Cultural Export: Anime, Cultural Perception and Escapism PDF

Preview

Summary

Yuemeng AN, MA Media Abstract Japanese culture is an influential power among many rising global cultural flows. Japanese animation (anime) is a representative of Japanese popular cultural products which are spread over the world. The fictional reality created by anime is able to carry a wide range o...

Description

Yuemeng AN, MA Media

Abstract Japanese culture is an influential power among many rising global cultural flows. Japanese animation (anime) is a representative of Japanese popular cultural products which are spread over the world. The fictional reality created by anime is able to carry a wide range of meanings and values, which anime audiences can interact with. Owning to anime’s ability to create pseudo-environment, anime can to some extent affect people’s perception on Japanese culture. In addition, behind the consumption of anime and subcultures derive from it can be the pursuit to a world of less burdens and duties, or a rival between individual’s appeal and the mainstream society’s expectations. Keywords: anime, fictional reality, cultural perception, escapism.

1

Yuemeng AN, MA Media

Cultural Export: Anime, Cultural Perception, and Escapism

Content Acknowledgements.......................................................................................... 错误!未定义书签。 1. Introduction ................................................................................................................................. 3 2. Methodology ................................................................................................................................ 5 3. Literature review......................................................................................................................... 5 4. Discussion..................................................................................................................................... 7 4.1 Japanese culture in the global arena ............................................................................... 7 4.2 Development and genres of Japanese anime ................................................................... 8 4.2.1 A brief history ......................................................................................................... 9 4.2.2 Genres and audiences........................................................................................... 10 4.3 Anime, the fictional world .............................................................................................. 12 4.3.1 Fantasy sphere and formation of perception ..................................................... 12 4.3.2 The world in the anime ........................................................................................ 14 4.4 Anime and perception ..................................................................................................... 23 4.4.1 Anime and Japanese culture ................................................................................ 23 4.4.2 Anime, infantilism and escapism......................................................................... 25 5. Conclusion ................................................................................................................................. 32 Reference ....................................................................................................................................... 34

2

Yuemeng AN, MA Media

1. Introduction The proliferation of Japanese cultural products in the world market is seen as a typical example of the representation of cultural flows from non-Western regions (Koichi, 2006). Noticeably, amongst various popular Japanese cultural products, anime and manga have become worldwide popular culture icons. As a symbol of Japanese pop-culture, manga and anime were drawn to the attention of scholars. For instance, Pokémon anime’s popularity in Western markets in the 1990’s stimulated research on Japanese cultural exports (Newitz, 1994). The prevalence of anime and manga can also be seen from news reports around the world. For example, it was reported that the younger generation in China felt some affection for manga and anime characters, and terms such as ‘Moe’ and ‘Otaku’, deriving from anime culture, became popular in China (Kobayashi, 2012). Another report revealed that there were anime fan clubs in India, and comic events such as the Delhi comic-con (Pillalamarri, 2014).

The worldwide popularity of Japanese anime also generates considerable economic value. Just as Kobayashi Sayuri (2012) stated, the TV animation series’ Sailor Moon and Pokémon achieved huge success in the global market; in the US market, the export value of Japanese animation was $75 million in 1996 (2012) and figures from the Japan External Trade Organization revealed that the estimated anime market in the U.S. was worth $400 million (Jennie Wood).

Considering the obvious economic and cultural influence of Japanese anime in the global dimension, it is important to study how this cultural product is able to create impact, to look at some of the related issues derived from it, and to explore the deeper meaning behind the phenomenon and also so discuss whether Japanese anime acts as a tool for delivering values, and how and what the possible effects are.

There are a number of studies on the influence of media products, such as Effects of US television programmes on foreign audiences (Ware et al, 1994) and The effects of 3

Yuemeng AN, MA Media race, gender, and fandom on audience interpretations of Madonna's music videos (Brown et al, 1990). Japanese culture and anime are popular topics, but there are not enough studies which specifically explore the connections between anime consumption and people’s perception to the world, and what kind of values are embedded in the anime. Thus, this research aims to investigate Japanese anime’s role in the cultural perception and formation of social values. The main questions to be studied in this dissertation are:

1. How does anime depict our world and what kind of values does it deliver? 2. Does anime have an impact on our perception of Japanese culture, and how? 3. How does anime reflect the value of “escaping from reality”?

