[ SECRET POST #3860 ]

[case]

⌈ Secret Post #3860 ⌋

Warning: Some secrets are NOT worksafe and may contain SPOILERS.

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Notes:

Secrets Left to Post: 02 pages, 48 secrets from Secret Submission Post #553.
Secrets Not Posted: [ 0 - broken links ], [ 0 - not!secrets ], [ 0 - not!fandom ], [ 0 - too big ], [ 0 - repeat ].
Current Secret Submissions Post: here.
Suggestions, comments, and concerns should go here.

Comments

[(Anonymous)]

While I'm sure Light is probably from an middle class background, perhaps even upper-middle class, I think you're making him out to be a little more aristocratic than he is. He would of course be Yale-bound, but not because his family has any connections. Light absolutely has to be capable based 100% off of his own capabilities and intelligence. He can't come from a family background that pulls strings or particularly advantages him; that dulls down Light's immense ability, which is what the show is really about. Same with him being rich. Light doesn't need to be rich to accomplish the things he wants to accomplish, and he's not rich in the original and I'm not sure what would be accomplished by making him rich. Plus I'm not sure that fits his Japanese counterpart; his dad was a cop and his mom a housewife, that doesn't indicate uber money. Sure, his dad became the police chief and that's nothing to scoff at, but even police chief is different from smarmy old money profession like lawyer, professor, CEO, etc.

Light can't be lower class, granted - he has to want for nothing, and he shouldn't be personally invested in any war against crime beyond the ideals his father instilled upon him being in the police force. Light acts from an idealistic perspective, not a survivalist goal, and certainly not as revenge against any act done against him (like Misa might).

I personally think Light works just fine as a Japanese-American, especially if the setting were an area with a high Asian population. I also think you're not losing much by casting him as white, but I would hesitate to cast him as an oppressed minority (beyond what could be justified with him being Japanese in a white society) because again, Light shouldn't be personally affected by crime/injustice or you might risk telling a different story.

[(Anonymous)]

We have to make changes to account for the socio-political differences in Japan and the US, though. While AIRT is silly to suggest that the themes of Death Note are just impossible to transfer to an American setting, they're not entirely off in their suggestion that a smart, accomplished youth from a civil servant family background might not quite represent the model image you want for the character in the US. Where I disagree with them is this: America absolutely does have a culture that venerates individual success. However, class differences are more keenly felt here, so to make the character work, I say we double-down.

For example, Light's family did not need to be particularly well-off in the original. But in today's America, a certain level of wealth is definitely needed to provide the kind of privilege cushion that would have engendered a "I can personally fix the world" mindset in a teenager. His father is probably not a chief of police anymore since that profession is still perceived as distinctly blue collar in the US -- and considering the level of crimes the story will be dealing with, would a chief of police have the necessary clearance to be part of the investigation? If you want to keep him in law enforcement, I say make him a US Attorney. In order for Light to be admired by his peers, he has to be surrounded by peers who value similar things. Private school is a must.