In that sense, FMA would fail utterly in terms of how allegory most often uses its symbolism to present a moralistic interpretation because the lesson is, well, non-apology, some-scapegoating, and otherwise-seamless-transfer is the proper ending: that if this maps to Japan's behavior before/during war (at least insofar as the military) then its conclusion is that Japan's hush-up at the end was the proper thing to do. The tone in the manga/anime seems entirely unironic, delivered straight-up, so I don't think it's meant as a criticism of the new administration's choices, but as a rather Japanese presentation (as I understand the socio-cultural motivations/psychology) that just letting bygones be bygones is the best and fastest method to return to harmony, which is more important than truth.
That scene in volume 16 where Hawkeye says that they'd all be liable to be brought to trial for war crimes if they left the military still brings me up short every time.
I actually wrote a paper on the Tokyo Tribunals, and if anything I think the fact that there are no reconciliation commissions in FMA is a sign of the fact that essentially no one was satisfied with the Tribunals' outcome.
That entire situation, in the year or so after 9/11, seems to have had a major, if unexpected, impact on Japan's cultural self-assumptions, and I guess reading about its impact on the pop culture made me more sensitive to seeing those questions raised, if subtly, in other pop-culture stories, as well.
Thinking about it more now, it seems even more obvious that you're right; and this has to be part of why the manga was so popular in Japan, because ultimately as Arakawa says the manga is in part an exploration of what going to war means, for the people who fight and for those who don't, on both sides. And the desire for peace is real in Japan--as much as the "victim mentality" phrase gets tossed around, it would be wrong to overlook the fact that the end of the war did produce a sincere desire for peace in a good many people, and that history still does, and that the Koizumi and Abe governments' logistical and manpower assistance to the U.S. military, as well as other incidents (particularly the Japanese journalists who were kidnapped in Baghdad) were strongly opposed, particularly at the urban grassroots level. It didn't escape the notice of people that many of the people bringing Japan back into war and talking about dismantling the peace constitution were the same people, or descendants of people, who'd taken the country to war in the C20th, too--particularly Abe, whose grandfather Kishi pushed the U.S.-Japan Security Treaty with automatic renewal through the Diet in 1960 (quite literally pushed--he had to be carried to the podium by Diet security through the crowd of rioting lawmakers, while thousands of people protested outside; and the deciding vote was technically out of order) and who was himself a former Class A war criminal. So the generals in Amestris knowingly provoking conflicts with their neighbors has multiple resonances.
no subject
Date: 30 Jul 2010 03:41 am (UTC)That scene in volume 16 where Hawkeye says that they'd all be liable to be brought to trial for war crimes if they left the military still brings me up short every time.
I actually wrote a paper on the Tokyo Tribunals, and if anything I think the fact that there are no reconciliation commissions in FMA is a sign of the fact that essentially no one was satisfied with the Tribunals' outcome.
Thinking about it more now, it seems even more obvious that you're right; and this has to be part of why the manga was so popular in Japan, because ultimately as Arakawa says the manga is in part an exploration of what going to war means, for the people who fight and for those who don't, on both sides. And the desire for peace is real in Japan--as much as the "victim mentality" phrase gets tossed around, it would be wrong to overlook the fact that the end of the war did produce a sincere desire for peace in a good many people, and that history still does, and that the Koizumi and Abe governments' logistical and manpower assistance to the U.S. military, as well as other incidents (particularly the Japanese journalists who were kidnapped in Baghdad) were strongly opposed, particularly at the urban grassroots level. It didn't escape the notice of people that many of the people bringing Japan back into war and talking about dismantling the peace constitution were the same people, or descendants of people, who'd taken the country to war in the C20th, too--particularly Abe, whose grandfather Kishi pushed the U.S.-Japan Security Treaty with automatic renewal through the Diet in 1960 (quite literally pushed--he had to be carried to the podium by Diet security through the crowd of rioting lawmakers, while thousands of people protested outside; and the deciding vote was technically out of order) and who was himself a former Class A war criminal. So the generals in Amestris knowingly provoking conflicts with their neighbors has multiple resonances.
Anyway, yeah. Such a great manga, so many layers.