#and my discord icon can attest to that

[poms-resources]

Below is a general idea of how I make my screencaps & icons!!

Nothing too intense as there is... a LOT to this and this post will be big as it is, so I’ll give a general synopsis of how I do things!

How I Make Screenshots

This is kind of self explanatory, but I make them by using Dvdvideosoft’s Free Video to JPG Converter. This is fast and easy to use and you really don’t need to lift a finger other than setting a directory and how many caps you’d like it to make!

I DO have a PNG alternative ( or multiple files actually ), but I’m still learning the ropes of it, but it’s called Batch Video to Image Extractor. I’ve used it before, it’s very safe, I’m still getting used to it!

Where do I download movies / videos / series?

You can fall lucky sometimes and find a series you want on Youtube! There is also torrenting, but of course that’s more of a... risky method. Some alternatives would be going to the following: • Kimcartoon • Watchcartoononline

On these sites, you can watch AND right click to save episodes that you’re watching! Sometimes this is the fastest and best method to get a hold of specific episodes that you want or movies that not even torrenting can give you.

How do I crop icons?

I use Photoshop! Yes, like most people, Photoshop is my main go-to place for editing and making pretty much everything you see on my blogs. I have a crop preset where it automatically resizes to the set shape I want:

So when I make a square, no matter how big, it will AUTOMATICALLY resize to the settings I’ve put above. Do I do the batch sequence? No. I don’t use that because sometimes Photoshop can be so powerful, it’ll crash my PC entirely. So you’re wondering, how do I do so many then? I upload 180 screencaps at a time, like so:

As it’s what my computer can handle ( it could handle more, but I never like to risk it )

I do this because I have keyboard shortcuts to make my life easier! Hand placement is everything so I’ve set my Photoshop shortcuts to a lot of the F keys ( F1, F2, F3 etc ) !! If people would like a look at my shortcuts, I’m happy to share them!

I also do this because sometimes I want a particular angle on a screencap that batch editing just can’t do, so I prefer to do them one by one!

How do I make my borders?

Again, Photoshop! I save the original PSD of anything I make so I can easily go back to it!

The photoshop I use is HERE! It’s free, I’ve used it for a REALLY long time!

How do I add my borders to them?

Photoscape! I primarily use Photoscape X Pro, but Photoscape X is just fine as well! X Pro is just the paid version, which allows a lot more options.

Photoscape has multiple different options and an amazing batch editing system which works like a charm, it converts icons quickly and efficiently, resizes icons, you name it, it’ll do it. It’s intimidating at first, but I promise you, with a lot of messing around and experimentation, you learn a LOT of things!

When it comes to Photoscape’s batch editing, I mess with the following settings MAINLY:

Resize is self explanatory, this is so you can resize your icon to fit exactly into your border.

Insert is basically adding your border on top, another self explanatory one.

Frame is very important. So for example, for a square or circle frame, you’d use this type of frame:

It’s a lot of messing around but very with it really!

For a blockquote frame, it’s a LOT more of messing with and can be really frustrating, a lot of back and forth:

I’ve sat people down in a Discord call and given this tutorial before and I’m certain they can attest that it is certainly finicky and messing about to make things fit or look nice, but once you get the hang of it, I can promise you, you won’t be disappointed!

And that’s basically it! I hope y’all find some of this useful, and I know it’s a SUPER long post but I really hope some of these help you!!

#♡ ➝ Posts #♡ ➝ Pom's Resources #♡ ➝ Pom's Recommendations #♡ ➝ Screencapping #♡ ➝ Icons #♡ ➝ Photoshop #♡ ➝ Photoscape #♡ ➝ Long Post #⦗✦| Be warned‚ this post is MASSIVELY long!! |✦⦘

[axelnightberry]

TERMS AND CONDITIONS

Please take the time to thoroughly review the terms and conditions before contacting me. You are not subject to following my rules if you do not wish to; In case of discrepancy, you can always look for another artist who better suits your preferences.

