Many of the foreigners on TV here are unbearably stupid. Especially those on English conversation shows. For example, this guy...
Words cannot express how much I hate that guy. I don't care how smart he is or how fluent he is in Japanese. I hate him. He is perhaps the most annoying person in the universe, rivaled only by Carrot Top. And while he is certainly the worst of the Japanese TV gaijin, there are many others almost equally as stupid.
I learned a new phrase here in Japan, and that is Gaijin Monkey. The guy in the video is the epitome of a Gaijin Monkey. A Gaijin Monkey is a goofy, dancing, English speaking person who performs for the entertainment of Japanese people. I've felt like a Gaijin Monkey at my job on more than one occasion (the dance at the end of the video is not that different from the song and dance I'm forced to perform in kid's classes), and many foreign people here feel that is all Japanese people want or expect them to be, foolishly goofy and entertaining.
With that in mind, my husband and I have invented a Gaijin Monkey dance to perform the next time someone stares at us on the street or in the train, or when every mother and grandmother comes to watch our kid's class/show. It's a goofy, exaggerated dance with lots of arm and leg motions, similar to the shuck and jive. I doubt we'll be brave enough to try it, but sometimes you gotta give the people want they want.
I know there are other expatriates bloggers who read my blog, and I would like to know your thoughts on the Gaijin Monkey subject. Do you hate the guy on TV as much as I do? Do you sometimes feel like a Gaijin Monkey at your jobs or feel as if you're expected to "perform" somehow? Or am I just being ridiculous?
Saturday, June 30, 2007
Gaijin Monkey
Posted by Lady Wanderlust at 2:08 AM
Labels: gaijin monkey
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10 comments:
After living here for a few years and learning Japanese, I realized that for the most part it's not just gaijin on tv that are embarrassing themselves but there are plenty of Japanese people too who are equally as silly. I don't think it is particularly that Japanese people like watching foreigners do this but that this form of overexagerratedness is common on TV. Still I'm with you that when I see gaijin performing like this on TV it makes me sick.
As for people staring at you on the street. I wouldn't take it personally. I think for the most part they are thinking something like "I wonder where they are from" or "I wish I had blue eyes" or something like that. At the job, especially with teaching English, there's an aspect that requires entertainment. You can still make it entertaining for the students without making a fool of yourself and losing your dignity.
I disagree with Roy about what Japanese people are thinking when they stare, point, or goggle at you on the street. I believe Roy is Canadian of Chinese descent and probably isn't subjected to the level of rudeness that Caucasian women are put through. He is far less likely to be stared at or to have his appearance discussed about in front of him in Japanese by people who assume you won't know what they're saying.
If they are thinking the same things that they are saying, they aren't wondering where you're from or wishing for blue eyes. They're criticizing your figure, clothes, hairstyle, or makeup or making fun of some aspect of you in some cases. In other cases, they're just staring at you as if you were a creature from Mars come to visit the planet for an outing. I'm not about to let them off the hook for being incredibly rude toward us in a manner they would not be rude toward one another (the staring and gossipy behavior).
As for behaving like a monkey, you don't have to do that though a lot of employers like you better if you do.
I think the difference between foreigners on T.V. and Japanese is that some Japanese act like idiots but some are also allowed to be serious and keep their dignity. The number of gaijin performers who can be on T.V. and not act like complete jackasses can be counted on one hand. There's little interest in the serious gaijin performer.
Shari, I was not refering to my own experiences when I was mentioning about what I think Japanese people might be thinking. Rather, in the 20 or so years in Japan I have spent most of that time with lots Japanese people some of who are my best friends and while I know that there are people such as you describe, I believe that there are more the minority.
If I were that guy on TV, I would feel very stupid and embarrassing. I also agree that he is quite annoying, even if I don't understand Japanese.
About the staring, I also want to know why they would do that. I remember my husband and I travelled around Australia some years ago and there was a group of old Japanese women staring at him and made some comments. He asked me why but I couldn't figure it out. I was confused and found that they were quite rude actually. (He is British and I'm Chinese by the way.)
I find the gaijin guy in the video annoying, but no less annoying than the girls he's with. I think that there are so many Japanese doing stupid things on TV, but we feel offended if "one of our own" act stupid as well.
I used to get stared at a lot, but don't anymore, but maybe I don't notice it and have convinced myself that I can now blend in with the crowd.
Where I live, there aren't that many of us gaijin around, so when my husband and I see another one, we are a little guilty of saying "Oh look, it's a gaijin, I wonder where they're from, I wonder what they're doing here.." Maybe it's not too different to what the Japanese are thinking.
I think working in e-kaiwa schools you are encouraged to act the monkey a fair bit, though for me it wasn't much more than playing around with the kids the same I would with kids back home. I'm now in a high level private school, so the environment is much more serious so it's not something that's encouraged.
I feel your pain. In my company, I just finished a DVD project for our city's Kindergartens. I took 10 songs, re-arranged and recorded them, then performed them with some kids for the taping. It was a bit monkey-ish...I don't mind being silly for kindergarteners. I guess we do it for the money. There are certain things I won't do. Especially for adults. ON ANOTHER NOTE: I'm sorry that some Japanese men don't understand how to treat foreign women. I guess they think they can treat foreign women just like their Japanese counterparts. Middle-aged Japanese men never cease to amaze me with how much they just do whatever they like. Rant over.
...I definitely agree that most of the monkey-isms we do are counter-productive and seem to solidify our role as strange outsiders...but I do remember dancing in drag with a few other Japanese teachers on a "teacher-only" trip. It was a bonding experience. You'd have to be there.
It's not just you, it's all over Asia. I've taught English in China and we use the term "Dancing Monkey Factory" to describe a certain type of school. There's a famous Canadian who has a similar gig in China and he is hated with a white hot hatred by many ex-pats. Look up Da Shan at Sinocidal and you'll see.
It's not just you.
I hate the gaijin monkey!
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