Violent Worlds

I watched the first episode of the new Stranger Things season last night but I want to avoid making a full review until I've watched through all the new episodes that were put on Netflix. But it was a very strong season premiere and I found myself comparing it to Obi-Wan Kenobi, which it easily outshines. It's funny how a show that deliberately uses stock characters from the 1980s manages to make more complex and interesting characters than most shows.

I couldn't help being struck by two aspects of the show, though, that echo current issues--violence in high schools and a threat posed by Russia. I think the season was more or less in the can before Russia invaded Ukraine though, of course, violence in American schools has become an all too common occurrence. On Friday, a fellow teacher at the Japanese junior high school where I work asked me about the recent mass shooting in Texas. She told me a lot of people in Japan are talking about it. I was a little surprised and admitted that, since it has become so sadly common in the U.S., I hadn't actually paid much attention to the story.

Generally, feelings about the U.S. seem to be positive among the people I meet in Japan but quite a few regard Americans with horror and disgust. Sometimes I overhear things from people who assume my Japanese isn't as good as it is. I remember once overhearing someone at one school trying to mollify a teacher regarding my presence by reminding her that the U.S. is also responsible for Microsoft and Google, companies with a ubiquitous presence in Japan. Then, of course, there's Disney, Apple, Nike, Coca-Cola, McDonalds, and various other companies and brands. I wonder if it's really reassuring. Is it a reminder that America is responsible for good things or just awareness that Japan has irrevocably bitten of the same fruit so they better hope American culture isn't inherently corrosive?

I have talked to students with parents who are fearful about their children being exposed to too much negativity. I was reminded of this in the scenes featuring Dungeons & Dragons on Stranger Things and references to the 1980s' "Satanic Panic". Yet I can't remember the last time I saw the level of ultraviolence I saw on the latest season of Kimetsu no Yaiba, which seems to be popular with people of all ages.

I'm long past having any qualms about making or viewing art with dark themes or a willingness to explore the worst impulses of the human heart. But I'm constantly confronted by the debate, both from the U.S. and Japan. I can only hope that people aren't diverted from the contemplation of human nature I think is truly necessary in art for all sorts of reasons, the understanding of real violence being one of them.