---------------------------------------- GENERAL INFORMATION

•You will only be purchasing the PNG file. Not the printed work (example: FILE.KRA). •The original file (.KRA) will not be sent or negotiated. •For-profit use of my art is not permitted, for personal use only. •Between 2 to 3 sketches will be sent to choose the most variable option to start the commission. WIPS (Work In Progress) that the client wants will be provided, but not in excess, since the commission itself and that of other clients would be delayed. •Small touch-ups are free. •The drawings will have my signature, without exception. •I will have the right to decline the request if I do not believe I can fulfill it or due to discomfort. •It will not be commissioned in any style other than those shown in the price table. •All completed commissions will be uploaded publicly on my social networks. But if the customer wants to keep their name/alias or the name of the oc, say so on the form or when the order is delivered. ----------------------------------------

P E R M I S S I O N S  The client is authorized to: •Use the illustration for your networks, whether non-profit. •Re upload the commission to your networks with the corresponding credits (mention/attest to my account on said social network). •Use the illustration for personal purposes (print it for yourself, give it to a friend or etc). The client is NOT authorized to: •Delete my signature. •Trace or take the illustration as a tracing base. •Modify the work for no reason. •Use it for commercial purposes (sell it and etc). •Claim drawing as yours. ----------------------------------------

W H A T I C A N D R A W A N D W H A T I C A N ' T

IF I CAN. +Original Character. +Fanarts. +Hibridos. +Furrys. +Gore. +Light Fetishes. +Nudes. +Background. +Selfshipping. +Ships. +Suggestive Poses.

CAN'T. +Realistic animals. +Complicated accessories. +Babies. +Real People. +Realism. +Nsfw explicit. +Incest. +Ped0philia. +Proship. +EXLICIT or DISGUSTING fetishes.

----------------------------------------

P A Y M E N T   M E T H O D S

•Payment will be through Mercado Pago (Argentina) and Paypal. •Said payment will only be with Argentine pesos (ARS) or dollars (USD). •I will only start making the commission once the payment is complete. •I will be the one to request payment to avoid any type of error. •Do not send any advance payment until the order is accepted. ---------------------------------------- B E F O R E   O R D E R I N G

X Be specific with your request X

Form. •Style: Chibi/Sketch/Simple Color/Fullcolor. •Type: Only/Couple/Icon/Half Body/Fullbody •Number of characters. •Background: Simple/Detailed/Transparent. •Extra: Pet/Weapon/Etc. Character information. •Character's name. •Creator (put alias). •Personality (so I know him a little). •Details (pose or how you want the drawing to be). •References (good quality images, color palette, character in question, clothing, etc.).

X The commission will be sent by Gmail X If Instagram crashes, contact me on Discord.

axelnightberry or NightBerry.

---------------------------------------- W O R K I N G   S P E E D

•I am committed to finishing the commission as quickly as possible, but I will not allow you to pressure me to finish quickly, be patient. •The approximate time will be at least one week, however, the time may extend up to longer (in the worst case a month as a limit), you will be notified in advance. •If I have other commissions to do before yours, understand that I will need more time. •I will let you know if anything happens that could delay the commission. •If you need the commission for a specific date, let us know in the form. No quota will be advanced. •Remember that I am also a human being with my own life and studies, any mishap will be notified to you on the social network in which you have contacted me. ---------------------------------------- C H A N G E S  /  T O U C H E S •Once the drawing is complete, I am willing to incorporate any additional details that may have been overlooked. •Significant modifications after the lineart will carry an additional cost, varying depending on the complexity. •For those who appreciate details, I request you to provide detailed information and references for accurate execution. ---------------------------------------- R E T U R N S •If I have not yet started work on your order, I am willing to refund your full payment if you wish to cancel it. •After the order is in progress, it is not allowed to request cancellations or refunds.

----------------------------------------

By asking me for a commission, you are indicating that you have read and accepted all the conditions described above, as well as your agreement with the policy of using my art for personal and non-profit purposes, providing the corresponding credits.

