Apple's new iPad Pro promotional video, released by CEO Tim Cook on Twitter, has sparked controversy among Japanese users. The video depicts various creative tools being destroyed by a giant press machine, consolidating their functions into the thin iPad Pro.
Many Japanese users, who have a strong cultural attachment to cherishing objects, expressed discomfort and disappointment in response to the video. They felt it disrespected their appreciation for musical instruments, cameras, and art supplies.
Comments from Japanese users flooded in, criticizing the video for "looking down on analog creativity" and expressing sadness at seeing creative tools being destroyed. The backlash highlights a cultural disconnect between Apple's intended message and the values held by its Japanese user base.
I mean, so far it's 8K comments and counting, including from Paul Graham[0], the vast majority of which seem to be negative, and my timeline is full of outrage over it, and the critical backlash is being reported on by major news outlets and numerous sites filling up over a page of Google results, which makes it a far bigger story than a lot of what gets posted here. But yeah. I guess it really isn't worth our time.
I agree, and I'm American, not Japanese. That segment was surprising, disturbing, and quite upsetting to me in its unnecessary violence. I literally ended up putting my hands up to my eyes, like I do when I reach a disturbing scene in a horror movie.
It feels a bit ironic that an acoustic guitar was destroyed... yet a few minutes later, the Logic Pro segment shows a music production studio with multiple guitars, carefully stored in guitar racks, and obviously intended to be used creatively, rather than destructively.
