episode_0535
by fnovelpia
“But isn’t this too harsh? ?”
It was not unreasonable for Thomas Brown to ask his senior such a question.
Thomas’ boss instructed him to write an opinion paper recommending changing the gender identity of the main character in a children’s animation. To be precise, this means changing the main character, who is a boy, into a transgender person with a female gender identity.
Over the past month, he has been able to see quite a few projects and see how things are going. Among the projects we observed were promotional videos for public institutions, and a different type of animation than the one we are currently reviewing.
Since I don’t yet know how to focus on one project and participate in it, I moved around to various teams and learned odd jobs first.
So, even though only a month had passed, he was confident that he had figured out the work to some extent.
But no matter how much he thought about it, he couldn’t shake the feeling that something was wrong with his current job.
It wasn’t a problem in itself for Thomas, a newcomer, to write an opinion. The materials needed to create documents can be obtained from shared project files.
The problem was that the main character suddenly becoming transgender did not fit at all with the storyboard received from the animation production company.
The main story was about his mental growth as he became involved with the people around him and various incidents and accidents, but if his sexual identity changed right away, the very foundation of the character would be shaken.
The same goes for the data on which “ is based.”
Thomas said as he displayed data on the monitor.
The data he mentioned were all collected in a biased way.
A survey that asks questions with the desired results determined in advance. The data collected through that process was clearly biased towards one side of the opinion.
For example, Sweet Films states that ‘respect for diversity is a necessary prerequisite for creating an equal and loving society. Do you think this is right?’ A survey was conducted by asking the following questions.
Unless you’re a pretty tree frog, this is a question that has no choice but to choose a certain answer.
It is socially desirable by mixing various concepts such as ‘respect for diversity’, ‘equality’, and ‘love of neighbors’, making it impossible to express individual opinions, forcing a dichotomous choice of right or wrong, and using a sentence structure that induces prejudice. Make the visible answers even.
In the end, the result is interpreted to suit one’s own taste as ‘the majority of people support PC activities’ and used as the basis for such consulting.
Surprisingly, now in the 21st century, a well-known consulting company was conducting a project using a similar level of survey.
‘I felt it while working on another project… ‘Something is wrong here.’
Thomas felt confused about what his company was doing. Among consulting companies, he came in knowing that it received a lot of work from large corporations, but what was happening inside was beyond his imagination.
‘If I had known this would be the case, I would have looked into the industry’s reputation in more detail… ‘
It hadn’t been long since he started working at Sweet Films, but the word quitting was already flashing in his mind.
“ Instead of asking useless questions, quickly prepare the documents. Don’t you know that you have to make it and submit it by today?”
The senior snorted after hearing Thomas’ words.
“Just because we consult doesn’t mean they all reflect on it, so what?”
What my senior said had some truth to it. In the case of some companies, especially large corporations, if the direction was different from what they wanted, there were cases where the consulting they paid for was not reflected at all. For them, consulting was mostly about confirming their direction from a third party’s perspective.
“But there is still something called work ethics… ”
“Ha, work ethics? Thomas. Do you think that old saying would make sense in today’s world? And in a company like this?”
The senior looked at Thomas as if he were pitiful, then sighed softly and continued speaking.
At the same time, they lowered their voices as if they did not want others to hear their conversation.
“PCists basically have the mindset that they are absolutely good. Did you hear the interview our company’s CEO gave to the media? Whether it was a movie, drama, or animation, if the work they participated in didn’t have PC elements, they encouraged them to protest to their superiors. That’s ridiculous. Creators have the freedom to create the work they want, but they are obligated to include PC elements. Otherwise, people will say things like racism and sexism.”
“… … .”
“But that’s the way the world is these days.”
The senior’s face suddenly had a look of fatigue that could not be masked.
The conflict Thomas experienced was something he also went through when he was a rookie.
“People are afraid of being labeled as racists, so they don’t do anything even when black people rob large supermarkets, convenience stores, pharmacies, and smartphone stores. In fact, there was a case where a black thief who stole bread was caught and the store almost went out of business due to a witch hunt. The store eventually went to court and got a ruling to receive compensation, but even that wasn’t paid properly, right?”
Surprisingly, what the senior said was actually happening in modern America.
Store robberies occur frequently, and the police watch with hands down.
In the past, such incidents took place during demonstrations or protests, but the difference these days is that they are done openly and even systematically by opening up luxury stores.
Of course, if you are caught, you will be punished.
However, theft under a certain amount is treated as a misdemeanor and is given lower priority for investigation.
In some states, the limit was even higher, so more items were stolen than before.
In areas where public security is already poor, police personnel cannot afford to pay attention to such minor crimes, so unless a person is caught on camera or caught in the act, punishment is practically meaningless.
In a situation where they could not expect help from public authorities, there were not many people who could stop the thieves at the risk of being accused of being racist or being shot.
Thanks to this, Americans who were aware of the situation made self-deprecatory jokes about the crime rate dropping after seeing the number of petty thieves increase and the police repeatedly failing to catch them. This meant that even if you commit theft, it is not a crime because the police do not catch you.
“What we do is similar. When I see people trying to ruin a work of art through nonsense consulting, I frown, as if they were breaking the window of a normal store and making a mess. But people of color, including black people, and gay people like the results we produce. There aren’t many people who can say no to that. This is because many people have already been brainwashed by the media and are afraid to raise their voices.”
“… So, are you saying I have to submit this nonsense statement as is?”
“This project is better. As I already said, if it’s consulting that doesn’t fit your field at all, just ignore it. The problem is that the existing creators seem to be vaguely watching and tweaking the original work. How unpleasant and betrayed will existing fans feel? Wow, there are so many attractive female characters and characters of color… Since I don’t have the confidence to make it myself, I end up just inserting it into an already completed work.”
ha.
The senior sighed softly and shook his head.
“That’s it. It’s been a while since I was so excited that I talked a lot. I have to do it because it’s what I’m told from above. What power do we have?”
“… … .”
“So, since you are a newbie, don’t feel too much of a sense of duty and work while receiving a reasonable salary. Unless you want to start a new company yourself.”
Thomas was speechless at the cold-hearted words of his senior. It felt like I was recalling a memory from elementary school, when I had an argument with a friend and couldn’t refute the other person’s dirty logic.
It was only after seeing the site in action that he realized that this job was far from the place he had dreamed of.
In the end, the moment Thomas puts his hands on the keyboard to write an opinion as his senior said.
Kwaaa!!!
“!”
“What, what is it?”
A loud noise sounded as if an explosion had occurred, and strong vibrations echoed throughout the building.
‘What suddenly… ? ‘Did something explode upstairs?’
Thomas’ eyes turned to the dusty ceiling.
Purrr!!!!
The loud fire alarm sound echoed throughout the building.
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