Atte: AxelNightBerry

[gritt3y]

T A K E AHWHWHWH

i have enough to fill all of tumblr i’m 😫 AHWHWH3

#grit’s art #tw eye contact #tw claws #tw teeth #THE NEVER ENDING SKETCH BOWL FROM OLIVE GARDEN #AHWHWHW #fr fr i am #terribly addicted to pasta #and my discord icon can attest to that #AHWHW #also yes #i did give in and pay extra for wb #😔 #CLOWN ON ME NOW AHWHWJW

[rosielav]

Here’s a definitely not sponsored post telling you to join the Mythical Society if you wanna keep in touch (lmao). Www.mythicalsociety.com

My nickname is McGroggins. Join us ;)

#lmao i downloaded the app exclusively to message my boi who recognized my icon in the ms discord #NOT EVEN THO #IT WAS A PRIVATE SERVER LMAOOOOO #but it was one created from the ms pool of peeps #if you are really into gmm i can personally attest that signing up is 1000% worth it #im third tier baybeyyyyy #getting allll the perks #talking to alllll the cool peeps #anyway...heres wonderwal

[loquaciousquark]

Watching replays of Olympic pairs skating and can’t help but think of your wonderful FenHawke figure skating AU 😭 thank you so much for writing it! Absolutely iconic modern AU and how you write them falling in love is perfection as always ♥️

Ahh, bless your heart! The movie night discord can attest I've been yelling about needing to write something for the skating AU since the Olympics started, but work has been in one of my really heavy grading periods for most of February, and what little time I've had has gone (obviously) to Hades lately. However, I've definitely been trying to percolate the half-thoughts that live in my head into something I could turn into a proper ficlet, and if I can get anything in there to coalesce into something cohesive, I'd love to write for that world again! <3 Thank you so much for remembering that world; as silly as it is, I really love it, and I'm so glad you've enjoyed it!

#quark replies #anonymous #fenris/hawke for ts #dragon age for ts

[richincolor]

Book Review: Foreshadow: Stories to Celebrate the Magic of Reading and Writing YA

Title: Foreshadow: Stories to Celebrate the Magic of Reading and Writing YA

Author: Emily X.R. Pan and Nova Ren Suma (Editors)

Genres:  Anthology, SciFi/Fantasy, Contemporary

Pages: 352

Publisher: Algonquin Young Readers

Review Copy: ARC from Publisher

Availability: Available Now

Summary: Thirteen Short Stories from Bold New YA Voices & Writing Advice from YA Icons

Created by New York Times bestselling authors Emily X. R. Pan and Nova Ren Suma, Foreshadow is so much more than a short story collection. A trove of unforgettable fiction makes up the beating heart of this book, and the accompanying essays offer an ode to young adult literature, as well as practical advice to writers.

Featured in print for the first time, the thirteen stories anthologized here were originally released via the buzzed-about online platform Foreshadow. Ranging from contemporary romance to mind-bending fantasy, the Foreshadow stories showcase underrepresented voices and highlight the beauty and power of YA fiction. Each piece is selected and introduced by a YA luminary, among them Gayle Forman, Laurie Halse Anderson, Jason Reynolds, and Sabaa Tahir.

What makes these memorable stories tick? What sparked them? How do authors build a world or refine a voice or weave in that deliciously creepy atmosphere to bring their writing to the next level? Addressing these questions and many more are essays and discussions on craft and process by Nova Ren Suma and Emily X. R. Pan.

This unique compilation reveals and celebrates the magic of reading and writing for young adults.

Review: When I first learned of the concept of Foreshadow that Emily X.R. Pan and Nova Ren Suma developed, I was so excited. I found the concept intriguing and was glad they were choosing to highlight marginalized voices. When I learned of the print version my excitement bubbled over again.

