I stumbled upon this comment while going through my usual Twitter routine. I also contacted the person that put this statement out there, in order to try and see where they were coming from. It took a little while, but the person admitted that the comment was meant as a joke. We exchanged pleasantries with one another and went on our merry internet way. The problem is, I'm still thinking about this joke comment.
While the person that Tweeted this out might have been joking, there are plenty of people that feel this way. While many people aren't willing to admit it, life is a big popularity contest. It's hard to find people that are willing to share what they like and not hide behind the masses due to not having the popular opinion. No matter how true to yourself you are, you're eventually going to have to deal with those that follow the hivemind in order to appear 'cool'.
Anime is for losers...that's the one part of the statement that really gets me fired up. I'm not quite sure how watching anime automatically gives someone the 'loser' attribute. What about watching animation from Japan makes someone socially unacceptable? I honestly cannot see how someone could judge another person's entire character on this one form of entertainment. If I come across people that state this and believe it, I know that I'm not meant to 'enjoy' their company.
Anime is for nerds...now that one doesn't bug me as much. I'm a nerd and I'm proud! Again, I don't know who decides what's nerdy and what isn't, but you can see that it once again relates to popularity. Sports aren't nerdy because a very large amount of the population enjoys them. Anime is considered nerdy because it's a niche enjoyment compared to other entertainment forms. Well that, and some people think adults watching animated programming is nerdy, but that's another topic!
I'm an anime lover and I'm proud. I also love video games and wrestling. On top of that, I respect others and what they enjoy. If you don't hurt anyone or yourself by enjoying whatever hobby it may be, so be it. Who am I to judge what you do and label your personality on that one aspect of your life? I respect those that go after what they enjoy and aren't afraid to openly appreciate those aspects of their lives.
If that makes me a loser and a nerd, so be it. I'll be the happiest nerd/loser you'll ever meet.
I used to go on this site by this one blogger, who predicted alot of thing correctly like the Wii doing great. He was actualy one of my favorite bloggers, but I started to realize even though he does a good job predicting stuff, he comes off as arrogant, racist, prejudiced, and narrow minded. I stopped reading him when he talked about how much he hated Metriod Other M. I didn't like the game either, but just his way of saying that the story is like a manga, just rubbed me the wrong way, and showed how narrow minded he is. Also that he commented that manga scares people. Like he wont give any manga or anime a chance. He even compared it to Starcraft II cinema scene, which is a great game, but the story doesn't do much for me. I thought it was funny how he was comparing the way the story was told in both games, and how he thinks Starcraft II is awesome storywise for being developed for western taste. It's people like him that can be the really hard to convince that not all manga and anime are what are sterotyped to be. Every entainment genre has it's cliche. Anyway, I'm done with this rant. I personally don't care whether anyone thinks of me as a nerd or loser for liking anime and manga. :P
ReplyDeleteI think people think more on the lines of you being a weeaboo than being a loser. Then again you have to know what weeaboo means in the first place :P
ReplyDeletei think any adult that has enough time on their hands to spend it on watching a great volume of shows...whether its anime or soaps or reality is a nerd....
ReplyDeleteIf being popular means i have to kill my own unique personality and folow the mass then nerds all the way! As long as i have good friends and im happy with myself i dont care what society thinks... Im 16 i love the disney classics and manga/anime and im certainly not the only one
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