Kev reacts to 'Your Name' and 'Hetalia"
Michel Foucault’s vision of power as a web of relations produced ‘from one moment to the next, at every point’ finds stunning illustration in Makoto Shinkai’s “Your Name.” The supernatural body-switching between Mitsuha and Taki reveals how power operates not through grand institutions alone, but through countless micro-exchanges that shape identity, knowledge, and resistance. Mitsuha’s desperate cry, “Please make me a handsome Tokyo boy!” exposes the gendered power relations imprisoning her in rural tradition. Her frustration with shrine rituals scorned by classmates demonstrates Foucault’s insight that power relations are “immanent” in all social interactions. The body-switching does not simply reverse these dynamics; it creates new tactical possibilities within existing force relations. When Mitsuha inhabits Taki’s body, she exercises what Foucault calls “tactical polyvalence” using the same discourse (masculinity, urban mobility) for opposing strategies. She does not just escape feminine constraints; she actively reshapes Taki’s relationships, demonstrating how “resistance is never in a position of exteriority” to power. Meanwhile, Taki in Mitsuha’s body experiences the surveillance networks surrounding female adolescence, the “watch-crew” of family and community that Foucault identifies as local centers of power-knowledge.
Mitsuha and Taki’s forgotten memories upon returning to their bodies illustrate power’s most insidious aspect: how it shapes what can be known and remembered. The comet’s destruction operates as both a literal catastrophe and a metaphor for how dominant power structures erase alternative possibilities. Yet their final recognition, “What’s your name?” suggests that even when institutional power, which the mayor’s initial refusal can see, and cosmic forces conspire against them, the “swarm of points of resistance” Foucault describes can coalesce into revolutionary potential. Love becomes not a romantic sentiment but a strategic force, the irreducible remainder that exceeds power’s calculations. The movie ‘Your Name’ was an elegant story that had my emotions all over the place, and I highly recommend anyone watch this movie.
Hetalia begins with the first stereotypes, with countries discussing things in a world-concerning manner. The speaker from Germany then maintains strict control over the meeting, stereotypical of German control. The first few episodes depict Italy trying to seek Germany’s friendship, even though Germany believes that Italy is too weak. Austria then influences Italy’s government and asks Italy not to ask any questions. Japan then joins the alliance of Germany and Italy. Germany is a big fan of Japan and still has the same opinion of Italy, being carefree and only caring about pasta. Japan brought to Germany a team name that Italy agreed with, and the name was Axis Powers.
America then wants to gather the allies and attack Italy first, but first, he is stuffing his face with hamburgers. Romano, who is Italy’s younger brother, makes fun of Germany and then breaks down when his jump fails. America then proposes a plan, which everyone rejects, because them being the heroes when China steps in and proposes that they take all the land. The next interesting episode is when China encounters Japan in the forest and teaches Japan how to write. China continues to mentor Japan into becoming a proper country. The allies then begin to fight with the Axis powers, where Italy immediately surrenders, but America humorously chooses China to attack in a funny Pokémon parody.
Your name raises concerns about the government’s tendency to intervene in situations only at the last possible minute. It also portrays a strong love story that stretches time itself but ultimately prevails. Hetalia brought a fun perspective of using stereotypes to describe the countries. I think this is a great way of understanding the majority of the population.
Hi Kev! I really appreciated what you had to say about this week’s media. To start, your comments on the anime “Your Name”, really made me think about the true meaning of the film. The way you related this anime to Foucault’s views showed how the shrine rituals in the anime were expressed in his works as well. I also agree with what you said about gender performance in the film. Though we have discussed multiple gender performance anime’s in the course prior to this one, “Your Name” really sealed the deal. We see the two characters of opposite genders switch bodies, which we would think would be an easy switch. This is simply not the case. Because both people spent their entire lives practicing one gender’s performance, they have a very hard time adjusting to the new gender performance.