This study does not intend to provide an argument about whether or not anime plays a positive or negative role in the formation of values and perception of the world, or to judge anime’s depiction on certain issues, instead, it examines the content of existing anime works in an objective way and critically considers the relationship between anime, fictional reality, and world perception based upon theories of media effects, audience perception, and pseudo-environment.

In this dissertation, after a brief introduction to the research methods and key literature reviews in sections two and three, the main questions are discussed in section four. In sub-section 4.1, I explore the role of Japanese culture in the global context, building upon existing critical studies on cultural globalisation, cultural imperialism, and cultural contra-flows. Then in 4.2, a brief history of Japanese animation and anime’s genres will be clarified together with a view of global audiences of anime. In 4.3, I investigate how anime is correlated to the formation of world perception by demonstrating why fictional works matter in the perception of reality, and the way in which anime depict certain main issues is examined. In 4.4 I discuss how anime delivers values by creating ‘fictional reality’. How anime reflect and influence society’s values and perceptions is also analysed. 4

Yuemeng AN, MA Media

In addition, it is necessary to clarify that several anime works are used here as supporting information. There is a great number of anime of different genres and themes. Only ‘mainstream’ or ‘popular’ anime will be used in representations which are widely known, along with samples of the majority of anime, thus distinguishing them from uncommon anime which are unusual and unrepresentative.

2. Methodology Considering the focus of this study is to explore how anime is correlated to the formation of values, the main approach will be to analyse meanings delivered by anime's content and by explaining anime's role based on theories of media effects, fictional reality, and pseudo-environment.

Secondary data is used as supporting material in this research. For instance, news articles, industrial reports, and data from the study of others on anime are analysed and used to demonstrate the status of anime in the world. By examining existing literature on anime's influence and media effects, the theoretical background of the arguments is built. This study also carries out content analysis to explore values, meanings, and reflections within anime.

Specifically, when it comes to the discussion of the role of Japanese culture, theories on the rise of Japan’s cultural power as cultural contraflow, decentralisation, and globalisation will be investigated. There will be an introduction to the history of the anime industry and Japanese anime’s development. Meaning or connotation contained within Japanese anime will be explored. How these connotations reflect values underlie phenomenon of ‘Otaku’ and Yaoi groups will also be discussed.

3. Literature review According to previous studies, anime consumption is deemed to be interrelated with specific values and there are debates on whether it is correlated to Japanese cultural 5

Yuemeng AN, MA Media perception. On the other hand, studies on anime and some subcultures derived from anime consumption (e.g. otaku and Yaoi) show that anime consumption could strongly be related to ‘childish’ culture, infantilism and a willingness to escape from reality. In some research, cultural products such as manga and anime are culturally neutral. For instance, David et al (2015) states that Japanese cultural content consumption is no different to any other popular culture consumption. Koichi (2006) asserts that unlike the US-style cultural imperialism, Japanese cultural products do not promote any value system. However, it is also found that Japanese anime may make a difference in cultural perception even though it may not seek to do this. Ng (2002) found that in Asia, young audiences of anime tend to hold a more positive view of Japanese culture when compared with older generations. Newitz (1994) pointed out that Japanese anime, which

lacks

positive

multiculturalism

factors

(non-racist,

non-sexist,

and

non-homophobic) is controversial to US-style ‘political correctness’; when American fans watch anime, they actually interact with anti-multiculturalism. Newitz (1994) even claimed in the same research that ‘Japanese anime could be said to work as cultural imperialism’. Yukako’s study (2006) explains, to some extent, how anime consumption and cultural recognition are correlated: although anime and manga have a very weak connection to Japanese culture, participants in the study admitted that being an anime fan led to a new interest in other aspects of Japanese culture. Anime, it is argued, encourages and promotes ‘childish values’. Japanese culture is deemed to tolerate and even pursue ‘childish values’ (Odell, 2013). Kinsella (1998) claimed that childish culture is linked to the rejection of social obligations and adult roles in society.

