Flame Wars Are Rooted in Ignorance

A good rule of thumb for being a fan of anything is to support your favorite artist/company/group by spreading the love and not the hate.  Ten years ago when internet and social media was not as prominently used, I don't think the term "flame war" was coined yet for feuds between groups of fans or individuals.  I would say flaming and flamers have gotten worse over the years and many people have fallen victim to it.  If you go on to any youtube page and look at the comments, chances are you'll come across a lot of crap.  College humor accurately portrays this in the following video.

Bias is within every individual and we tend to take sides.  In schools of America, we are taught to embrace diversity and unconsciously we tend to berate those that conform to a standard.  Occasionally we take a neutral stance if stakes get too high.  It is not wrong to have your own opinion and nor is it wrong to align yourself with a mainstream idea.  Some fans have a tendency to take it too far to express themselves and end up hurting other fans either through the Internet or physically.

Here are some things I've been seeing on Youtube when I browse through visual kei rock PVs that get on my nerves.

"This band is so gay.  They look like girls."

Hold up.  Cross dressing does not immediately mean the artists are homosexuals and as far as I know, many fans enjoy the cross dressing and gender confusion.  I'll give you two examples. Kaya and Mana are two prominent visual kei artists known for their cross dressing.  I don't know about Kaya, but Mana is a straight man.  Fans love these two to death and look up to them for fashion inspiration.  Mana, most importantly, is responsible for setting the gothic lolita trend for girls.

Makeup is not just for girls.  It's for guys too.  Appearance is the biggest selling point for visual kei and it means going all out.  Even in the most low key appearances for bands and artists, black eyeliner is a must.  A lot of attention is put on the face, especially on the eyes.  Fans love the androgyny on artists and embrace the femininity they express.  It does not mean at all that artists have thrown away their masculinity.  And vice versa for female artists.

"They use to be good.  Now they suck."

Are you the artist or band?  No!  Why are we dictating how an artist or band should act?  Didn't we like a particular song because they created something no one did before?  An artist needs to experiment and grow all the time and it's the same in music.  Creating the same type of music over and over again is what drives listeners away.  Bands have been labeled as sellouts for changing their musical style in order to become part of the mainstream.  If they gain more listeners as a result, then it was a good decision.  Music is their profession and they have to make a living.  The fact that someone is still listening to them is a blessing.  To rate someone based on whether you like the musical style or not is not credible. 

 "XYZ copied ABC.  Posers ..."

 In most cases, the band or artist is not responsible for creating the music videos.  Unless you are Dir en grey or at that level, you start dictating what the content should be.  Recently I read a comment (that's been a year old) on Nega's PV for Munashiki 「Sei」 no Gui ≒ 「Shi」 no Shini about how this PV copied the GazettE's Chizuru PV.  They (along with others) started then accusing the band for copying several well known artists such as Dir en grey, Deathgaze, and the GazettE in terms of music and appearance. I want to make it clear that I like both Nega and the GazettE.  They are similar in genre, but they do have their differences.

I want to make my case that the art direction that was responsible for Nega was not creative enough to Nega stand out in the visual kei crowd.  Nega's vocalist Jin does not sound like GazettE's vocalist Ruki.  Nega's overall sound is dark and gloomy while the GazettE does veer a bit into pop sounding though not quite.  Here's a side by side visual comparison for those of you that don't want to load the videos. 

Nega

the GazettE

In my opinion, the real problem was the lack of originality in the PV done by whoever designed the PV.  Similar setting, similar wardrobe, and similar camera movements.  Even the desaturated filters applied on the video was similar in producing washed out colors.  Hence fans were quick to judge.  If we do an analysis on the lyrics, you may find that the PV was appropriate after all.  Unfortunately, I don't have a lyrics translation and I really wish someone did an analysis.  虚しき「生」の寓意≒「死」の真意 roughly translates to "the allegory of an empty life is the true meaning of death".  The empty life I am assuming is referring to Socrates' unexamined life or a life that is unfulfilled.  Based on the title alone, the bleak landscape and the repetition of the ocean waves is representing this "empty life".  The black wardrobe would then refer to mourning.  If you really want to nitpick, both PVs by Nega and the GazettE use different symbolism.  In Chizuru, there's an inclusion of an empty swing for loneliness and a girl in a white dress probably referring to the fact that she was once a bride.

To put in simple terms, everyone copies from each other.  There is no such thing as true originality.  True originality is Nature itself.  We have been copying each other for centuries and it's really not a bad thing.  Before we start a flame war, let's all do our research properly.  Then we can debate.