And what editors Pan and Suma have done with the anthology is a love letter to amazing stories and the craft of writing itself. Each story is introduced by an established YA author that gives just a hint about what the story is about. Each story also includes an author’s note at the end where we get a glimpse at what inspired each author to write their short story. It’s at this point is where this anthology becomes unique. After each story either Pan or Suma give a brief reflection on what each story excels at from a craft issue. Reflections include topics such as Voice, Mood, Plot Twist, Romance, Imagery, and Motif. From a teacher’s standpoint I loved these craft insights as I could see using them in the creative writing classroom as discussion lead ins. And as a writer, it allowed me to really look at a particular craft technique that the writer excelled at and digest the story differently. After some of these craft reflections we are gifted with some amazing writing prompts. My favorite one was called “The Ending of the World” which encouraged writers to craft a piece about a character’s world ending either figuratively or literally. The prompt reminded me both as a teacher of teens and a yet-to-be published YA writer that small moments in a teens life can be “world ending” and we have to give space for those moments. But the craft goodness doesn’t end here. At the end of the anthology, Pan and Suma give space to the editors of the anthology to discuss the editing process and their approach to cultivating an author’s voice. For me, this was an insightful glimpse at the editing process of not just an anthology but of a novel. (full disclosure: I submitted a short story to Foreshadow and was rejected of course. However, I received lovely feedback from the editors/readers to help improve the piece, so I can attest to the care they all took in uplifting emerging authors.) The anthology ends with a writing prompt that so lovingly wraps everything together with a prompt of inspiring words that will hopefully spark a story in a writer. Foreshadow is a perfect anthology filled with beautiful stories that will touch a reader, while at the same time inspire others to take up a pen and write.

I can’t wax poetic about this anthology without mentioning some of the stories that I really loved. Mayra Cueva’s “Resilient” broke my heart as the story is about Marisol and her cousin Rosita who leave Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria for a job at a turkey processing plant in South Dakota. The story really brought home how Hurricane Maria completely upended the lives of everyone on the island and how our government failed them. The story ends on a positive note with Marisol changing her state of mind and deciding that being resilient will be what gets her through her time in South Dakota. Another story that I loved was Gina Chen’s “Fools”. Chen’s story is a fantasy where the magic came alive and I fell in love with all the characters. Fanny is a teen without a heart, literally, but she is the heart of the story in her relationships with her grandmother and the other magical girls who live on the island. Her world is changed when a demon, named Sidoi/Dimen, crosses into her realm. The two develop a fun push and pull relationship that challenges Fanny to grow in ways she couldn’t imagine. I would totally love to see a novel with these two as the main characters going on adventures. Lastly, Nora Elghazzawi’s “Solace” was a touching story of a teen overcoming her grief. Laila is on the verge of adulthood but is directionless as she is still dealing with the death of her younger brother. She is being encouraged by school counselors and her parents to move on, while also cultivating a relationship with Gabe Briar who has also experienced loss. The story also hints that Laila might have been teetering on a food discorder due to her grief and I like that the story focused on her healing, how her gardening helped her heal, but was also in a sense what was holding her back.

In addition to being moving stories, all of the works in Foreshadow are beautifully written. There was so much thought and care that was put into this anthology and it comes through to the reader. If I were teaching high school creative writing I would definitely use this anthology in my classroom. Readers will enjoy this anthology for the richness of all the stories and the insight into craft. Writers will appreciate the chance to dig a little deeper into each story to help them improve their craft. Emily X.R. Pen and Nova Ren Suma put their heart and soul into Foreshadow and we are all the richer for it.

#book review #weneeddiversebooks #ownvoices

[corgiidad-blog]

Hello everyone!

It’s time to make this official. CORGIIDAD ( aka BRIAN HARDING ) will be going on an INDEFINITE HIATUS due to several unfortunate circumstances, both in regards to the Dream Daddy fandom, and the mun’s personal life. Brian was a hastily put together blog, done so for friends, some of whom I no longer speak with for, as said before, unfortunate circumstances-- and thus, these bad times have pushed me away from Brian altogether, and it is said with a heavy heart that I am no longer capable of looking at the Dream Daddy fandom with any sort of happiness beyond betrayal and sick. Of course, none of these experiences will ever negate the fact I made some very amazing friends, who I am lucky to know, even if I am incapable of responding to a message.

