u/LunarAngel3991

I noticed a lot of people think a lot of the storylines are boring or being dragged out for too long. I agree in some cases, and not for others. For example imo the Britt storyline with Cullum and Nathan etc is very interesting and entertaining to me. But the Willow's trial thing was a snooze.

But I was just thinking about this and does anyone else think the possible reason for storylines being so hit and miss is because nowadays on tv everything has to be "polished"? By that I mean there can't be anything too dark or controversial or too serious because then it's not politically correct or etc. So the writers have to make a story without adding too much drama in a sense.

Bc I remember storylines from the early 2000s (when I started watching) and up to the early 2010s and the story wasn't afraid to have bad things happen and have truly evil characters. Cullum and Sidwell are pretty evil don't get me wrong but even the things they are doing have been pretty mild in comparison to some past stories and characters.

It's like there needs to be conflict for there to be a story. I think the writers should take some bolder steps and write some things a bit more crazy. Curtis being a psycho, Nathan/Cassius recently, and the Cullum stuff at the pier is a good start. But idk I feel like there needs more drama. I mean it's a soap. We need some more dramatic stories.

I noticed in the online community on social media people have been increasingly stating that gyaru and specifically ganguro and the other substyles it encompasses are specifically inspired by black american culture but is that true from Japan's viewpoint? They also sometimes say this in a weird way to sort of disparage and disregard Japanese gyaru which is weird to me.

The reason I ask is bc from what I know ganguro has a connection to Japanese folklore, particularly kabuki, and yamanba is the name of a yokai. The fashion seen in this substyle also looks more inspired by cultures and imagery of pacific islanders and specifically Hawaiians. The bleach blonde look is inspired by the "California girl" look. The tans are about doing the opposite of Japan's societal expectations. The extreme makeup is about going against the idea of natural beauty standards.

So I am wondering what are others thoughts on this? Where does the inspiration from American black culture come in to this specific substyle? I can def see the inspiration from black culture in substyles like tsuyome and amekaji, but not ganguro.

I just think sometimes Americans have to be less American-centered and more open-minded when engaging and participating with subcultures that originated in other countries that have their own unique social issues unrelated to the USA's history.

EDIT: Btw I am not saying none of gyaru has influence from black culture!!! I know some of the substyles do. I am just saying for ganguro it doesn't make sense when we look at the history of the style and I just really don't understand why people say it. I don't know what gyaru from Japan think about it bc they barely talk about gaijin issues.