Beerus featured in US White House promo video

[Jord]

https://x.com/WhiteHouse/status/2029741548791853331

Things like this really makes you realize how much DB has become a huge part of pop culture.

[Kenji]

I sure as hell hope Toei didn't let them use Dragon Ball for the purpose of promoting war and senseless violence.
And this goes for every other media property featured in this video.

This is disgusting.

[WittyUsername]

I’m gonna go out on a limb and say that Toei didn’t give them permission for this.

[Kenji]

On a side-note, this is the direct consequence of taking Dragon Ball as an apolitical, unserious work of art with terrible amoral protagonists and nothing to teach to its audience: Using its imagery as a display of dumb brute strength.

[The Dark Knight]

I’m gonna go out on a limb and say that Toei didn’t give them permission for this.

Yeah, I have to agree with you. There's also the fact that it's a "blink and you'll miss it" kind of scene, as I literally missed it by turning away for a split second.

[WittyUsername]

That video’s absolutely pathetic, by the way. The administration is treating this completely pointless war like it’s a damn video game. America is run by manchildren who are desperate to prove to the world that they’re macho men. These are the people who have access to an entire nuclear arsenal.

[PhantomSaiyan]

On a side-note, this is the direct consequence of taking Dragon Ball as an apolitical, unserious work of art with terrible amoral protagonists and nothing to teach to its audience: Using its imagery as a display of dumb brute strength.

Sure, that's the consequence, but it's not out fault Toriyama wrote it that way, Torishima directly stated that they worked on it without caring about sending any message or teaching any lesson, like a Looney Tunes cartoon, just pure entertainment (yes you can find morals or lessons in it if you want to, like in any piece of storytelling, but in this case it's not by design)

So should art like that just not exist because others will take advantage of it? So what if they do, Dragon Ball doesn't automatically become pro Trump just because the white house used it in a video, without permission too most likely

[JulieYBM]

Open memetic warfare continues. This behavior from a administration known for being backed by billionaires seeking to irony poison young people into becoming Nazis through the internet is not unexpected, but still upsetting. I kind of doubt that they'll stop this shit, though, given that it's the United States government and it has never had a problem with illegally invading countries and committing genocide for the sake of both bigotry and profit.

[SupremeKai25]

On a side-note, this is the direct consequence of taking Dragon Ball as an apolitical, unserious work of art with terrible amoral protagonists and nothing to teach to its audience: Using its imagery as a display of dumb brute strength.

You're acting like they didn't just spam <insert a mainstream franchise> throughout the video. They used scenes from Star Wars, they used scenes from Gladiator, and many other popular franchises with nobler protagonists than Goku. Your argument doesn't really make sense, even if Goku was Super Man, the hero of justice (and light of the universe!) like a lot of American Dub fans think, they'd still use Dragon Ball footage for sure.

[Kenji]

So should art like that just not exist because others will take advantage of it? So what if they do, Dragon Ball doesn't automatically become pro Trump just because the white house used it in a video, without permission too most likely

No, I'm not saying art like Dragon Ball shouldn't exist, I'm saying it's dangerous to insist it's apolitical and has nothing to teach you just because it was planned that way. "Don't make your work political" is an argument I often see being thrown around on the Internet, but every work of art is inherently political. I would just like to remind you all that Toriyama based Freeza off real estate speculators, "the most evil people ever." That is 100% a political statement, despite what Torishima has to say.

"You shouldn't use Martial Arts to subjugate others, that's an evil thing to do. If others engage in such, beat their asses up." Is one of the earliest messages Roshi sends to the audience. That is also a political statement. Guess what this video is all about, and how would Toriyama portray Trump if he ever wanted to.

[Kid Buu]

Well, it's certainly a testament to how much part of the "the cultue" Dragon Ball has become, but...

.....I'd rather not have the IP associated with this war.

[The Dark Knight]

America is run by manchildren who are desperate to prove to the world that they’re macho men.

This description perfectly fits the 77 million fools who voted this administration back into power.

[OmegaRockman]

I hope the staff doesn't mind me saying this, but from the bottom of my heart...

Fuck Donald Trump.

Fuck his entire administration.

Fuck this dumbass war.

Fuck this stupid propaganda piece made in service of that war.

And if Toei or any of these other properties' license holders approved of their usage in this video, a hearty fuck you to them too.

[Chuquita]

Who files the lawsuit for copyright infringement? Is this Iyoku or Shueisha's territory? How does one file overseas lawsuits?

Iyoku or Shueisha should at least send out a take down request like music artists have successfully done.

[The Dark Knight]

Who files the lawsuit for copyright infringement? Is this Iyoku or Shueisha's territory?

Capsule Corp. Tokyo wasn't established when that movie (or is it from Super ?) was released, so I assume it's either Shueisha or Toei who would have the right to file.

[SylentEcho]

On a side-note, this is the direct consequence of taking Dragon Ball as an apolitical, unserious work of art with terrible amoral protagonists and nothing to teach to its audience: Using its imagery as a display of dumb brute strength.

