global east Asia response paper (max. 400 words)

Nissim Kadosh Otmazgin

Chap. 5: Steger’s 3 important themes 1. The tension between sameness and difference

in the emerging global culture 2. The crucial role of transnational media

corporations in disseminating popular culture

3. The globalization of languages: some languages are increasingly used in international communication while others may disappear

Chap 5 reading Nov. 6 Tues. lecture: Social convergence and the appeal of pop culture � Reading: Nissim Kadosh Otmazgin,

“Japanese Popular Culture in East and Southeast Asia: Time for a Regional Paradigm?” japanfocus.org (2008)

Steger Chap 5: What is culture?

An aspect of social life concerned with the symbolic construction, articulation, and dissemination of meaning

Culture: 3 aspects 1. Human culture: symbolic expression,

universal to all human societies (Steger) 2. Cultural sphere: symbolic expression in one

group of societies that separates it from another group � “Western culture,” “Asian culture” “Islamic

culture” 3. National culture: symbolic expression in one

society that separates it from other societies � “Chinese culture,” “Japanese culture,”

“Korean culture”

Homo sapiens—modern humans

� Homo sapiens are capable of symbolic thought � Words, objects, visual forms are invested

with meaning

Ex: China’s symbol of “soft power”

Japan’s symbol of soft power

kawaii “cute”

Hello Kitty toast

Manipulated symbol: Goodbye Kitty

Manipulated symbol: USA

Steger’s bias against pop culture 1. The tension between sameness and

difference in the emerging global culture 2. The crucial role of transnational media

corporations in disseminating popular culture

3. The globalization of languages: some languages are increasingly used in international communication while others may disappear

Downside of Media Corporations � TV & Internet dominate social life; civic bonds

weaken � Pop culture takes over; news and educational

programs have been transformed into entertainment shows � Cultural globalization includes weakening of

professional autonomy of journalism � No more objectivity in news; business and politics

shapes the news for their own interests

Electronic devices OFF

Nissim Kadosh Otmazgin Japanese Popular Culture in East and Southeast Asia: Time for a Regional Paradigm? (2008)

Population map—major cities

Reasons for appeal of J Pop Otmazgin makes 4 important observations:

1. Emergence of urban middle class leads to social convergence across the region

2. Media platforms facilitate circulation of pop culture

3. Major metropolises: “World Cities” are nodes where culture and consumerism meet

4. Metropolises dominate cultural f lows, not nation-states

Observation 1 Chinese, Malaysian, and Indonesian urban middle classes can aspire to the same cultural access as their counterparts in Seoul, Singapore, and Bangkok

� Erases boundaries between East and Southeast Asia

Major cities—urban middle class

Observation 1 Asian markets & communities are converging

� Related to Steger’s discussion of SAMENESS/DIFFERENCE

Observation 2 Companies have created platforms from which urban communities access popular culture regionally.

� Related to Steger’s discussion of MEDIA EMPIRES and the INFOTAINMENT TELESECTOR in Chap. 5

Observation 3 Major metropolises are the central nodes where culture and consumerism meet, leading to new regional consciousness.

� Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Hong Kong, Singapore, Taipei, Seoul, Bangkok, Jakarta, Tokyo

� Related to Steger’s point in Chap. 5 that media platforms impact global imaginary

Major cities: culture & consumption meet; create regional consciousness

Observation 4

Metropolises are more important than nation-states for understanding cultural f lows

� Related to Steger’s discussion of the challenges to the NATION-STATE in Chap. 4

Pop Culture & Historical Memory

War-time history has limited impact on acceptance of Japanese popular culture in Asia among the younger generation.

Global-Regional-Local-Urban Nexus “Millions of youth in Hong Kong, Seoul, Shanghai, and Jakarta covet the latest fashions from Tokyo, read Japanese comic books (translated or in the original), and watch Japanese animation series. � However, they also listen to American pop

music, watch Chinese dramas on television or DVD, and go with friends to watch the latest Korean movie.”

Steger—MEDIA EMPIRES CREATE GLOBAL CITIZENS (optimistic globalizers) Otmazgin—Consumption of Japanese pop culture by urban middle class in Asia’s major cities leads to development of regional consciousness and increased acceptance of cultural difference, through social convergence.

