I'm not a person of colour so this topic isn't for me, but it would be interesting to see someone write an article on how ingrained the symbolism of white and black is in Western society. Like things as white are coded as "good, pure, holy" ect where black is coded as "evil, impure, associated with death" ect. and how that's kind of built into a lot of popular imagery and maybe how reversing those codes can be seen as an act of political subversion like having white represent coldness, antiseptic, emptiness and using the colour black to symbolize something like warmth and comfort ect. Anyways these things are just super pervasive and it would be interesting to see some one really analyze how that kind of symbolism plays into and reinforces racism in media
Kudos to you for suggesting this topic. – Munjeera9 years ago
The complementary treatises by Umberto Eco entitled "On Ungliness" and "On Beauty" could be a useful departure point for a historical discussion of this topic. – AnaMRuiz9 years ago
Analyze the different types of characters (and caricatures) in anime that has different portrayals of characters of a different race, for better or for worse.
The first anime that comes to mind is Hetalia, although someone has already pitched that anime as a topic. I'm also thinking about Shokugeki no Soma and Soul Eater, as they're both animes that deal with international students. Perhaps it would be interesting to investigate why creators decide to put other races in their stories, and why it's important to the plot line. – YsabelGo9 years ago
Anime generally tends to portray different races in an equal fashion with the exceptions of altering skin tones. Many anime have international students who seem very much the same in design as the Japanese characters. – Nick9 years ago
Ah, THIS is a very interesting topic. Although I'm not sure if this fits into the category you are specifying, I enjoyed Hiromu Arakawa's use and portrayal of different religions and governmental societies in Fullmetal Alchemist. She had a bit of everything: Christianity/Catholicism, Islam, Communism, etc. Adding a section about Arakawa's depiction of prominent social establishments outside of Japan could be worth it. Great topic! – Dominic Sceski9 years ago
A few series that come to mind that could definitely work with this topic are: Infinite Stratos, World Break, Shougeki no Soma, Girl Und Panzer, and Nobunagun to name a few. – Kevin Mohammed9 years ago
