What do you mean "become" normal? It's always been normal, which is what I thought the problem was to begin with.

For both panelists, this may be a bit off topic but it still relates to the topic of the universality of racism.

In European history, Jews were frequently accused of poisoning wells and this was used as an excuse to attack them. In Japan following the Great Kanto Earthquake, Koreans were accused of poisoning wells and this was used as an excuse to attack them.

Is the blaming of minorities for well poisoning a phenomenon found worldwide? Or were the Japanese influenced by the European blaming of Jews?

Thanks for this panel. u/Bernardito's paper prompted my question, but I'll try to frame my question so either of you could give an answer-

Could you talk about how race in popular media reflects historical constructions of citizenship and belonging? I'm reminded of Capozzola's Uncle Sam Wants You and how white American ideas of citizenship- that it required patriotic service and whiteness- were challenged by the existence Black soldiers. Does media portrayal repeat that same denial to those historical actors?

What drew you to research or look into these subjects?

For both panelist, how do you think developers could strike a right balance between the 'drama' needed by pop media, and accuracy of the material? What about good ways of doing it in a respectable manner?

Thank you panelist for a great watch, this was a real blast to go through.

I have something of a more big picture question I guess, which is how can we bring issues or themes like this forward and work it into pop culture or media in a way that feels organic, realistic AND provides a good look at the history involved?

Thanks again for a great panel! Do you think there are good methods that movies and pop media can use to help teach good, accurate history while also keeping the 'drama' they want?

What was it like for you, the authors, researching such intense and emotional subjects?

Good afternoon and welcome to the “Racism Is So Universal, It's Become Normal: Race, Representation, and Accuracy in Works of Popular Media” conference panel Q&A! This panel examines how accurately popular media engages with race in historical settings.

Moderated by Avan Fata ( /u/Starwarsnerd222), it features:

Claudia Bonillo ( /u/Claudia_Bonillo), presenting her paper, “At the Mercy of the Tide: The History of the Chōsokabe Clan According to Nobunga's Ambition: Sphere of Influence (Koei, 2013)”.

The attractiveness and spectacular development of audiovisual manifestations in Japan today, such as manga, anime, and video games, have led to their rapid expansion in the West. In particular, video games, due to the interactive relationship they establish with the player and their novel and versatile language, are not only highly valued artistic expressions but also learning tools and vehicles for cultural transmission. A significant number of these products are set in the turbulent Sengoku period (1467/1477–1603), a time of civil wars characterised by the absence of centralized power. The feudal lords who fought for supremacy became the heroes of the ages to come thanks to the mass culture of the Edo period (1603–1868), an influence that has survived to the present day as part of popular culture. However, how much of the vision that has come down to us is true to the historical facts and how much is it a social construct?

This presentation is aimed to analyze the representation of the Chōsokabe clan, rulers of Shikoku island, considered one of the most influential clans of the middle years of this period, in the video game Nobunaga’s Ambition: Sphere of Influence developed by the Japanese company Koei in 2013, a game that has been praised for its historical accuracy in the international market. Following an iconographic–iconological methodology, I will examine its historical events, scenes unlocked by the player which include content that is considered “historical” by the game’s developers. Specifically, we will study those between the one-hundred-and-ninety-fourth and two hundred, as well as a few isolated scenes of special relevance, which reflect the vision of the video game on the exploits of the Chōsokabe clan to determine if this case study perpetuates to the world an idealized view of medieval Japan.

Stefan Aguirre Quiroga ( /u/Bernardito), presenting his paper, “Counting Black Faces: The Marginalization of Black British Soldiers in Response to 1917”.

Following the release of the First World War film 1917 (2019), directed by Sam Mendes, a racist backlash ensued among some of its viewers as a result of the film’s depiction of non-white soldiers serving in otherwise all-white British regiments. Critical voices argued that the inclusion of soldiers of color was a historical inaccuracy that ruined their immersion into the historical setting, further arguing that the inclusion was driven by a nefarious political agenda. In early 2020, these arguments were brought into the limelight when British actor Laurence Fox during a podcast appearance complained about the presence of a Sikh soldier in the film, arguing that the film was “forcing diversity” on its viewers. While Fox’s racist comments were rightfully condemned in the media, widespread arguments marginalizing black British soldiers online were not acknowledged. Fox appeared as an aberration, not as part of a larger pattern of denial of space for soldiers of color in depictions of the First World War. By examining born-digital sources, this paper seeks to provide an analysis of the racist discourse of rejection towards black British soldiers in response to 1917. This paper will specifically address one of the most commonly used exclusionary arguments — the notion that the historical numerical presence of a certain race determines if they deserve to be represented or not. Was the historical presence of British soldiers of African descent truly as negligible as we are led to believe by these arguments? In considering 1917 and the discourse surrounding the film as a contested space over the historical memory of the First World War, we are able to tie the film’s depiction into larger discussions surrounding popular representations of the First World War, their impact on historical consciousness, as well as connections between war remembrance and race.

Ask us anything!

Hi, if you have more thoughts on it I would love to hear someone expand on cultural adaptation of works.

Ran is an adaptation of King Lear and Throne of Blood is adapted from Macbeth, they use use all Japanese characters and culture. Is it not confounding that works made for US audiences are not given the same freedom to look like the US and its multi ethnic population, as these great works.

How can people be made to see a version of the Iliad with asian, indian, black or tall blonde in the same light as people see the mentioned adaptations, being enjoyed for their performance and story.

What sort of different perspectives/changed narratives do you think new methods can offer?

In your discussion of weaponized, numerical data for exclusion in games and historical films, my thoughts drifted to Kingdom Come: Deliverance as the clear example in my corner of medievalist media spaces. The game marketed itself massively on historical accuracy, and when the backlash to the complete and utter absence of people of color, the lead designer (who is high conservative and has vocally expressed ethnonationalist tendencies) responded with exactly the same sort of "data-based" accounts to justify the existence of pure white medieval space

Now, without getting into the question of whether the data is at any level correct or not (because it doesn't particularly matter), my response for the past years has been that, regardless of the number of people of color preserved in the historical record, and regardless of what a time machine would tell us, there is a responsibility to highlight plausible diversities and the interconnectivity of past worlds.

Obviously, though, 1) I am a white man, it's not really my conversation to dictate, and 2) it flies in the face of the otherwise constant discourse of historical game studies of always wanting 'more accuracy'. So, I am curious about your thoughts - to what extent should historical media deliberately highlight diversity beyond best-practice historical accounts, and are there any caveats or complexities you see in proposing such a highlighting?

I think its reasonable to say that all of these perspectives must experience a fair amount of push back, especially from various factions against revising history against the traditional narrative. How do you deal with something like that? Are there attempts to convert naysayers and reeducate them? How can you continue to share your history in the face of attempts to silence it?