Stephanie
Within Chapter 4, the author discusses the way in which Japanese dramas are extremely popular in Taiwan and other East Asian countries, yet are not popular in Western countries. The author notes, “Japanese TV dramas, unlike animation, are in most cases not exportable to Western countries (123).” Why do you think animation can be exported yet dramas cannot? What makes such dramas “not exportable?”
Zach N.
Why would countries prefer local industries export to regional markets rather than to foreign markets?
Julie
In Chapter 4, Iwabuchi states that Japanese dramas are more successful in Taiwan and surrounding Asian countries than American dramas are due to cultural proximity. However, he is not entirely satisfied with this term. What is left out of the picture when cultural proximity is assumed?
Hannah
When talking about japanese pop music iwabuchi explains the need for it to be strong in its asian identity, yet this is very different for rap music, is there a reason that rap artists mimic american artists, while pop artists try to stay culturally relevant?
Shannon
Koichi Iwabuchi argues that when studying cultural proximity it is "imperative to examine how and why certain programs become popular and others not, and what sort of pleasure, if any, audiences experience when identifying cultural similarities in specific programs." Is this argument similar to the "battles" discussed in Hip-Hop in Japan?
Ian
By looking at media, what can you say globalization has done to national identities? Many people attribute a show's popularity to this "cultural proximity." Does this phenomenon end up expanding the definition and experience of the nation-state, or does it serve the opposite purpose by defining that experience more strictly?
Amanda P.
The topic of nostalgia is discussed, at length, in chapter five. It seems that TV ads, movies, etc are picking up this concept and using it to allow consumers to hearken back to the "good old days." Do you think nostalgia itself have been commercialized?
LaKeisha
What exactly does the author mean when he mentions "capitalist nostalgia for "Asia"?
Tiffany
After reading for this week would you agree that this book shows partly how transnationalism and the idea of globalization are intertwined?
Gavin
"...I also discovered that most Taiwanese viewers tend to account for the appeal of Japanese TV dramas, if not completely, at least in part, in terms of their perceived cultural proximity. This tendency is even more pronounced when the Taiwanese compare such programs with their American equivalents" (132). What do you think this means about the culture of Taiwan? Does this mean that "Western" culture is being globalized? What do you think are some ideas of "Western" society, besides hip hop that is becoming or has become globalized?"
Zach F.
Is the marketing scheme of producing pop stars that are "not quite identical yet not totally different from Japanese women" used in any other scenario? Where does the appeal of "foreign" come in to play?
Phillip
why does japanese culture sometimes not identify as asian or not as asian as other asian countries?
L.B.
Iwabuchi states, "A familiar cultural value does not necessarily offer pleasure in watching programs" (134). How has this been both proved true and false in the text so far? Can this been seen elsewhere in other cultures and contexts?
Alex P.
According to a working woman who had been transformed by Hong Kong popular culture: "I am now more interested in knowing about the language, the history of Japanese invasion, and Japanese prejudice against Hong Kong" (P. 194). Can globalization raise consumer awareness regarding the history and culture of exporting nations? Do consumers care about 'getting to know' these exporting nations? Should they care?
Amanda B.
The author quotes the exec. VP of Sanrio who says that they don't want to lose their Japanesey-ness. Do you think by plastering Hello Kitty's face on EVERYTHING keeps the Japanesey-ness or makes it more American? Name-brands make people want to buy them. Do you think he understands that an American parent will buy a hello kitty vitamins because the parent knows the child will take them or do you think he genuinely thinks that putting the face on everything will maintain its Japanese roots?
Natalie
Some of the girls interviewed in the United States talked about "gaining a sense of their Asian American identity through Hello Kitty." What does this statement mean in the familiarity vs exotic argument? Are the girls looking for comfort? The article cites that although the products and strategies were similar when Sanrio reached out to Asia, but only 20% remained the same when they reached out to the United States; was the company even trying to create this odor that the girls spoke of?
Christy
What do you think of the two different sides of kawaii- the cute and infantalized versus the overly sexualized? What kind of message does this dual concept send to Japanese women about what they should be and how they should act?
L.B.
Does the marketing scheme of hyper-sexualizing products for young girls, but marketing to adults as "young and young at heart" seem backwards in some way?
Tiffany
What is it about hello kitty that brings together women and girls of all ages and across different nations?
Lizzy
What does Hello Kitty mean to you? Does it feel Japanese? Does it have an odor?
LaKeisha
Are women targets for these products that are consider "sweet, adorable, innocent, pure, simple, genuine, gentle, vulnerable, weak, and inexperienced social behavior and physical appearance" such as Hello Kitty because the producers believe women can relate to these characteristics?
Shannon
Can this movement of baseball players be compared to the recent NYT article about the runner? Why is fandom most commonly associated with locality, while the players of these teams are commonly associated with transnational movement? How can you explain this phenomenon?
Christy
When we read the book about Japanese hip-hop some people in class felt that hip-hop belonged to America. This might have been due to the newness of hip-hop in Japan. After watching the video, we know that baseball has been played in Japan for the past 130 years; do you still consider it "America's national pastime"? How much ownership do you feel Americans have over the sport?
L.B.
Dr. Kelly relays the sentiment that Ichiro's jump to MLB marked "the final globalization of [American] baseball." But, before coming to the United States, Ichiro had become a cross-generational celebrity, something uncommon in Japan. How does his Japanese celebrity status showcase japan adopting more from the American style of the game than the U.S. from the Japanese style?
Hannah
are sports a good way of globalization? it seems that in many team sports in america all of the players are collectively grouped as american, even if that is not the case.
Zach F.
Does the middle ground that baseball stands between the globalization of football and basketball compare to any other topics? What other types of globalization does this shed light on? Can we use the the example set forth by baseball to analyze any other types of globalization?
Alex P.
In regards to the U.S. and Japan, according to the American Ambassador to Japan Joseph Grue, "Babe Ruth did more for the bilateral relationship than what a hundred ambassadors could do." Could the globalization of sports forge political relationships?
Ian
Will there ever be two focal points in baseball? Can it turn into the next soccer with multiple hot regions with players from around the world in all the different leagues?
Phillip
Seeing as how japese and other asian athletes have made it in sports like baseball and basketball. do you think that they will ever make such as impact in the NFL?
Julie
In the film, William Kelly says that soccer is multicentric, basketball and American football are unicentric, and baseball is somewhere between these poles. Do you agree with him? To what extent has Japan been able to claim baseball as their own?