On the other hand, visual media like anime and manga can possibly

6

Yuemeng AN, MA Media have an impact on the audience, causing them to get lost in ‘aesthetic, irrational, and immature’ thought (Kinsella, 1998). Cultural phenomenon (e.g. otaku, Yaoi and Cosplay) derived from anime consumption can be deemed to provide evidence of its ideological influence. The term ‘otaku’ is commonly used to describe a person who is obsessed with specific fan subculture and spends most of their time in the home to the extent that he/she may not be accustomed to the real world any longer (Newitz, 1994 and Kinsella, 1998). Kinsella (1998) also argued that Otaku’s behaviour may be similar to Peter Pan syndrome, rejecting maturity or being involved in adult social relations. Yaoi and Cosplay are other subcultures related to anime consumption and Kinsella (1998) claimed that amateur works can reflect the infantilism. ‘Yaoi’ is often used to describe the style of amateur works based on anime or published manga; Yaoi works’ main subject is gay love between male characters of anime while ‘Cosplay’ depicts the anime fans’ behaviour of dressing up in the costumes of anime characters and performing parody (Kinsella, 1998).

4. Discussion 4.1 Japanese culture in the global arena Japanese culture is an influential and important culture flow in the global arena; especially considering current global cultural contexts where decentralisation and the rising power of non-Western culture is developing.

Japanese culture as a non-Western cultural flow is sometimes treated as a contrary force against Americanisation (e.g. Annalee Newitz, 1994). However, it will not be objective to think of Japanese cultural export as a power against specific powers like Americanisation, because it ignores current multiple and transnational cultural powers (Koichi, 2006).

7

Yuemeng AN, MA Media Decentralisation is a feature of current global cultural context, which means that when studying a single culture, it is necessary to treat it as part of multiple influential cultural flows instead of simply seeing a popular culture as cultural imperialism. As Koichi (2002) states, global culture is under a decentralising process, thus it is impossible for a specific country or region to be defined as the dominant cultural centre. Similarly, globalisation is not equal to Americanisation as the rising cultural flows from different regions are assisted by developed transnational media companies (Koichi, 2006).

The impact of Japanese cultural power is to some extent correlated to Japan’s cultural policy. In the 1970’s, the Japanese government implemented a new cultural policy to ‘soften the anti-Japan mood’ and to promote international understanding of Japan (Koichi, 2015). During the 1990’s, Japan became a ‘culture-exporting country’, the reception of Japanese TV dramas, music, and animation reached a high point, especially in the Eastern and South-eastern Asian regions (Koichi,2015). Attached to the ‘Cool Japan’ policy targeting the promotion of Japanese media culture in the international market, nowadays Japanese cultural content products (e.g. magazines, comic books, and anime) are popular around the world (Koichi, 2006).

Japanese animation and comic books (which are also known as manga) are notable representations of the cultural products that Japan exports. At the beginning of the 1980’s, animated films occupied 56% of Japan’s televisual exports, and 58% in the early 1990’s (Koichi, 1998). Unlike other films exported from Japan, 99% of the anime exported was not in Japanese but was translated into other languages. This phenomenon was deemed to imply that anime was intended for export (Koichi, 1998).

4.2 Development and genres of Japanese anime Since establishment of the first animation studio in Japan in 1921, Japanese anime has developed in the intervening decade, forming unique characteristics and complex content themes. 8

Yuemeng AN, MA Media

4.2.1 A brief history To start with, it is necessary to clarify the word ‘anime’ and a related term, ‘manga’. In Western countries, the term ‘anime’ is used to describe the Japanese cartoon moving pictures (Odell, 2013). ‘Manga’, which stands for Japanese comic books, is different from anime but strongly correlated to it. These two terms are often linked because many popular anime works are animated manga or are created based upon existing manga (Odell, 2013). In general, anime and manga are presented in different ways but they share the same content and themes and are both popular inside and outside of Japan.