To the personal side of this; I am unemployed, I am in financial trouble and thus, reasonably, under a lot of stress. I know I will not be capable of roleplaying Brian on this blog ( or privately, unless you are a friend of mine, truth be told ) and attempt to have any thoughts of good and clean health. It is trying and hard, and I do not ask for pity, and many can attest to my own personal hatred of asking for help. My literary commissions and graphical commissions are open. I am also selling the rights to several designs, many of which are under $10 USD. Once again I open donations as well ( charmingly nicknamed; Buy Me a Loot box ) in order gain $40+ USD to buy groceries and a few bottles for my aroma therapy. Again I must say I PREFER commissions as opposed to donations. I ask that, if you want, to reblog the linked posts above to signal boost. It would be a blessing. If you are requesting a commission ( or asking for a reward for donating ) please do contact me on DISCORD at Indecisive#5844

As for contacting me away from Brian ( who I may return to, though likely only to appease friends, as the muse for Brian died somewhere around false accusations and heart ache. ) you will be able to find me on the blogs listed below: - @txghut ( Independent Asher Forrester from Telltales Game of Thrones ) - @bodhxsattva ( Independent Tekhartha Zenyatta from Overwatch ) - @strawmcn ( Independent Jesse McCree from Overwatch ) - @anchcrage ( Independent Reinhardt Wilhelm from Overwatch ) - @gaybeardedmen ( Personal Blog )

If you happen to read this completely, let it be known you are capable of liking and reblogging this post. As well as, if you happen to roleplay as Brian Harding, here is a link to a dropbox of the icons I created, free to use with credit to myself. As well, I have a packet of 200+ Jesse McCree Icons that can be purchased at $2 ( unedited, if you would like me to edit them, the charge is $3 ). 

Have a lovely time, Dream Daddy Fandom, I will miss you dearly. 

#( .out of character ) #save this broke bitch from himself

[bk-lostintranslation]

Shoddy Shodō / Commentaries on Globalization

We prefer the foppish superficiality of the Japonaiserie to the more prismatic understanding necessary for Japonisme – because the latter rests on the premise of cultivating an understanding of others, and therefore of ourselves...

One needn't be a Zen philosopher to appreciate the elegant simplicity of Japanese calligraphy. An intriguing juxtaposition of stark yet subdued, there is an undeniable dynamism to the text that attests to the visual nature of Japanese aesthetics themselves.  More engaging still is the preparation and ritual imbued within the art:  the water poured into the dark slab of the inkstone, the hand-carved sumi ground against the edge of the basin, the translucent washi paper held down by paperweights, the elegant little compartments for paintbrushes and the rows of glossy ink bottles. During the lesson, when taking everything out and arranging it around the table, there was a pleasing sense of harmony – but also of playfulness, not unlike having a tea-party for dolls. The effect, in my case, was unfortunately spoiled when I first dipped my paintbrush into the ink – then immediately made an ugly blot on the paper.    

Considered one of the most highly regarded forms of Japanese art, calligraphy – or shodō – is perhaps as recognizably tied to Japanese culture as cherry blossoms, ukiyo-e woodblock prints, geisha, kabuki, Hokusai's The Wave or iconic shots of Mt. Fiji (Aato, et al, 2013). Yet this fascination and growing preeminence of the Japanese visual form abroad is by no means a corollary of the recent Japanization-wave that has seen the nation's culture surfacing as a global phenomenon. If anything, as far back as the nineteenth century, Japanese aesthetics have wielded a tremendous influence on their Western counterparts, beginning with the Meiji Restoration, when Japanese imports first began to trickle into European markets.  

Artistic motifs and geometric designs unique to Japanese art were emulated; Japonisme, as defined by Philippe Burty, became a veritable craze in the West. Everything from furniture, crockery, textiles, architecture and performance arts borrowed from stylistic elements unique to Japan. Cloisonne techniques were applied to vases and jewelry; furniture was ebonized to emulate the gloss of Japanese laquerwork (Ji & Ukai, 2013; Ono, 2005). Household names such as Degas, Cassatt, Bonnard, Manet and Van Gogh were inspired by Nipponese woodblock prints, whose refined simplicity and distinct use of figures, shadows, colors and compositions allowed for greater flexibility from traditional artistic conventions. Indeed, Van Gogh would go so far as to claim "...all my work is in a way founded on Japanese art" (Nute, 2000, p. 13)     

Today, vibrant skeins of Japanese art and culture continue to weave themselves through the fabric of daily life. Whether it is dining on gas-station sushi, flipping through the pages of a popular manga at the nearest Barnes and Noble, browsing online for Harajuku-inspired fashions (Milk, Bape, COMME des GARÇONS), sprintzing on the latest perfumes by Issey Miyake or Kenzo, gawping at Takashi Murakami's sakura-infused collaboration with Louis Vuitton – or practicing the ancient art of shodō all the way out in a Texas University – there is no denying that Japanese cultural and artistic trends have proliferated the unlikeliest places. Pink globalization, the proliferation of the kawaii, the superflat, the moe; earnest debates about the art of minimalism as embodied by wabi-sabi, academic works on the iconography and semiotics of anime – the sheer scope of Japanese aesthetic concepts abroad is testament to their transnational allure.      

