Another top reading from Henry Jenkins this week! It was all about pop culture surfacing in different societies under the name of "Pop Cosmopolitanism". Jenkins (2006) primarily discussed the eastern influence on American consumerism in terms of food, fashion, music and television. It was interesting to read the examples of Manga, Pokemon, the Iron Chef and Sushi making their way into western culture was considered to have been done so initially through immigration, eventually through media convergence. The Pop Cosmopolitans are the ones that follow these different trends for a variety of reasons - to gain a new cultural experience, to rebel against the norm that is presented to them from their local media and also be different.
In my experience of Pop Cosmopolitanism, specifically speaking about English dubbed Japanese shows, is that they were contextualised in a "piss taking" fashion. I am talking about MXC the Japanese game show which has been dubbed in English. I don't know what the original narrator of the show was saying but the English narrator, while funny, was certainly taking the mickey out of the contestants. Here is a clip below (OK, your allowed to laugh).
My point is that while it is funny, is it not a little disrespectful to lay English sarcasm to reinterpret these shows?? Maybe the Japanese narrator is a funny char actor who makes fun of the contestants too?? I don't know!
The topic of the integration of Eastern culture into American pop culture also raises interesting points about globalisation. For example, Srinivasan (2006), mentions the way in which modern technologies have allowed communities to reveal and share the truths about their modern day realities and future hopes. By sharing the information through the various platforms available such as video, they are able to educate other cultures as well as, in some instances, instigate support for communities that are in need of assistance.
Jenkins, H (2006). Pop cosmospolitanism: Mapping cultural flows in an age of media convergence. In H. Jenkins, Fans, bloggers and gamers: exploring participatory culture (pp 152-172). New York: New York University Press.
Srinivasan, R (2006). Indigenous, ethnic and cultural articulations of new media. International Journal of Cultural Studies, 9(4), 497-518. (electronic databases)
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