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Redemption vs. Revenge
Wow, I think National Blog Posting Month has really inspired me! I used to go a long time between posts, and now I'm still writing up a storm in December, though it's still early days. ^_^
This essay on Snapedom about "How much would you be willing to forgive Severus Snape?" started me thinking about forgiveness and redemption, and it reminded me of something I've noticed while watching (subtitled) detective dramas on the local Japanese language TV channel. (The Snapedom essay is very interesting in itself, btw. It seems from DH that Snape probably didn't actually kill anyone, since otherwise he wouldn't be so concerned about his soul possibly being torn if he murdered Dumbledore. So would we forgive him if he had killed people? Would we forgive him if he had tortured people, or conducted magical experiments on them? Are there crimes so horrible that we cannot forgive even if he is repentant? These are the difficult questions that are asked, and there are a number of interesting responses.)
So getting back to the Japanese detective shows, what I've noticed is that there tends to be a theme of redemption over revenge. Usually in American TV shows, the objective is for the police to catch the bad guy, and we get a sense of satisfaction at justice being done if they succeed. Sometimes the criminal has a few sympathetic qualities, but often he's a scumbag with no redeeming traits. We enjoy seeing the police slap the cuffs on him and want to see him put away for life.
By contrast, on the Japanese shows, the killer is often made out to be sympathetic--sometimes moreso than their victim. We can understand why they committed the crime, and maybe we even think a little bit, "Well, he kind of deserved it," even if we wouldn't condone such an action in real life. Someone who was being blackmailed killed the blackmailer, or a woman who was raped killed her attacker, or parents whose child was murdered take vigilante justice against the killer when the police are unable to prosecute him. There was one case where a young woman had a roommate who stole the money she was saving up so that she could live together with her family, and in a fit of rage, she killed the friend who had betrayed her and destroyed her cherished dream.
The emphasis is not on revenge, but more on redemption, on getting the killer to admit their wrongs and often, the detective convinces the criminal to voluntarily turn him/herself in (which would be taken into account at sentencing). In a sense, the detective is trying to save the criminal as well as get justice for the victim. "Do you think that what you've done would make your child happy?" the detective scolded the parents who killed their child's murderer. "Do you think that she would smile, knowing that you've commited murder?" After being confronted with evidence, along with a heartfelt speech by the detective, the criminals usually break down into tears and express remorse. "Serve your time and start over again," the detective will tell them. And often, the criminal will have a lover or spouse who will tearfully pledge, "I'll wait for you."
There's one detective series in particular called "Omiya-san," which translates loosely to "Mr. Cold Case," the lead character's nickname. Omiya-san is a record-keeper in charge of the old case files, and in every episode, some new case will have a connection to one of the old cases, and Omiya-san will investigate and end up solving both crimes. There's a sense of urgency, because usually the old case will be nearing the statute of limitations--which at the time, was fifteen years for murder, although I believe that it's since been raised. (There is no statute of limitations on murder in the U.S.) In an American show, the emphasis would be on achieving justice for the victim before time runs out. However, in Omiya-san, the emphasis seems to be more on achieving redemption for the criminal. It's important to Omiya-san to solve the case before the statute runs out, not just to achieve justice, but because the criminal will never really be able to move on and live at peace until they've atoned for their crime. Usually, they've been living tormented by guilt for the past fourteen years, and there's a sense of relief when Omiya-san finally apprehends them, and they are able to confess the truth and express remorse.
I just thought it was an interesting cultural difference between Japan and the U.S. However, it should be taken with a grain of salt--as American TV shows bear only a passing resemblance to reality, the sentiments of the Japanese shows are more noble than in real life. I remember reading a news article that said it's very difficult for ex-cons to assimiliate back into society after serving their sentence: they're ostracized by their former communities, and have a hard time finding work. Often they re-offend because they have nowhere to go other than jail. Still, it's interesting that the idea of criminals being redeemed seems to appeal to Japanese audiences.
