このたびトランスアジア文化研究会を10月22日（金）に開催いたします。今回は”Innovative approaches to Japanese pop culture”と題して、気鋭のアメリカの人類学者3名による日本のポップカルチャー研究の報告と討議です。発表は英語で行われますが、質問などは日本語でもいいので、どうか気軽にご参加ください。あるいは、研究会には参加できないけれど、そのあと合流して話したいという方も歓迎します。
みなさまにお目にかかるのを楽しみにしています。

開催概要

報告概要

1. Chris Yano
Title: Hello Kitty as Global Wink

ABSTRACT: This talk takes a critical look at Japanese Cute-Cool and its global trek, as exemplified by Sanrio’s iconic Hello Kitty.? In the 2000s, Sanrio’s cat has occupied a spot within what was proclaimed as Japan’s “gross national cool” by American journalist Douglas McGray.?That spot has encouraged the Japanese government to take note, including Hello Kitty within its Cool Japan campaign of soft power.? I argue that Hello Kitty occupies the national and global spotlight through a literal and figurative wink, opening up a position that includes play, irony, and ambiguity.? That wink of Japan’s mouthless cat provides important lessons on the politics, pleasures, and aesthetics of foreign-and-familiar commodity play in this age of global desirings.

2. Ian Condry
TITLE: “Dark Energy and the Soul of Anime”

ABSTRACT: What gives anime its “soul”? Cultural anthropologist Ian Condry will discuss the “dark energy” that expands the artistic universe of anime through collective activities of creators, producers, and fans. Using examples of anime, such as the films of director Hosoda Mamoru (Toki o Kakeru Shojo and Summer Wars), he will discuss his fieldwork in Tokyo anime studios, and offer a perspective on today’s emerging media mix information environment. This talk is related to his forthcoming book “The Soul of Anime: Collaborative Creativity and Japan’s Media Success Story” (estimated publication late 2011).