"Don't make your work political" is an argument I often see being thrown around on the Internet, but every work of art is inherently political.

Lighten up. Not everything is political. The old He-man and She-Ra cartoons weren't. They had social commentary and PSAs in them, but no politics. Same with Transformers, and all the older cartoons before them, including '90s cartoons. Thinking about literally everything through a political lens is what's ruining people's hobbies and minds.

These political games come and go in waves. The '70s and '80s are literally repeating in some shape or form and the tides will keep turning back and forth. Meanwhile, just enjoy the short time we have on Earth.

[Chuquita]

Who files the lawsuit for copyright infringement? Is this Iyoku or Shueisha's territory?

Capsule Corp. Tokyo wasn't established when that movie (or is it from Super ?) was released, so I assume it's either Shueisha or Toei who would have the right to file.

Shueisha won a copyright case against American company Cloudflare late last year, so there's precedent: https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2 ... re/.231199

I know Toei's really quick to issue takedown requests on YouTube so if it's their responsibility to go after this they likely have someone who'll notice it and go after them sooner than later.

[JulieYBM]

On a side-note, this is the direct consequence of taking Dragon Ball as an apolitical, unserious work of art with terrible amoral protagonists and nothing to teach to its audience: Using its imagery as a display of dumb brute strength.

"Don't make your work political" is an argument I often see being thrown around on the Internet, but every work of art is inherently political.

Lighten up. Not everything is political. The old He-man and She-Ra cartoons weren't. They had social commentary and PSAs in them, but no politics. Same with Transformers, and all the older cartoons before them, including '90s cartoons. Thinking about literally everything through a political lens is what's ruining people's hobbies and minds.

These political games come and go in waves. The '70s and '80s are literally repeating in some shape or form and the tides will keep turning back and forth. Meanwhile, just enjoy the short time we have on Earth.

Everything is political. Social commentary is literally a part of politics. Societies are political things.

These shows are made in a capitalist system, where what is shown and is not shown is determined by what benefits the continued place of their rights holders in a hierarchical society.

[SylentEcho]

On a side-note, this is the direct consequence of taking Dragon Ball as an apolitical, unserious work of art with terrible amoral protagonists and nothing to teach to its audience: Using its imagery as a display of dumb brute strength.

"Don't make your work political" is an argument I often see being thrown around on the Internet, but every work of art is inherently political.

Lighten up. Not everything is political. The old He-man and She-Ra cartoons weren't. They had social commentary and PSAs in them, but no politics. Same with Transformers, and all the older cartoons before them, including '90s cartoons. Thinking about literally everything through a political lens is what's ruining people's hobbies and minds.

These political games come and go in waves. The '70s and '80s are literally repeating in some shape or form and the tides will keep turning back and forth. Meanwhile, just enjoy the short time we have on Earth.

Everything is political. Social commentary is literally a part of politics. Societies are political things.

These shows are made in a capitalist system, where what is shown and is not shown is determined by what benefits the continued place of their rights holders in a hierarchical society.

We can't enjoy shows innocently anymore? To me, that's less fun, I think non-political shows are the best escape and a good break from the lunacy all over social media and TV, but I can't argue with what others are comfortable with. I personally find it a bit sad that we've become like this. If something is too egregious, I get it, but every little thing being dissected is wearisome.

[Kenji]

We can't enjoy shows innocently anymore? To me, that's less fun, I think non-political shows are the best escape and a good break from the lunacy all over social media and TV, but I can't argue with what others are comfortable with. I personally find it a bit sad that we've become like this. If something is too egregious, I get it, but every little thing being dissected is wearisome.

Superman, X-men, Captain America, etc. were created for the strict purpose of fighting racism, prejudice, fascism, and what-not.
Or do you think the age-old pictures of Captain America punching Hitler, Superman saying racism is anti-American, Astro Boy having a villain named Hitler and beating up the KKK in its intro, or Kimba the White Lion saying prejudice is anti-progress and you should treat mother nature better were just "kids shows being kids shows"?

In fact, the creators of these comics got fan letters complaining that the topics they were touching on were "too political." If these topics were touched on again these days, nobody would complain because society evolved ever since the 60's. But back then? Saying racism was bad or environmentalism was good was extremely controversial.

I'm sorry, but the harsh reality is that Dragon Ball saying "Martial arts shouldn't be used to subjugate others" is Toriyama's way of telling his audience "Don't be evil, don't engage in senseless violence." It should also be noted Toriyama took a lot of inspiration from 1984's The Karate Kid, which had Miyagi tell Daniel something similar. Guess who the villain of that movie was? An American war-obsessed lunatic fresh out of the Vietnam War, while Miyagi was a persecuted immigrant who advocated against senseless war and violence, who got his wife and son murdered in an internment camp. If you ask anybody these days, The Karate Kid isn't a political movie, even though it very much was during its heyday.

All of this is to say: Yes, every work of art is political, and that includes Dragon Ball.