For many, this enjoyment of all things Japan stems from the nation's protean and hybrid culture itself – one that absorbs multiple outside influences and reinvents them into something undeniably its own. Others argue that this very fixation – almost a fetishization – of all things distinctly Japan-flavored may not be a modern translation of adulatory Japonisme at all, but of the more unkind Japonaiserie, which refers to the superficial transference of Japanese style into Western art, but can also be applied to the broader typecasting of Japan as an exoticized wonderland within which commodity fetishism and orientalist idealization converge.   

The question, then, becomes:  is the image of modern Japan that is absorbed abroad today merely loaded with all the concomitant denotations of cultural otherness, similar to the Japan-fever saturating Europe decades before – or is this obsession with the 'authentic' ethos of Japan the true crux of the issue?   Jean Paul Sartre, of course, has argued that, "If you seek authenticity for authenticity’s sake, you are no longer authentic" (Daigneault, 2000, p. 25). Taken in that sense, true Japaneseness means little on its own. The very notion that in order for something – whether a concept or an object– to be considered Japanese, it must be rigidly and uniformly Zen or Shinto, or unspoiled by the diluting forces of globalization, is patently ridiculous. The different facets of Japanese aesthetics have long been imbued with both ancient philosophies and Western influences alike, in a bricolage that some have dubbed schizophrenic, others multivalent – but which remind us that Japan's relationship with modernization has not been a seamless overnight transition from rustic, Edo-period mura to the glittering neon-soaked streets of Ginza, but an ongoing, discordant and often self-contradictory process that at once borrows from, and lends itself to, external influences.   

Yet, no matter how multifaceted the origins of Japanese aesthetics, or how versatile their range – from a gorgeous Kabuki play of Aoi no Ue to a secondhand store selling lacy Gothic Lolita dresses to my own pitiful attempts at shodō without even a rudimentary inkling of its Zen tenets – the fact remains that these principles are translated as undeniably Japanese abroad (Berger, 2010; Dorman, 2016; McKevitt, 2017). More to the point, in crossing geographic and cultural borders, they become almost emblems of Japaneseness. They are consumed, copied, critiqued for that very quality – a fact that once again harkens back to Sartre's remarks on authenticity: If the self-conscious Japaneseness of these aesthetics is the root of their appeal, are they truly Japanese at all?  Or have they merely become hollow self-referential symbols – a Japan not celebrated as Japonisme, but its blander, shallower cousin of Japonaiserie, which posits pretty fluff and frippery as valuable based simply on their 'cool Japan' provenance?   

To be sure, these concerns have been raised before. Issues with nation branding and soft power have been brought up consistently when examining the worldwide dissemination of Japanese culture and aesthetics. Prominent theorists from Koichi Iwabuchi to Joseph S Nye have remarked on how the carefully crafted face of Japan abroad is meant to foster certain ideas and images; to render Japan a personality that is implicitly institutionalized, and to socialize the rest of the world to a particular viewpoint. Similarly, in her book Pink Globalization: Hello Kitty’s Trek Across the Pacific, Christine Reiko Yano notes how works on nation-branding utilize the "language of marketing," and how the act itself is dependent on "the image others hold" (2013, p. 259).  In essence, by packaging itself abroad, the nation 'others' itself. It transforms its cultural legacy into a collectible object d'art. It can even be said that the very act of nation-branding is an indulgence in the nation's own objectification.  