Some of anime and manga’s features are thought to be inherited from a traditional Japanese visual art genre from the seventeenth century known as ukiyo-e. During 1600-1868, woodblock prints were fashion art in Edo-time in Japan (Kinko, 2014). As one kind of woodblock print, Ukiyo-e depicts female beauties, landscapes, and historical scenes, and is known for its colourful and bold style. Similar features can be found in today’s Japanese anime - which made anime distinct from Western cartoons (Odell, 2013).

The early form of anime known as ‘lantern’ was brought into Japan in the 19th century. Lantern then transformed into ‘utsushie’ in Japan, which created simple moving pictures using painted glass (Kinko, 2014). Around 1971, professional anime which was screened theatrically appeared. Since 1980, many animators established their studios and anime’s format went through a series of developments (Odell, 2013).

Up to the present century, anime has continued to develop. ‘Anime Industry Report 2015’ shows the market value of Japanese anime industry was about US$13.5 billion in 2014 (AJA, 2016). In addition, modern Japanese anime has developed into several basic formats which are TV series, feature film, and OVA. TV series are shown on TV like other dramas; anime films often have the best quality and are distributed in 9

Yuemeng AN, MA Media the cinema and; OVA is the direct-to-video anime, which is only released in the form of video disc such as DVD (Odell, 2013).

4.2.2 Genres and audiences Japanese anime is more than just traditional cartoons made for children. Firstly, it covers a wide range of subjects including sport, science-fiction, romance, mecha and even erotica and horror (Odell, 2013). In addition, the plots and meaning delivered by anime works can be much deeper and more diverse than traditional cartoons for children. As Odell (2013) stated, anime can be very ‘complex, sophisticated and occasionally dark’ and some anime provides ‘profound psychological insights’. For example, Black Butler is an anime depicting 19th-century England containing scenes of heresy ceremony, dark fairy tale, and death.

According to target audience, theme, and content, anime can be divided into several genres. Different genres can also have overlaps. For example, shonen (boys) anime/manga can also have many romantic elements that are common in shojo (girls) anime/manga. In Odell’s book (2013), he provided a summary of anime (and manga’s) main genres:  Kodomomuke anime/manga: like common cartoons made for children, it often has simple plots and stories.  Shonen anime/manga: targeted principally at male teens, it can cover a wide range of subjects such as war, sport and science-fiction.  Shojo anime/manga: it also has various subjects just as shonen anime, but this genre often focuses more on romance and affection.  Seinen anime/manga: the word ‘seinen’ means ‘adult’ in Japanese. Aimed at 18-40 year old males and with more complex connotations than shomen anime, seinen anime does not equate to porn in terms of its graphic content, though it indeed can contain sexual elements.

10

Yuemeng AN, MA Media  Josei anime/manga: aimed at females in their teens up to their forties, has more mature themes than shojo anime/manga, which is often about women’s self-construction and concerns.

There are various sources supporting anime’s multiple content. As mentioned in section 3.1, anime can be adapted from popular manga (Odell, 2013), such as Naruto and The Prince of Tennis. Literatures can also become inspiration. Some anime (especially those of the 1960’s) is based on Western literary classics and others are adapted from Japanese literatures (Odell, 2013). For example, Princess Sarah (1985) was adapted from A Little Princess written by Frances Eliza Hodgson Burnett. Genji Monogatari Sennenki (2013) is based on a classic traditional Japanese literature, The Tale of Genj.

The following two paragraphs discusses three characteristics of anime audiences: 1. Anime audiences are not limited to children or teens and they are spread over the world; 2. People with oriental culture awareness are more easily able to resonate with Japanese anime; 3. An open mind to different culture encourag...