***
The idea of forgiveness also made me think about Iwaki from Harudaki, who is more forgiving than I could ever be--he forgives rape attempts by both Kikuchi and Miyasaka, although I do think it's questionable whether Kikuchi actually intended to go as far as rape. But in any case, he forgives the assaults, and even works to reconcile Miyasaka and Katou later. This seems to be more for Katou's sake than his own, since he knows how deeply it hurts Katou to have been betrayed by a friend. A little bit of this theme worked its way into my most recent fic, Forgiveness, which tackles the issue of Iwaki forgiving Kikuchi. Probably it was easier to forgive Kikuchi because he didn't have a personal relationship with him: it usually hurts more when a friend, someone that you trust, betrays you as opposed to a stranger. Iwaki wasn't really close to Miyasaka, but he did trust him because he was Katou's friend.
I feel really inspired by the Harudaki fandom--I've written three Harudaki fics within the past month! I think the Kikuchi/Onozuka fics will probably spin off into a continuing series because I like that pairing so much. I have an idea of where I want the relationship to go, but it will probably take awhile to get there, so rather than a long WIP, I'll probably do a series of shorter linked fics. I'm mulling over all kinds of ideas about their relationship, and their backgrounds, and what their families are like, and a plot bunny about Mochimune casting Kikuchi, Onozuka, and Iwaki in the same film. (That last idea is thanks to the comments![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
snapelike made on Comeback, Part 2). Anyway, we'll see how it goes. bronze_ribbons also gave me a plot bunny for another Iwaki/Katou fic in this discussion about how the Japanese celebrate Christmas--see the comments for the seed of a fic involving fried chicken and Christmas cake! ^_^ I suppose that means I'll have to get it done within the next few weeks, since it's so appropriate for the holiday season!
I think that the excitement inspired by Harudaki is probably good for my Snupin fics, too, since I came up with the ideas for Ash's Wand and Pumpkin Lattes back in October, but never actually finished them till just recently. I'm really pumped up to work on my post-DH plot bunny and some other things that I've been procrastinating on.
ETA 12/5/08: I utterly fail--it's statute of limitations, of course, not statue! *headdesk* Edited to correct the mistake.
This essay on Snapedom about "How much would you be willing to forgive Severus Snape?" started me thinking about forgiveness and redemption, and it reminded me of something I've noticed while watching (subtitled) detective dramas on the local Japanese language TV channel. (The Snapedom essay is very interesting in itself, btw. It seems from DH that Snape probably didn't actually kill anyone, since otherwise he wouldn't be so concerned about his soul possibly being torn if he murdered Dumbledore. So would we forgive him if he had killed people? Would we forgive him if he had tortured people, or conducted magical experiments on them? Are there crimes so horrible that we cannot forgive even if he is repentant? These are the difficult questions that are asked, and there are a number of interesting responses.)
So getting back to the Japanese detective shows, what I've noticed is that there tends to be a theme of redemption over revenge. Usually in American TV shows, the objective is for the police to catch the bad guy, and we get a sense of satisfaction at justice being done if they succeed. Sometimes the criminal has a few sympathetic qualities, but often he's a scumbag with no redeeming traits. We enjoy seeing the police slap the cuffs on him and want to see him put away for life.
By contrast, on the Japanese shows, the killer is often made out to be sympathetic--sometimes moreso than their victim. We can understand why they committed the crime, and maybe we even think a little bit, "Well, he kind of deserved it," even if we wouldn't condone such an action in real life. Someone who was being blackmailed killed the blackmailer, or a woman who was raped killed her attacker, or parents whose child was murdered take vigilante justice against the killer when the police are unable to prosecute him. There was one case where a young woman had a roommate who stole the money she was saving up so that she could live together with her family, and in a fit of rage, she killed the friend who had betrayed her and destroyed her cherished dream.
The emphasis is not on revenge, but more on redemption, on getting the killer to admit their wrongs and often, the detective convinces the criminal to voluntarily turn him/herself in (which would be taken into account at sentencing). In a sense, the detective is trying to save the criminal as well as get justice for the victim. "Do you think that what you've done would make your child happy?" the detective scolded the parents who killed their child's murderer. "Do you think that she would smile, knowing that you've commited murder?" After being confronted with evidence, along with a heartfelt speech by the detective, the criminals usually break down into tears and express remorse. "Serve your time and start over again," the detective will tell them. And often, the criminal will have a lover or spouse who will tearfully pledge, "I'll wait for you."