While this strategy may seem workable from a marketing standpoint, with Japanese art and pop culture serving as a vital export and a tool of diplomacy (MacWilliams, 2015), there is also a disquieting whiff of the transactional that enters the equation – and in particular devalues the relationship between the aesthetic creation and its appreciator. Aficionados of Japanese art and tradition would like to believe that their relationship with the works they love and the nation they spring from is more nuanced than simply consumer and product. The very conception that it might be otherwise erases the link between not only the maker and the product but the seller and the consumer, devolving the cultural output into hollow merchandise unto itself.   In his work, The Rhetoric of Soft Power: Public Diplomacy in Global Contexts, Craig Hayden notes that,

While it is evident that culture appears to predominate in Japanese soft power, the application of culture, both in public arguments and embodied programs and initiatives, suggests a marked tendency toward objectification of culture through products ... [Yet] the value of culture for soft does not stem from its intrinsic capacity to convey deep-seated values or to establish credibility by demonstrating Japanese policy motives – culture "works" by providing a means of access to further engagement with Japan, as part of a fan community, as a student of language, etc. Culture in this sense reflects the networks of connection (2012).

With that in mind, it is difficult to envision that level of connectivity emerging from a purely commercial model of culture. It is equally difficult to imagine this particular strategy of soft power benefiting Japan in the long run. Playful lessons in calligraphy, zany volumes of manga, picturesque Zen garden kits and the frilly extravaganza of Lolita fashion subcultures are all intriguing facets of Japan in and of themselves. But they are not the entirety of Japan – and the very notion that they might be runs afoul of constructing the "Japanese social body as an imagined wholeness (McRoy, 2008, p. 93)." 

More to the point, this over-reliance on tired bromides and artistic stereotypes calls to attention the dangerous Orientalism tacit in both Western consumption of Japanese cultural and aesthetic input, and Japan's own marketing and masquerading of itself as a playground of the fantastical or eccentric – an act that precludes complex global discourse based on mutual learning as well as enjoyment. As Chitty, Ji, Rawnsley and Hayden note, the issue with Japan's formula of "glib branding schemes is the impossibility of capturing the full sweep of Japan's diversity..." and that "public diplomacy ought to be more profound than a beauty contest (p. 410-412)."   

This does not imply, of course, that Japan's efforts to promote itself on the global stage are without merit. As mentioned, Japanese art forms – from Kabuki to calligraphy, from video games to anime – are hailed as vital facets in a broader strategy for fostering both foreign policy and economic growth. Yet, the key to their commercial success, sheathed within pontifications of "cultural odorlessness", is a self-conscious localizatization, or perhaps even "glocalization", which impels Japan to tailor its culture as a product that best fits its contextual reception (Hayden, 2012; Iwabuchi, 2007).   To be fair, where marketization is concerned, culture becomes as easy to convert into a commodity as anything else. But the involvement of money flattens this mode of self-promotion by rendering it public – and by proxy, entrenched in the civic and legal hallmarks of consumption, as all merchandise is. The moment anything – an idea, an item, a sentiment – is placed on sale, its inherent value is measured solely in terms of its economic merit, and therefore its quantifiability.  

It was intriguing to note the internalization of this mindset during the calligraphy lesson. As fellow students grappled with their brushes and dribbled ink across the rice-paper (which, I confess, appealed to my horrid sense of schadenfreude), our chief complaints comprised of "Why isn't this easier?" – "I thought it would be more fun" – "Why aren't I instantly perfect at this?"    Yet, as the teacher was quick to remind us earlier in the lesson, calligraphy – as the purest form of ideography – requires kinetic grace as well as inner focus, neither of which are possible with a rigid composition, especially not on the first try. Easiness, fun and perfection are not the point of the endeavor – the process is. Yet the process is difficult to appreciate when one is accustomed to seeing their enjoyment of Japanese 'products' as transactional – no different from flipping through manga, or browsing the selection of anime on Netflix, or placing a Japanese BB-cream in an online shopping basket at Sephora.   

How does one immerse themselves in the conceptual complexities of an aesthetic when he or she is so used to viewing the culture from within an economic model, where even something as benign as a shodō class absolutely must, somehow, telegraph the entertainment value associated with Japan, as a place of "fantasy and difference? (Anheier, 2011, p. 277)   It is a reminder, that hand-in-hand with quantification goes decontextualization. That, in turn, brings us back to the dilemma of Japonisme versus Japonaiserie – within which commodity fetishism masquerades as exoticism, playing up to Western constructions of an enchanted but ultimately reductionist view of Japan. Learning about another culture should, in theory, be more broad-ranging and multi-faceted than that. There should be a sense of both parties engaging each other over the landscape of the art, the language, the history.      