Japanese pop culture (2008) � Anime films and TV cartoons

� Miyazaki Hayao, Doraemon, Astro Boy, Sailor Moon, Lupin, Ampan Man, and Poke’mon

� Manga (comics) � Singer-actors (‘talent’/ ‘idol’) � TV dramas

� 1992 (Love Generation); 1997 (Long Vacation) � gambaru message (“do your best in adversity”)

Doraemon episode: Survival Game https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iw_UVH pSO4k (subtitles in Chinese)

Doraemon’s/Mama’s view: “reading manga instead of doing homework is bad for Nobita’s school grades/drinking is bad for Papa’s health” Nobita/Papa: “we need to relax”

Doraemon episode: Sonic Letter Jet https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G9XlDgxkuGU (subtitles in English)

Nobita thinks he finds a way to avoid being late for school: by riding a Sonic Letter Jet

Reasons for appeal of J Pop Otmazgin makes 4 important observations:

1. Emergence of urban middle class leads to social convergence across the region

2. Media platforms facilitate circulation of pop culture

3. Major metropolises: “World Cities” are nodes where culture and consumerism meet

4. Metropolises dominate cultural f lows, not nation-states

Explaining the appeal of Japanese popular culture Hypothesis 1: “Asian fragrance” � Japanese popular culture appeals to local

consumers in East and Southeast Asia because of its Cultural Proximity.

� Therefore, cultural conf luence is geo- cultural and not simply transnational.

Problem with “Asian fragrance” hypothesis:

àIt does not explain the uneven appeal of Japanese popular culture in the region.

[Also, does not explain appeal outside Asia.]

Explaining the appeal of Japanese popular culture Hypothesis 2: “Faceless”

� Japanese popular culture appeals to local consumers in East and Southeast Asia because it is non-national and no longer recognized as particularly “Japanese.”

� Therefore, it is highly transferable and can be easily indigenized into local pop culture without a trace. Ex. Gambaru message

Problem with “Faceless” hypothesis:

àIt does not explain the actual local awareness of Japanese origin of animation, film, music.

Explaining the appeal of Japanese popular culture Hypothesis 3: “Hybrid Product” (Iwabuchi)

� Japanese popular culture appeals to local consumers in East and Southeast Asia because it exports the Japanese experience of indigenized Western culture to the rest of Asia.

� Therefore, Asian people encounter a mediated West in Japanese popular culture.

Japan plays role of mediator In East Asia, Japan was the first to modernize beginning in the late 19th century

� In South Korea, Japanese popular culture “projects modernity”

� People watching Japanese dramas in Taiwan feel “ambivalent ‘anxiety and desire’ for modernity”

Problem with “Hybrid Product” hypothesis: àEast Asia is treated as a passive player in a universal globalizing process.

� Rest of East Asia = receiver of mediated “global” culture

� Japan = indigenizer/mediator of “global” culture to rest of East Asia

� West (U.S.) = giver of “global” culture

Otmazgin: Globalization ≠ Americanization � Some equate globalization with

Americanization, but the Asian experience complicates this picture, because Japanese and other Asian cultural forms are being circulated in and beyond Asia.

Otmazgin’s thesis of Regional Paradigm

It’s a mistake to see Japanese popular culture as part of a universal global process; rather, inter-regional relations shape the circulation and consumption of cultural products.

Regional paradigm

The regional paradigm challenges the idea that globalization is a process of universal homogenization on a U.S. model (“Americanization”). � Steger: Chap. 5 critique of “cultural

imperialism”

Global/Local Nexus modified to reflect Regional axis as part of Globalization

Global

Regional Loc

al

(wi thi

n r egi

on)

Globalization & Culture (2009) Jan Nederveen Pieterse identifies three major

paradigms to describe globalization’s impact on culture:

1. Pieterse: Homogenization (=Steger: sameness)

2. Pieterse: Hybridization (=Steger: hybridity, new cultural expression)

3. Pietrese: Polarization (⌿Steger)

Pieterse: Awareness of difference = function of globalization

� “Growing awareness of cultural difference is a function of globalization. Increasing cross- cultural communication, mobility, migration, trade, investment, tourism, all generate awareness of cultural difference.” Pieterse, p. 60