Weeaboo

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Weeaboo (short Weeb ) is a name given to western fans of Japanese popular culture .

Historical background

In the early 2000s, derogatory catchphrases based on 4chan began to spread on the Internet for people who are enthusiastic about Japanese popular culture. In this context, the term Wapanese , which means either wannabe-Japanese ( would -be Japanese ) or white Japanese , arose in 2002 and is a “ white ” person obsessed with Japanese culture, including anime and manga . In the comic strip The Perry Bible Fellowship by Nicholas Gurewitch, the originally meaningless term Weeaboo was mentioned for the first time . There it stands for something unpleasant that is punished.

According to an unpublished master's thesis , the online platform 4chan uses the word to replace the term wapanese, which is perceived as derogatory, with automatic filters .

properties

According to the Urban Dictionary , people known as Weeaboo have the following characteristics:

  • an obsessive preoccupation with Japanese popular culture to the point of viewing it as superior to other cultures
  • an overly outward obsession for manga , anime , video games, and other Japanese pop culture exports
  • Incorporation of Japanese words into one's own vocabulary and in linguistic usage
  • Knowledge of Japan and the Japanese language based on popular Japanese culture such as manga and anime

Some people who are referred to as weeb or weeaboo claim the term for themselves and use it to present themselves as the biggest fan of Japanese culture.

Differentiation from the term otaku

Jennifer McGee describes a weeaboo as a Western person who obsessively appreciates Japanese culture. This obsession leads the person in question to push boundaries. This breaking of boundaries, such as the loose and incoherent use of Japanese words from anime, leads other anime and manga fans to refer to these people as weeaboo. The term is only used by anime fans to defame other fans of Japanese culture. The term is used to differentiate between ordinary anime lovers and obsessive fans.

Whether weeaboo and otaku describe the same phenomenon is controversial. Weeaboo is sometimes seen as a generic term . Kim Morrissy wrote in a post on Crunchyroll that understanding the term otaku is made even more difficult by the concept of cultural appropriation . Some Westerners mistakenly believe that otaku is restricted to Japanese people only and that it would be wrong for Westerners to use that name. Justin Savikis of the Anime News Network differentiated the term. He concluded that there is nothing wrong with being passionate about Japanese culture in and of itself. The term “weeaboo” should only be used when a person is enthusiastic, immature, and ignorant of others. Matt Jardin concluded that a weeaboo prefers Japanese things blindly, looking down on others, whatever their merits.

The term otaku originated in the Japanese area, while weeaboo originated in the English-speaking area. Otaku is similar to the western nerd in that the passion does not have to relate specifically to anime and manga , but generally describes hobbies that are followed with great interest. Although weeaboo and otaku are used more in a negative context, the meaning of otaku has now greatly improved. In Japan, otaku is used to describe a person who has given up in life and isolated. This is described as a social problem, as there are more than a million young people in Japan, some of whom do not leave their home for years.

Koreaboo

A Western person who is overly obsessed with South Korean pop culture is known as a "Koreaboo". The term is mainly used in the USA to devalue K-Pop listeners. There is also an online news portal of the same name, which specializes in K-Pop.

literature

  • Myc Wiatrowski, Cory Barker: Popular Culture in the Twenty-First Century . Ed .: Bowling Green State University . 2014, Perceptions and Representations of Japanese Femininity: An analysis of weeaboo internet cult figures (English).

Movie

  • 2017: The Weeaboo (documentary by Jacob Lacuesta, in-house production)

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Weeaboo. Urban Dictionary, accessed July 26, 2020 .
  2. ↑ a b Chris Kincaid: Am I a Weeaboo? What does Weeaboo Mean Anyway? Japan Powered, August 30, 2015, accessed October 21, 2019 .
  3. ↑ a b c Robert Kägler: What is “Weeaboo”, “Weeb” or “Wapanese”? Meaning and origin. Giga.de , May 22, 2019, accessed on October 22, 2019 .
  4. ^ Jesse Christian Davis: Japanese animation in America and its fans. (PDF) Retrieved October 21, 2019 .
  5. ↑ Hannah Ewens: We Asked J-Culture Fans to Defend Being 'Weeaboos'. Vice.com , August 18, 2017, accessed October 22, 2019 .
  6. ↑ Jennifer McGee: Discipline and Post: Foucault and “Weeaboo Horror Stories” on the Internet. (PDF) Retrieved April 29, 2020 .
  7. ↑ Kim Morrissy: FEATURE: Found in Translation - The Evolution of the Word “Otaku” [PART 1]. Crunchyroll , August 22, 2016, accessed October 22, 2019 .
  8. ↑ Justin Sevakis: Nobody Loves the Weeaboo. Anime News Network , August 22, 2014, accessed October 22, 2019 .
  9. ↑ Matt Jardin: Going to Senshi Con this weekend? Here are 5 terms to know. Alaska Dispatch , September 26, 2016, accessed October 22, 2019 .
  10. ↑ Chris Beck: The Weird Phenomenon of the Weeaboo. Splicetoday.com, accessed October 22, 2019 .
  11. ↑ Dong Sun-wha: BTS, ARMY battle K-pop negative 'Koreaboo' trend. Korea Times , December 11, 2019, accessed December 12, 2019 .
  12. ↑ Koreaboo.com. Retrieved December 12, 2019 .