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Posted bySleepymachinein/reads-Nov 02, 2016 at 7:51 AMΔ

One of Japan's most popular mascots is an egg with crippling depression

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One of Japan's most popular mascots is an egg with crippling depression

Corporations are forever perfecting the art of prodding primal emotions - greed, lust, hunger - to make us buy stuff. Listen to the Story. But is it possible to market malaise? In Japan at least, the answer is yes. Meet Gudetama, the anthropomorphic embodiment of severe depression.

pri.org
Comments2
  • SleepymachineNov 02, 2016 at 7:51 AMΔ

    All the Gudetama episodes. (I think.)

    Posted this because of the demystification. Rather than lazily treating the Japanese as the Exotic Other:

    Q: Westerners may assume these mascots allow a repressed culture to vent. Is this true?

    Matt Alt: I would definitely push back against that.

    It’s true that Japanese society values considering the needs and thoughts of others. Especially in public. But that doesn’t mean Japanese people are incapable of articulating themselves.

    I would say using mascots such as Gudetama is a more nuanced way of expressing oneself than simply verbalizing an emotion or typing it out. This is exactly the reason Japan is the country that invented emoji — those little blips and icons used to spice up a conversation by injecting an emotional quotient.

    I don’t think you can look at Gudetama — or any mascot or emoji — and say they’re the product of an emotionally stunted civilization. They’re the product of a society that has found alternate and interesting methods to express itself.

    ⁣

    Q: Is it surprising that a corporation created a depressing icon?

    Matt Alt: It’s kind of like asking if you’re surprised the Navy Seals invented a new way to kill somebody. This is what these guys do. They’ve been honing their techniques for decades.

    The reason Gudetama is so popular is, well, the cute design. But also because all of us feel like retreating into our shells from time to time. And he is literally retreating into his shell.

  • ayamnotkambingNov 03, 2016 at 2:12 AM

    gudetama is truly my favourite current mascot, for sure.

reads

reads

Long reads, short reads, interesting articles that aren't straight up news or clickbait.

9848 members
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