Show Notes
Some Japanese folks are telling foreigners not to bring their racial problems into Japan. Baye McNeil joins us in wondering if by "racial problems" they mean that new Nike commercial, or our children.
Ollie recommends an email scam.
Bobby looks at how Osaka River Cruises do it, and by "it," he means, "nothing."
Topics discussed on this episode range from:
- How you too can learn Japanese design fundamentals
- How nice it is to be able to welcome Baye when something nice is going on
- Baye's new Tokyo digs
- Baye's audiobook, and comparable audiobooks, like Obama's
- Why Samuel L Jackson is losing some points with us
- The process of recording an audio book, and Baye's masterplan to get audiobooks popular in Japan
- Who we think should do the recording for his Japanese audiobook
- Bobby and Ollie's dynamic as co-hosts
- The Nike commercial that addresses racism, and some of the reactions that deny the existence of racism
- How Nike ended racism
- Who Baye thinks is REALLY behind the message of this commercial and who deserves credit for it
- What Baye thinks about the mixture of reactions
- What Ollie hates about this commercial
- Who else hates this commercial and why
- The list of biracial prominent figures in Japan who testify to the bullying and discrimination problems
- What is the equivalent of BLM for mixed race people in Japan
- How the reactions that deny racism actually illustrate the real problems with racism
- Why Baye thinks some more liberal Japanese people fail to see their own conservative streaks
- What makes someone in Japan fundamentally socially progressive or conservative
- Why Japan doesn't see a problem with grouping/defining individuals BY their cultural or ethnic groups
- How Japan wields the linguistic concepts of "Nihonjinppoi," and "Nihonjinbanare"
- What Ollie thinks about the concept of "lace-ism"
- What Baye thinks about the chances for this commercial to inspire a new wave of corporate social responsibility
- The inherent problems with this positive message coming from... NIKE
- Corporations tricking consumers into thinking capitalism is social justive
- Bobby lifting some perspective from the guys at Red Letter Media
- The EXTRA shitty stuff that Nike is getting up to in China
- The world-wide coverage of this story including Baye's interview with French outfit Le Monde
- Why the language around these issues and the public perception of these issues matter, even when the treatment seems minor, or not as bad as other places
Topics covered in the Extras include:
- What Baye looks for in a translator, as he gets ready to have his books translated into Japanese
- Bobby's experience with trying having a Japanese writer try to communicate his ideas
- The difficulty in translating and conveying feelings and the hard, hard work that goes into interpreting emotion as well as meaning
- Whether or not someone has to agree with a work to do a good job of translating it
- Who Baye would like to have play him when they make the movie
- What English accents they used in Star Wars
- Ollie's American Accents
- Baye's mentorship through the Legacy Foundation Japan
- Impostor syndrome
- Why Publishing Houses still seems like the true mark of success for a writer, even though self-publishing can be more financially beneficial
- Ollie's dreams of comedy writing success
- More on Baye's thoughts about Naomi Osaka's contributions to the dialogue and her power as an advocate for change
- What Baye thinks figures like Osaka can possibly do for the future, depending on What Japan's true character is and where they want to go
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