BGM: Venus Peter - New World
I worked late today. This morning I read Dan SHAO's book in a halfway. I thought it must be a masterpiece once again. I've got an interest in a Japanese translator Kazuko Fujimoto's works besides of Haruki Murakami's ones through reading this. About Kazuko Fujimoto, I just read the novels by Richard Brautigan by her translation so I have never learned her essays and critics. By this book, I have learned that she has written the discrimination and feminism in America. She also wrote some books about those issues I heard. I reserved one of those books by her by the library's website. If possible, I want to read various Brautigan's works through her translation again by this chance. It is really grateful for me to read/meet various authors and books by any books, any writers by following their roots. I remember... at my teenage days, when I was into Haruki Murakami, I also tried some the Beatles' tunes and Jazz. I also tried to watch Godard's old movies. Indeed, some critics say Haruki's literature is not political/serious, but sometimes ambitious critics find this kind of political aspect in his works.
This afternoon I heard this news. On the "Global Gender Gap Report 2023" from the World Economic Forum, the result say to us that Japan has still serious inequality between men and women. I have to read about this to understand the core of this problem. But about this topic, I can remember that I have been bullied a lot by the comment "Be a man" and "Are you a real man?" etc. This "masculine" society can give a certain mental pressure/difficulty on the man in a way. I believe so. But I also have to see that it is not the same as the difficulties this country's women have had to face. That's difficult/sensitive... Indeed, this is a foreign movie but I remember a Korean movie "Kim Jiyoung born 1982". That movie clearly shows how women have to face their difficulties in their life in this society. I guess it can be the same in Japan. It must be irrational... then, how can we suggest/declare each voice into any public common opinion? I believe that it can be "personal is political".
Now I feel that this era has been changing. I have been said a lot as "Be natural" and "Don't be weird". It has been really troublesome life for me. But now, it is really "diversity" era. Now we can't divide our sexuality as "male" and "female". We have to see how our personal/individual sexualities can be sensitively... But I can't say anything about this because I don't know well. About autism, now people see that autism is on the spectrum/gradation as a main point of view. This means that autistic people and neurotypical people are never completely different as human beings and aliens. We are the same at the root... Suddenly I thought this. Now is the era we have to find each person's identity by any single person. It means not the one any establishment or society can give orthodox identities to us. So it can provide new difficulties to us (it can make new "identity crisis"). But it is also the era everyone can live each person's precious single life by the inner voice from our core. But I need to think about this steadily.
Now is the era every person can quest each one's identity. It must be a kind of "custom-made" identity. Is it a way of liberation/freedom? Or is it a beginning of new nightmare era? How the stories/narratives we are living can influence on those identities we have? On thinking about these things and writing English memo at a lunchbreak, Suddenly I was talked by a person. "I always see you, and am getting embraced by you!". He said so. I am glad to hear that. And I remember that another reader of this journal had bought Steve Silberman's book "Neurotribes" by reading my opinion. Ah, this journal, and my existence affects someone else... but it must be because YOU are always supporting me. You give me comments, and also read me. THANK YOU SO MUCH!
