Scholarship and education

Ultraman's ideological crusade

Nifty links blogger ProState In Flames posted this scan of what appears to be a student composition (I've managed to trace it back to a blog post on August 31, but that might not be the source, either):

JDM081127ultraman.jpg

If I Were Ultraman

If I were Ultraman, the best would be Ultraman Ace. I'd keep peace in the universe. I wouldn't be like my brothers, fighting monsters in Japan all day. I'd universalize "peace-keeping." I'd set up hotlines in all the major countries of all the continents in the world, so that I'd be able to make it there whenever something happened. And I'd fight the aliens who invaded Earth, and I'd also take the initiative and defeat the strongest Baltans who have their eye on Earth. And I'd patrol all throughout the galaxy, rooting out everything that would harm Earth. Of course, I couldn't simply rely on myself, a single Ultraman, to accomplish such a large-scale monster destruction. I'd have to unite the world of Ultra and start up a military service, and then bring the fine suggestions of Earth's Marxism-Leninism, Mao Zedong Thought, and Jiang Zemin Theory to the world of Ultra so that they can excel at both thought and combat. And build a harmonious universe, which needs to start from the very young. So bring up good "little Ultras."*

To be able to unite the universe and keep peace is my greatest desire.

The red underlines are for the "hotline" and Earth ideology.

Whether or not this essay is the real deal, the assignment is no joke. A lesson posted in 2005 to the Beijing Pre-School Education Web presents kids with the question of what Ultraman could do after he finished wiping out all the monsters in the world. And searching on the title (假如我是奥特曼) returns lots of unrelated results that appear to be real, honest composition.


Note: 环平研究小奥特 - can someone more familiar with the show clue me in on what this is supposed to mean?

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There are currently 4 Comments for Ultraman's ideological crusade.

Comments on Ultraman's ideological crusade

Woo, can't believe you translated this. :)

The '环评研究小奥特' was probably just a phrase coined by this talented young writer. It's supposed to mean something that people 从娃娃抓起 and want them to be, like a role model working in some environmental evaluation projects.

It's great sci-fi up until the Mao Zedong sentence... when it becomes utterly compelling sci-fi!

Kind of like a Chinese Ken MacLeod!

Not bad for his/her age. I can only recite Three Hundred Tang Poetry when I was five!

impressive writing...and equally scary.

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