Date of Award

4-29-2015

Document Type

Thesis

Department

Communication

Abstract

In the world today, prejudice runs rampant and robs many people the chance of actually being human. People are discriminated against just for having a certain skin color or being a certain sex. Why does this happen? Why do we discriminate against others? I believe that this is all part of the “othering” process that we as humans partake in to gain understanding.

The process of “othering,” the process of classifying others as distinctly different from yourself, is something that seems to be innate to human nature. We categorize in order to understand. By distinguishing between self and other humans create autonomy which helps in forming identity to better relate to the world around us. Unfortunately, this process can cause significant damage if it progresses to prejudice formation. In this essay, I will explore the messages of “othering” that are reinforced in popular anime.

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