Post by Mr. Turquoise on Oct 16, 2009 20:44:59 GMT -5
Trevelyan: I hate to double-post, but you posted this while I was typing the above novella...
Some of this is explained by the cultural elements I mentioned in the post above. I wouldn't say that Japanese are workaholics - it's more accurate to say that they tend to have different priorities. Japanese generally do something until it's finished. A brilliant example is when they do routine road works on a high-traffic street. They actually work at night, when there is no traffic, and repave the torn up sections for the following day. They'll continue to do this until the project is finished.
I don't know that it's fair to say that there is unrealistic pressure being put on Japanese kids by their parents. Sure, there are some families that push their kids hard, but that's the same as anywhere else - I met plenty of Brits with pushy parents, and our university had more than a few American exchange students with unrealistic expectations heaped upon them. The ubiquitous nature of the pushy parents is probably why it's such a common theme in fiction the world over.
Eccentric? It sure is. But most cultures are somewhat eccentric relative to others. Have you ever been to Wales? Talk about eccentric...
Anyway, vending machines are very common. I'm not really sure why. I've not heard anything to suggest that the desire to avoid social interactions are the driving force (they have human cashiers at porn stores). I would think it's more to do with someone trying to make a buck, as the people who stock the vending machines on a particular route are paid on commission. And it's cheaper to set up half-a-dozen vending machines than it is to run a store.
And I will say that there is nothing quite like buying a 1-litre can of beer from a vending machine (which, up until a few years ago, didn't require ID - although there was a sign asking anyone under 20 to refrain from buying alcohol).
No worries. I'm just sorry I wasn't able to get in on this conversation sooner (it's been a busy few days).
Mr. Turquoise
First, I think the main one he was harping on. The Japanese appear to be a highly structured culture that regards achievement and hard work as being pretty much a granted that people will do. Sometimes it may seem to us that they are workaholics, that they perhaps push themselves and their children to achieve unfair goals. How accurate is that? Do many Japanese people feel that their culture puts an unfair strain to overachieve on them, or is that merely they way we perceive it because of cultural differences?
Some of this is explained by the cultural elements I mentioned in the post above. I wouldn't say that Japanese are workaholics - it's more accurate to say that they tend to have different priorities. Japanese generally do something until it's finished. A brilliant example is when they do routine road works on a high-traffic street. They actually work at night, when there is no traffic, and repave the torn up sections for the following day. They'll continue to do this until the project is finished.
I don't know that it's fair to say that there is unrealistic pressure being put on Japanese kids by their parents. Sure, there are some families that push their kids hard, but that's the same as anywhere else - I met plenty of Brits with pushy parents, and our university had more than a few American exchange students with unrealistic expectations heaped upon them. The ubiquitous nature of the pushy parents is probably why it's such a common theme in fiction the world over.
Also, I'd like to ask about why the Japanese culture seems....eccentric to us. I don't mean that in a negative way either. I mean, they use vending machines a lot of there, or so we've been lead to believe. Is this accurate? Now, I at least, have heard that this is because there is stigma's attached to social interactions in so far as it is easy to do something that is considered socially inappropriate over there. Again, is that accurate or do they just love stuff that's been in a vending machine?
Eccentric? It sure is. But most cultures are somewhat eccentric relative to others. Have you ever been to Wales? Talk about eccentric...
Anyway, vending machines are very common. I'm not really sure why. I've not heard anything to suggest that the desire to avoid social interactions are the driving force (they have human cashiers at porn stores). I would think it's more to do with someone trying to make a buck, as the people who stock the vending machines on a particular route are paid on commission. And it's cheaper to set up half-a-dozen vending machines than it is to run a store.
And I will say that there is nothing quite like buying a 1-litre can of beer from a vending machine (which, up until a few years ago, didn't require ID - although there was a sign asking anyone under 20 to refrain from buying alcohol).
If you don't want to answer those in this thread that is cool, but I think it would be nice to have someone who actually lived in Japan to maybe tell us some of the things about its culture.
No worries. I'm just sorry I wasn't able to get in on this conversation sooner (it's been a busy few days).
Mr. Turquoise