Yes, we have crossed the point where conceptions of Japanese culture and aesthetics can be understood as statically mystical, existing in a space completely separated from politics or pedagogy. Yet we do ourselves a disservice by imbibing only prettily-packaged, surface-level tokens of would-be Japaneseness – and Japan's soft-power strategy a greater disservice for pandering to it.

Perhaps it is a dark casualty of globalization, to forge not connections but new methods for labeling the objects of our interest into purely superficial categories based on their consumptive appeal, because to examine them from a broader lens runs the risk of them examining us in turn. Far tidier and safer to classify each other, with meta-tags and marketing, into archetypes and icons to consume without any tangible outcomes of a bilateral exchange. Here is a Geisha in a colorful kimono, coyly twirling a parasol – an exoticized symbol of feminine Otherness as much as a performative embodiment of iki. Here is a cup of sake, sipped with no substantive appreciation for its quality, but for the mere fact that it is an extension of the would-be unusual smorgasbord of Japanese cuisine. Here is the shodō lesson designed to suit the American temperament – Zen-free and upholding no aesthetic stance beyond being a straightforward source of amusement.    It is easier to absorb the classifications posited by fetishized images of Japan, and Japan's internalization of that fetishization for marketing and nation-branding, so we can imagine we know the culture without actually knowing it, and to ourselves avoid being known. Why not, when classification conveniently precludes in-depth judgement?   

There is an inherent cowardice in this strategy of soft power – for both parties engaged in the dance. There is a shortsightedness to this act of self-definition which is dependent on flawed teleology and a trap of circular logic wherein culture is served up as a commodity to be devoured, yet the power and resonance in that strategy remains dubious at best, limited at worst. Or perhaps that is the point, because it allows for the luxury of atomizing another culture on our own terms, while conveniently avoiding the dialogic parity that can only emerge with each party possessing an equally strong and honest voice (Tabachnick & Koivukoski, 2004).  

We prefer the foppish superficiality of the Japonaiserie to the more prismatic understanding necessary for Japonisme – because the latter rests on the premise of cultivating an understanding of others, and therefore of ourselves, while the former provides an easy means to evade an external gaze that tells us something about ourselves we aren't comfortable with confronting. It is easier to project a one-dimensional persona into a realm of the same. It is easier buy into the delusion that we have hermetically sealed ourselves and others into an airtight wrapper of self-affirmation – and to cling to it with a blind, nearly onanistic tenacity.   

References

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Chitty, N., Ji, L., Rwansley, G. D., & Hayden, C. (2017). The Routledge handbook of soft power. London ; New York: Routledge, Taylor et Francis Group.

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Dorman, A. (2016). Paradoxical Japaneseness: cultural representation in 21st century Japanese cinema. London: Palgrave Macmillan.

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McRoy, Jay (2008), “The Horror Is Alive. Immersion, Spectatorship, and the Cinematics of Fear in the Survival Horror Genre,” Reconstruction, Vol. 6, No. 1

Nute, K. (2000). Frank Lloyd Wright and Japan: the role of traditional Japanese art and architecture in the work of Frank Lloyd Wright. London : New York: Routledge.

Nye, J. S. (2004). Soft power: the means to success in world politics. New York: Public Affairs.

Ono, A. (2005). Japonisme in Britain: Whistler, Menpes, Henry, Hornel, and nineteenth-century Japan. London: RoutledgeCurzon.

Satō, S., Roshi, G. A., Fujiwara, S., & Sato, A. O. (2013). Shodo: the quiet art of Japanese Zen calligraphy: learn the wisdom of Zen through traditional brush painting. Tokyo: Tuttle Publishing.

Tabachnick, D., & Koivukoski, T. (2004). Globalization, technology, and philosophy. Albany, NY: State University of New York Press.

Yano, C. R. (2013). Pink globalization: Hello Kittys trek across the Pacific. Durham: Duke University Press.

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