My Year Of Meats Pt. 2

"I had spent so many years, in both Japan and America, floundering in a miasma of misinformation about culture and race, I was determined to use this window into mainstream network television to educate. Perhaps it was naive, but I believed, honestly, that I could use wives to sell meat in the service of a Larger Truth" (Ozeki 27). 

Through this passage shows Jane's idealistic streak, which commonly associated with her beliefs of documentary filming, and more specifically tied to issues such as racial justice and minorities. Ozeki often potrays this through the novel by placing increasingly diverse families in terms of both race and sexuality and then on to a documentary about DES poisoning by the novel's close. This type of idealism was also able to inspire the other main character of the novel: Akiko. AKiko found strength and somewhat of an identity through Jane's works and shows. It was quite interesting seeing Jane develop into a stronger woman by fighting for her own ideals, which you can see through the faxes between herself and John Ueno. To me, Jane represents a independent,modern, free-spirited,and strong American women who is able to inspire others. 


Random Picture #1: Japanese Beef Rolls
Random Picture #2: Grilled Japanese Beef


"...don't want their meat to have a synergistic association with deformities. Like race. Or poverty. Or clubfeet" (Ozeki 57). 

I thought this quote is important because it more explicitly describes the guidelines for the show's cast by Jane. While the original lines were to avoid filming things such as: "physical imperfections," "obesity," "squalor," and "second class peoples" (Ozeki 12). The original orders of what and what not to film were certainly in classier words while Jane bluntly describes what the producers actually mean. This shows the media will only show what it wants to and will cover up the flaws in society. This is to further perpetuate the view of the stereotypical American family: perfect, flawless, and happy to the Japanese families sitting at home. 


Family on the left would be more likely shown on television.
Family on the right...not so much, unless its a losing weight reality TV show. 

"I would like to think of my "ignorance" less a personal failing and more as a massive cultural trend, an example of doubling, of psychic numbing, that characterizing the end of the millennium" (Ozeki 334). 

This quote shows Jane's ultimate realization with herself, the media, and the consequences rises from her connection between the two. She recognizes that she had become one of the catalysts that further widened stereotypes and other hurtful beliefs that had flew along society.To her, meat is not the message but a symbol of oppression that devalues all other varied forms of identities besides what is thought of as 'society's standard.'



Source:
Ozeki, Ruth L. My Year of Meats. New York: Viking, 1998. Print.