I really liked the story set in Italy, but seriously trying to address the effect of stere...

I really liked the story set in Italy, but seriously trying to address the effect of stereotyping and at the same time writing out statements like “ Most Italians are lazy” ??? Like cultural norms exist and Japan and Italy are different so the exploration of those differences can be fun and wholesome. Like the bit where he was waiting for him for a long time and the Japanese man apologized saying everybody has been coming late when he gives a meeting time. That was a cute and funny moment that pokes fun at a cultural difference. But having a character say “I’m the only serious and hardworking person in all of Italy” is the same stereotyping the Japanese man got angry at (with good reason!)

I liked the story but I find it interesting to analyze that part. Believe me Americans include unintended and intended culturally ignorant stuff in a bunch of our media too. I just watched a video by Farya Faraji about American/ western musical depictions of the Middle East. The “oriental” “desert” music you hear in movies like Prince of Persia is actually Armenian or Indian or just complete nonsense. Instead of trying to be culturally accurate movie directors go for the more recognizable (to Americans) foreign sounding music which is usually extremely inaccurate.

I chose to believe the author did not mean harm by the short chapter about an international romance. They just used narrative short cuts, like stereotypes, to establish the characters since they had a shorter chapter. It’s not malicious but it is ignorant. If it’s easy to recognize in Japanese media when it is about a culture closer to Western ideas. Take this feeling and think about media about different cultures and countries made by the Western world and how it can be improved to avoid lazy stereotypes and give the audience something that doesn’t encourage ignorant norms about others