I don’t know of any other anime especially in the last twenty years to actually make mention of capitalism, capitalists, or anything to do with socialism, not just the concepts but the words themselves

It’s amazing how entire concepts that define human existence can just be obliterated wholesale from an entire medium of creative expression and entertainment

  • LaGG_3 [he/him, comrade/them]
    ·
    2 years ago

    Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex (and second gig, the second season) explicitly mentions capitalism and makes it pretty clear that the world they're in is cyber-hellworld.

    It's probably uncommon because anime is really expensive to make so you need some :porky-happy: to fund you.

    • axont [she/her, comrade/them]
      ·
      2 years ago

      Probably also uncommon because of Japanese broadcast law. Broadcasting stuff on TV, like anime, requires a license that can get rescinded and by law requires "political fairness." Journalists often censor themselves without oversight because of hypothetical formal censorship. So since Japanese media is often very wary of losing their broadcast license, they try to avoid topics that would be confrontational against establishment neoliberalism.

      Also the target audience for most anime are otaku with money to throw around. Also Japan is a neoliberal hell that while theoretically has stronger unions and more social services than a lot of capitalist countries, is still in effect an imperialist ideology factory. Bunch of factors going on.

      • CyborgMarx [any, any]
        ·
        2 years ago

        Probably also uncommon because of Japanese broadcast law. Broadcasting stuff on TV, like anime, requires a license that can get rescinded and by law requires “political fairness.”

        Chapter 2 Article 4

        lmao I fuckin knew it, watching Kaiji tipped me off that there must be some background constraint with broadcasting

        The broadcaster shall stipulate standards for the editing of the broadcast programs (hereinafter referred to as “program standards”) in accordance with the classification of the broadcast programs (meaning the categories of cultural programs, educational programs, news programs, entertainment programs, etc.; the same shall apply hereinafter) and the target audience of the broadcasts, and shall edit the broadcast programs in compliance with such.

        Article 5 is also pretty sus

      • LaGG_3 [he/him, comrade/them]
        ·
        2 years ago

        That makes a lot of sense. I'm curious if there's more political content in OVA/direct to video and movie stuff. It wouldn't surprise me if not, because otaku are more willing to buy expensive laserdiscs with sex/violence stuff on them, but it's interesting that one of the first OVAs was Mamoru Oshii's Dallos, which is explicitly leftist (kinda ehh, though, unfortunately).

        Also Japan is a neoliberal hell that while theoretically has stronger unions and more social services than a lot of capitalist countries, is still in effect an imperialist ideology factory.

        That kinda happens when :amerikkka: destroys and rebuilds your country. :yea: