Decided!
The accessorized keitai!
Today, the contrite Australian from last week's party and I took the bus down to Shijo-Kawaramachi to catch the sneak preview of Episode 3. The film's Japanese debut is July 9th, so the theater wasn't very crowded. In the theater's lobby stood a display case of various Star Wars paraphernalia--posters, action figures, pens, and so on. I ended up purchasing a Darth Vader strap for my keitai (cell phone). Most people in Japan have some sort of strap or figure attached to their mobile phones. Since acquiring the keitai, I have been searching for an accessory that suits me. Having seen 5/6 Star Wars on the first or second day of their premiere (I saw A New Hope a few months after it first came out in 1977), I figured Darth Vader would be good enough.
I was curious about your feelings on a recent poll taken by in Canada regarding Canadians' perceptions of Americans. Click here for the link. I don't want to sway any of your opinions before you have the chance to read the article, so I will post my feelings in the comments section later. The article contained a number of points that disappointed me and that lacked any substantial qualifiers.
posted by Jeff at
5:01 AM
7 Comments:
Well, I am also curious about your opinions.
Usually, neighborhood feelings are complicated. Especially when it comes to a situation that one country is bigger than the other.
Probably it is true that people in a smaller country are often too nervous to bigger neighbor’s behavior and that they feel bad for the neighbor’s indifference. From this point of view, Albright’s comment is right, I think.
But I have thought USA and Canada are good friends.
What affected the recent change of the Canadian’s perceptions? Is that the U.S. foreign policy of the attack on Iraq, the accidental bombing in Afghanistan that killed Canadian soldiers by the US air force, or other things? I want to know your observation, Jeff.
As a whole, the poll shows that Americans are not popular. But I think this is mostly due to the fact that the United States is most powerful country, conducts many things in the international fields, and therefore is conspicuous.
Probably the Canadian’s view that Canada has a positive opinion in abroad is right. I myself have a positive opinion. But I think it can also be said that Canada is not so conspicuous enough as the U.S. to be seen negatively by foreign people.
I thought the most interesting aspect of the poll was the percentage of AMERICANS who view Americans in general as greedy and immoral -- 39% of Americans vs. 34% of Canadians think we are immoral. Interesting result.
The news report does leave a lot to be desired as far as details go. How were the questions worded? How many people were asked -- 17,000, I think? From how many countries --16? That means they're comparing to a population that could easily be 700 million or more. What if one of those countries was China or India? It's tough to draw huge conclusions about how Americans are viewed around the world based on such a small sample. Statistical sampling is established social science, but I wonder what the margin of error would be.
Well, my initial reactions were the folliwng:
1) It seems that the Canadians polled fail to distinguish between the American people and the American administration.
2) The article lacks any information about the poll. For example, how do they define such qualities as "greed," and so on.
Scott mentions some important drawbacks on the lack of statistical information--margin of error, sampling size, etc. Granted, this online article is not aimed for publication in any statistical journal, but reporters do have the responsibility to relay essential data behind their topics.
Norio alludes to some of the underlying themes of national identity that we can discern from the article as well. To me, this type of thinking (Canadians from the article, not Norio) emphasizes a negative referential self-identity. What I mean here is the identity is based on what you are not, i.e. "We [polled] Canadians are not lazy, imperialistic Americans."
So, what is a Canadian identity then? I can think of a number of fine qualities from Canadians I have met. Why can't the article or pollsters focus on this aspect rather than how Canadians view themselves in relation to Americans.
In contemporary East Asian society and politics, one may find parallel examples of negative referential self-identity. Nevertheless, in some ways, I feel that East Asian countries have a longer history on their side and thus establish an identity on what they ARE as opposed to what they are not.
I think the poll can only show so much, as I said, but it is interesting how much of a backlash there has been against the war in Iraq, especially in Canada.
I wonder if it's because Canada has a longer history of connection with Europe than the U.S.? Some Canadians probably see themselves as more civilized than us, especially in Quebec, on the East Coast.
I think Canada views itself in terms of its relationship with the U.S. because the U.S. does dominate their politics. They are forced to react to things the U.S. does, even when it comes to things like prescription drugs or oil supplies. Economically, we are linked, but our societies are different. We share a language (except in Quebec), a long border, and we are trading partners. So how could Canada possibly escape American influence? In a way, they have to define themselves against what they see in the U.S.
I like Canadians' sense of humor. In fact, I was keeping track of how many "American" entertainers are actually Canadian -- Mike Myers and Bare Naked Ladies come to mind as especially funny stars. I think that might be one way Canadians define themselves -- we're the self-deprecating version of America. America takes itself too seriously.
(More random thoughts than you probably needed, but there you go.)
Howdy all,
Bryan here. I've side-stepped here from Frank Berghaus' blog. For those who don't know me, I've lived at SJC with Jeff, lived in Kyoto for a time, and am a Canadian.
I felt I had to comment on the interesting discussion here. Jeff and Scott, I think you've really hit the nail on the head here about how Canadians tend to define their culture as something that is not the U.S. (and quite possibly, for some, as anti-American).
One question that I was frequently asked in Japan was "Do you like Japanese food?" to which I would enthusiastically reply "Yes!" The follow up would be, "What is Canadian food?" Apart from Maple syrup, which is more a symbol than a defining food like Sushi or the Hamburger, Canada is too young to have a national identity routed in food (Ok, there's Poutine, but that is an identity claimed by the Quebecois). And let's face it, some fur traders who decided to boil tree sap is not enough to build a national identity on.
What is Canadian Culture? Hockey, hockey, hockey, hockey, hockey, and saying that we are not Americans.
This is why Canadian backpackers will sew a flag on their backpacks when trekking through Europe. Half might say that they want to known as a Canadian because of our reputation as peace lovers and peace keepers; the other half simply don't want to be mistaken for American.
That's about it. So why are there so many Canadians in the entertainment industry in the U.S? Well, when the invasion comes, it will come from inside and it will be lead by Mike (Dr. Evil) Meyers and he'll have sharks with frikken' laser beams on their heads. Beware Jeff! Agent Dion is in place and has set up her fortress in a Palace in your very home town. Be very afraid.
Thanks for the "insider" view, Bryan. I haven't noticed the maple leaf too much down here, but a close friend of mine from Victoria, who was also on the JET Program in Hokkaido, completely Canadianized his belongings. He didn't attribute this to separating himself from Americans, as there were only 3 or 4 in the whole district. He just claimed a certain level of pride in wearing the maple leaf on his ski jacket, attaching bumper stickers to his car, and smacking it all over his kayak. Good guy. Unfortunately, his name rhymed with "Bedwetter."
I'll try to post something new soon, but at the moment I am tied up with a presentation for next week.
An American friend of mine went to Thailand and while there claimed to be a Canadian. According to him Americans would be charged more than Canadians. I don't know why this was so.
I for one will be grateful to Canada all my life for giving us Chris Jericho, the best wrestler in History!
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