M.C. Fukuda – Anata To Chigau n Desu
When Yasuo Fukuda went before the press last week and declared that he was resigning as Prime Minister, he had little idea that one of the phrases he used would become a new comedic internet meme.
“You said I sounded detached, but I am able to see myself objectively. I am different from you.(あなたとは違うんです)”
As Pink Tentacle has reported, his strongly-worded declaration has inspired 2-channelers to make amusing ASCII pictures of a badass Fukuda and a company is even selling a t-shirt based on one of the parody images.
The meme has also spawned several funny YouTube videos, including a dramatic music version of Fukuda’s press conference, a couple video game-ish musical remixes, and even this video of Fukuda repeatedly saying “I’m different from you.” to the tune of M.C. Hammer’s Can’t Touch This:
More information about the meme and the t-shirts being sold can be found at the Japan Times.
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haha yes! I love the internet!
I wouldn’t mind one of those shirts…
Has Fukuda broke the mold? 2channers seem to be depicting him as a self aware Agent Smith from the Matrix. What does that say about the rest of the population? If he has subscribed to the ‘Know thyself’ philosophy then wheel him back in! It denotes he has a conscience and he wants to do better!
I’ve tried to explain the concept of ‘Know thyself’ to Japanese friends. The Japanese version of this seems to be ‘Love thyself’.
‘Know thyself’ is an objective analysis of the self, requiring a certain amount of detachment. External advice is also incorporated into the analysis. e.g. if friends start to say “You’re drinking a lot these days”, then you might incoroprate these comments into your personal analysis and try to correct your self-destructive behaviour.
‘Love thyself’ is a subjective analysis of the self, without detachment. No external advice is incorporated into the analysis. Same example, although IMHO few Japanese, are likely to say that you are drinking too much because they too subscribe to the ‘love thyself’ philosophy. They’re too self absorbed to even notice your drinking habits, let alone mention them. If your drinking habit were mentioned, you would most likely take this as a criticizm and question the value of your friendship, because after all, you’re so perfect that you cannot possibly have a drinking problem.
The text in the ASCII picture tells us much about why 2-channelers reacted to the Fukuda’s comment that much. The text says: “I am able to see myself objectively. I am different from CORAL (珊瑚, sango)”. That “CORAL” in the text refers to Asahi Shimbun that caused an infamous incident of fake report concerning graffiti on coral reef in 1989.
Many of 2-channelers distrust existing mass media, so the strongly-worded declaration of distrust to the reporter touched their heart.
i am very tempted to yell out “OBJECTION!”