There's one detective series in particular called "Omiya-san," which translates loosely to "Mr. Cold Case," the lead character's nickname. Omiya-san is a record-keeper in charge of the old case files, and in every episode, some new case will have a connection to one of the old cases, and Omiya-san will investigate and end up solving both crimes. There's a sense of urgency, because usually the old case will be nearing the statute of limitations--which at the time, was fifteen years for murder, although I believe that it's since been raised. (There is no statute of limitations on murder in the U.S.) In an American show, the emphasis would be on achieving justice for the victim before time runs out. However, in Omiya-san, the emphasis seems to be more on achieving redemption for the criminal. It's important to Omiya-san to solve the case before the statute runs out, not just to achieve justice, but because the criminal will never really be able to move on and live at peace until they've atoned for their crime. Usually, they've been living tormented by guilt for the past fourteen years, and there's a sense of relief when Omiya-san finally apprehends them, and they are able to confess the truth and express remorse.
I just thought it was an interesting cultural difference between Japan and the U.S. However, it should be taken with a grain of salt--as American TV shows bear only a passing resemblance to reality, the sentiments of the Japanese shows are more noble than in real life. I remember reading a news article that said it's very difficult for ex-cons to assimiliate back into society after serving their sentence: they're ostracized by their former communities, and have a hard time finding work. Often they re-offend because they have nowhere to go other than jail. Still, it's interesting that the idea of criminals being redeemed seems to appeal to Japanese audiences.
***
The idea of forgiveness also made me think about Iwaki from Harudaki, who is more forgiving than I could ever be--he forgives rape attempts by both Kikuchi and Miyasaka, although I do think it's questionable whether Kikuchi actually intended to go as far as rape. But in any case, he forgives the assaults, and even works to reconcile Miyasaka and Katou later. This seems to be more for Katou's sake than his own, since he knows how deeply it hurts Katou to have been betrayed by a friend. A little bit of this theme worked its way into my most recent fic, Forgiveness, which tackles the issue of Iwaki forgiving Kikuchi. Probably it was easier to forgive Kikuchi because he didn't have a personal relationship with him: it usually hurts more when a friend, someone that you trust, betrays you as opposed to a stranger. Iwaki wasn't really close to Miyasaka, but he did trust him because he was Katou's friend.
I feel really inspired by the Harudaki fandom--I've written three Harudaki fics within the past month! I think the Kikuchi/Onozuka fics will probably spin off into a continuing series because I like that pairing so much. I have an idea of where I want the relationship to go, but it will probably take awhile to get there, so rather than a long WIP, I'll probably do a series of shorter linked fics. I'm mulling over all kinds of ideas about their relationship, and their backgrounds, and what their families are like, and a plot bunny about Mochimune casting Kikuchi, Onozuka, and Iwaki in the same film. (That last idea is thanks to the comments
snapelike made on Comeback, Part 2). Anyway, we'll see how it goes. bronze_ribbons also gave me a plot bunny for another Iwaki/Katou fic in this discussion about how the Japanese celebrate Christmas--see the comments for the seed of a fic involving fried chicken and Christmas cake! ^_^ I suppose that means I'll have to get it done within the next few weeks, since it's so appropriate for the holiday season!I think that the excitement inspired by Harudaki is probably good for my Snupin fics, too, since I came up with the ideas for Ash's Wand and Pumpkin Lattes back in October, but never actually finished them till just recently. I'm really pumped up to work on my post-DH plot bunny and some other things that I've been procrastinating on.
ETA 12/5/08: I utterly fail--it's statute of limitations, of course, not statue! *headdesk* Edited to correct the mistake.
no subject
I look forward to reading your Post DH fic. and will eventually get around to reading all your other stuff.
Fancy
no subject
Thanks for reading and I hope things go better for you next year! ^_^