the technology gap exists, since (presumably) few or none of the transplants would be technically inclined and capable of sharing much that really advances humanity's technological level. And it serves as a safeguard against discovering a supposed plot to stage the meteor strike, since the transplants are as much in the dark about that as the humans.

[Note that in HHGG, this ends badly for Golgafrincham, as everyone remaining on the planet dies of a virulent disease contracted from a dirty telephone (since the telephone cleaners were among the group sent on the 'B' Ark for resettlement elsewhere).]

 

[RandomnessOfTheMathWorld]

Yea, but like, it's trying to vindicate the uber-racists. Its political message seems to be along the lines of the white genocide conspiracy is real, and the aliens are allegory for the undesirables being present in society. For those unaware, it's the idea that "undesirable" people are "invading" "white" countries with the intent of breeding with and "replacing" the native population. You know, the thing they were referencing in the chapter. Something you seem to ignore is that everything is political, and stuff like allegory appears even when the author wasn't intending on making it.

Highly recommend looking up New Criticism, a criticism technique originating from the 20th century where you ignore everything surrounding a text, including the intentions of the author, and focus on the text itself.

I only read your message about it but this New Criticism thingy sounds like the biggest intellectually dishonest "criticism technique" I've heard in quite some time. If you look at a cube heads on you'll see a square but it's still a cube.

 

[fight2live]

ooh we're getting phylosophical