Something has really been bothering me lately- the news. Back in August, I remember being really surprised when watching the Japanese news (what I could understand of it). For one, everything seemed biased towards Japan, but the more irritating thing was that everything was viewed through a Japanese point of view. When they would talk about America, I would get really mad because sometimes the newscasters would make hasty generalizations or stereotypes about the US, making me think, "You haven't been there, you don't know what that really means, so stop talking about it!"
But then there was the whole thing with Toyota- how they didn't do testing with some cars and a lot of people were furious and all that jazz. I wanted to understand what was going on (it was all over the Japanese news), so I checked with American news websites pretty frequently. That made me mad. In the Japanese media, Toyota was seen as dishonorable and an embarrassment. They expected an apology and a whole-hearted effort to fix things. I thought, "Well, all right; the Japanese media is dealing with the situation pretty well." When I checked the American news sites, I found heaps of articles not only completely and stereotypically trashing Toyota, but providing almost no Japanese insight. Many provided only a small detail about the situation before going on to advertise some other car.
I think what Toyota did was plenty wrong, but I am more so disgusted with how the American media handled it. I feel that not only were many things were lost in translation, but the usage of the situation to shamelessly promote a product was extremely dishonorable..
That whole situation has made it hard to read the news. I don't feel like I can trust any news to handle foreign issues very well. People do need to know about worldwide happenings, but if they hear it through such a biased source, how can we ever have worldwide understanding? The only news I can stomach right now, Japanese or American, is the BBC. With most else, homeland issues are fine, but as soon as it gets international it gets murky.
I guess I want to tell everyone who reads this blog: Just because your country views it one way doesn't mean it's right or wrong. Firsthand experience is the best because it allows you to make your own opinions.
Talk to ya'lls later!
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As I was reading your post, I kept thinking (watch/listen to BBC!). And then I see that you are. When you think about it, the media is (are) a business like any other business. They are owned by other businesses. Media (these days, it seems) is designed more to influence than inform. When Toyota finally showed flaws, the american media saw an opportunity to promote american cars (which, if it were to work, would have people buying fewer Toyotas and more Chevy Tahoes.. which my spur some job growth). Of course, we have Toyota and Honda and Kia plants in this country.. so bashing the competition results in some collateral damage.
ReplyDeleteI think I may have told you once a while ago that during the time around 9/11, I was encouraged to visit Al Jazeera (sp?) for a different perspective. I figured I'd read a lot of anti american propaganda and even thought I might find some article promoting terrorism. I found neither. What I did find was some pretty heady and objective writing. I still visit that site from time to time to see what they find as the most important issues to write about.
I'm so proud of you, by the way.
ありがとう！
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