« Wisconsin State Journal anime article | Main | Jean Snow's anime column »
December 10, 2004
Nevada (not the state)
I was just reading Warren Ellis's blog entry that linked to this website about suspected killer Nevada. As you may remember (if you keep up with the headlines in Japan), in June of this year an 11-year-old Japanese student killed one of her classmates with a box cutter. In a school photo from earlier in the year, the two girls were pictured next to each other, with the accused killer wearing a sweatshirt that said "Nevada" on it. So the girl has been commonly referred to as Nevada, and it seems like a whole subculture has grown up around her.
I'm not really sure what to make of this. Looking around some websites, I found some really interesting art (much of it highly disturbing) based on the character of Nevada and her crime. Unlike a lot of amateur art that takes a popular TV show or a film as its creative basis, this art is based on a real person and very real, very unfortunate events.
Some less graphic examples of this Nevada art are: hand puppets, Neon Genesis Evangelion parody, Cutie Honey parody (complete with re-worked song lyrics), South Park parody, PlayStation game, a doll, and what appears to be live cosplay of Nevada.
Are the artists glorifying Nevada or are they using their art to critique the media depiction of her crime? I don't know. In the best possible way, I'd like to think that the art is working through some of the issues of this national trauma.
Posted by brianruh at December 10, 2004 12:18 AM
Comments
Or it could just be black humor.
Posted by: Shii at December 10, 2004 05:07 PM
Very true. And I do appreciate black humor. I'm thinking of looking a bit more into this whole Nevada phenomenon.
Posted by: Brian Ruh at December 10, 2004 08:37 PM
I saw something about that on the news this morning, I don't think they can legally detain her any longer.
I've seen some real people slash in my fandom, but it gets rather nasty as soon as people start posting their fantasies about children younger than about 13-16 (the age at which they actually start having sexual experiences), especially now with that other incident where a murderer did what was described on a Sakura-tan lolicon board to a little girl ... it's freedom of expression against the right of children to be free from people posting these disturbing images/stories supposedly about them all over. It's a different matter when the objects are adult actors, singers and such, who are public figures by choice. This girl definitely is not, and if I see one more 'She is a murderer, she deserves it' I will rip someone a new one. Not that I am pro-censorship, but going crazy all over the web spazzing about having sex with an 11 year old because it is OMG!so kewl she is a murderer ... is not done.
Posted by: Cam at December 14, 2004 11:19 PM