Hokuto no Ken (translated in English as ‘Fist of the North Star’) is a Japanese manga and anime that was published and aired from the early to mid-eighties. It is of the Shonen genre, meaning it is targeted to young boys and men. Chiefly inspired by martial arts films (particularly those starring Bruce Lee) and the Mad Max franchise, it is set in a post-apocalyptic world where only the strong can rule, and strength is determined by physical prowess and mastery over fictional martial arts. Male characters are bulked up with muscles, fight scenes always involve explosions and blood, and female characters differ only in hair color and style. This franchise is credited with inspiring other well-known works in the genre, such as Dragon Balland JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure. Along with having a poorly made live action American adaptation, it also has a sizable male fan base in the West (WWE star and meme John Cena refers to the animated 1985 film as his favorite film).
Now being an eighteen-year-old girl at the time of watching this, I definitely wasn’t a part of in the target demographic. However in the summer after I graduated from high school, I had a lot of free time and wanting to watch something with a lot of action, I decided to give it a try; sometimes it would be background noise while I drew or wrote, and sometimes it would be something I’d watch to end my day. Either way, I made it through 109 episodes, and while there is a lot to unpack about the series itself in terms of masculinity, the biggest aspect that fascinates me about this series is how the (mostly male) fan base talks about it. It often hailed as ‘one of the manliest animes to exist’ or ‘anime for real men’ (which contrasting with the more popular face of anime, little big eyed pretty girls).
After I first watched the series, I was put off by how the female characters were treated, often being regulated to being a damsel or a sacrificial lamb; if she was a ‘warrior’, she was put down by the male characters for ‘giving up her womanhood’ and never really given the same amount of spotlight as the male warriors. I decided to look online to see how other people analyzed this issue in the series, and the most common response I found was ‘it’s 30 years old; you can’t hold it to the same standards as today’.
This is something that springs up commonly in discussions involving older media (as well as some historical figures): something that would be considered sexist/homophobic/transphobic/racist ‘today’ can’t be judged because it was made in a time when these beliefs were socially acceptable and common. Now I agree that there should always be considerations to time period and culture surrounding a work at the time of its creation, but I don’t believe it (and its creators) should be immune to criticism. For one, this is disingenuous to those people that were affected by those attitudes at the time, as well as those who did question them. It’s not as if they didn’t exist until the year 20xx and suddenly we now have to make considerations for them.
Secondly, many of these male fans still talk about this show and still support the franchise, even as its spinoffs and video games (the latest one being released in October 2018) do many of the same things it did in the eighties when it comes women and how it portrays masculinity. Male fans rave about how it shows what’s like to be a ‘real man’, and how it’s also revolutionarybecause its protagonist Kenshiro sheds tears and ‘fights for love’, but ignore how it’s often at the cost of female characters being used as plot devices or fridged. They say it’s distinct as an action series because of these qualities, however I’d say that whatever emotional qualities it has are undercut by the fact that it is an action series aimed at young boys. There isn’t an episode where Kenshiro doesn’t beat the villain to a pulp in some extravagant way. Yeah, he does it to protect those he cares about, and I personally don’t mind intense bloody action, but for the most part, masculinity in the series is tied to how strong and tough a character is. All male characters are expected to be brave and fight, and all female characters are expected to be soft and loving (as mentioned, the one who initially doesn’t fall into this category is put down by the other characters and eventually, the narrative). Male characters who don’t exhibit the same qualities as Kenshiro (crying, taking care of children, and seeing the importance of love) are still better received by fans than ‘cowardly characters’ who don’t fight. Male characters who see women as possessions are also received better.
What’s remembered ‘positively’ by fans through nostalgia-tinted glasses is allowed to be talked about, not the negatives, even as those attitudes continue to this day. These attitudes toward characters and media are still seen in many fan communities today, even with media made in current day. It’s important to responsibly consume media and be critical of those made in times where certain beliefs were seen as ‘acceptable’ or ‘common’, not because we want to play a gotcha game with them, but because of the influence they may still have today.
No comments:
Post a Comment