Costumes, props, and appropriation

Posted on by

by Deanne Walters

For a discussion on appropriation is it apt start off with a definition on what cultural appropriation is. Cultural appropriation is taking part of another group’s culture and removing it from the original context; often simplifying it and the original culture. This post is going to focus on cultural appropriation going on in mass media in two areas, fashion and music videos.

This section will look at the example of Native American appropriation in fashion and costumes in America. A new trend that has been going on is Native American inspired clothes. As seen with the Urban Outfitters line of ‘Navajo’ styled clothes, a major problem with this kind of appropriation is that it simplifies culture. Navajo is just one of hundreds of Native American tribes. It also commodifies this culture as it simplifies it, so it takes a complex group of cultures and turns them into products for hipsters. This removes any cultural context that might have been attached to these items or patterns in effect turning these products in to stereotypes of Native American cultures.

There are also much more blatant stereotypes of Native American people, such as costumes. These reduce vast cultures down to one idea often based on stereotypical images produced in media. Costumes also ignore any and all cultural context behind them. A common accessory in both costumes and fashion are headdresses. While the original meaning behinds these were symbols of strength worn only by warriors and chiefs now they are just seen as a fashion accessory or a costume. In both fashion and costumes Native American cultures are simplified and commodified for the economic benefit and enjoyment of non-Native Americans. This is contributing to the erosion of Native American cultures.

The next example of cultural appropriations is Japanese culture in music videos and performances. The most recent example is Avril Lavigne’s ‘Hello Kitty’ music video, but this is nothing new this has been seen in Gwen Stefani’s ‘Harajuku Girls’ and Katy Perry’s American Music Awards performance of ‘Unconditionally’. All of these examples simplified and stereotyped Japanese culture into a prop, something to add ‘exotic’ spice to a music video or performance. In the two music videos the only people who were Japanese or of Japanese decent were background dancers maybe getting a line or two in the song. The only thing that matters for people producing this content is the profit they will make from it. This cultural appropriation and is contributing to the stereotyping of Japanese culture.

The clear link between these two cases of cultural appropriation is simplification and commodification. Complex cultures are being turned into caricatures and used for profit. Overall, cultural appropriation in mass media often ends up stereotyping and only profiting individuals with no deep connection to the culture they are appropriating. As seen with these two example cultural appropriation is wrong and should be stopped.

References

Fager, C. (n.d.). Cultural appropriation. A Friendly Letter. Retrieved April 30, 2014, from http://afriendlyletter.com/appropriation.html

Indians.org. (nd.). Indian headdress. Retrieved April 30, 2014, from http://www.indians.org/articles/indian-headdress.html

Ray, P. (2013, November 1). Cultural appropriation: Halloween’s post-modern problem. The society pages. Retrieved April 30, 2014, from http://thesocietypages.org/cyborgology/2013/11/01/cultural-appropriation-halloweens-post-modern-problem/

Sharp, G. (2011, June 7). Discussion of cultural appropriation. The society pages. Retrieved April 30, 2014, from http://thesocietypages.org/socimages/2011/07/07/discussion-of-cultural-appropriation/

Sharp, G. (2012, May 10). Social media and the fight over urban outfitters’ appropriation of native american cultures. The society pages. Retrieved April 30, 2014, from http://thesocietypages.org/socimages/2012/05/10/social-media-and-the-fight-over-urban-outfitters-appropriation-of-native-american-cultures/

Zimmerman, A. (2014, April 25). Avril Lavigne’s dumb ‘hello kitty’ video is rife with cultural appropriation. The Daily Beast. Retrieved April 30, 2014, from http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/04/25/avril-lavigne-s-dumb-hello-kitty-video-is-rife-with-cultural-appropriation.html

 

Gogatsu-byou: The “sickness” that strikes Japan each and every May

Posted on by

In the university, the freshness of a new academic year that students and faculty may feel in April can give way to the reality of homework, tests, and grading in May. Thankfully, the May weather is pleasant, so we can seek solace in the warm sun, before the heat and humidity of summer arrive.

Nagoya NPO releases survival guide for hikikomori for when their parents are gone

Posted on by

As the post notes, the aging of the parents of hikikomori will present new challenges for Japanese society, as the parents are no longer able to provide support to their children. Will job-hunting strategies be included in the basic living tips?

Planning for the future in unstable times

Posted on by

Note from Editor: Students are reading Anne Allison’s book Precarious Japan, and sharing their thoughts on how their own future plans are impacted by the instability and insecurity that Allison describes.

by Teppei Funatani

I have a clear plan for my future. Since I was a freshman, I have dedicated myself to helping refugees living in Japan. Through this activity I have found that giving them help surely changes my life and also the refugees’ future. Therefore I want to work at an NGO or NPO related to helping refugees.

Of course I want to find refugees helping work and dedicate to the job in my life, however there is a big problem for doing such activity.

The problem is a low salary. I met a lot of people who serve in NGOs and NPOs and help refugees. Except for few of them, most of them said that they could only get a small salary even though they worked really hard. They told me that helping the refugees was really a good job, because they could see smiles of the refugee and were cheered up. However, lacking of money was a reality they had to face up to and they could not afford to get marry. They don’t have enough money to save.

I think that I can manage to do everything at first even though I make only the small money, however as time goes by I get old and need a lot of money for many things. For example, I had a surgical operation for a lymphoma twice and it cost about 400 thousand yen each time. If I can only earn the small money, I probably cannot afford to pay for the operation.

I believe that getting the job that what you really want to do is important, however as I said that low salary is surely disturb your decision. As Anne Allison said in her book Precarious Japan, many people can only get an irregular jobs that are very unstable and they worry about their life and future. Both NGOs and NPOs are not irregular jobs, however mostly they don’t have enough money and you can get only the small salary. Of course a motivation to change a social problem is important, however you cannot keep working only with the motivation. Some NGO staff members told me that they got married when they were young and their married lives were good at first. However, as mentioned above, supporting refugees is really hard work with a low salary. Therefore they had no time to spend with their husband or wife and could not afford to have a baby. Finally, they got divorced and one of their ibasho was lost. I don’t think people can live alone. If your ibasho is only the job, after quitting the job what you can do?

In conclusion, I cannot decide now whether or not I should work at an NGO or NPO. There may be some possibilities to work for refugees. I need time to think about my future deeply.

Finding my ibasho in society

Posted on by

Note from Editor: Students are reading Anne Allison’s book Precarious Japan, and sharing their thoughts on how their own future plans are impacted by the instability and insecurity that Allison describes.

by Yusuke Sugiyama

When I think about my future, I cannot imagine that what kind of work I would do, and what kind of people I would connect with. However, one thing which I want to value in my life is relationship with others. I want to place emphasis on a time, opportunity and ibasho which I can deal with others.

I was born in Kobe and lived with my family before I entered Ritsumeikan University, and it is my ibasho where my family and my friends who spent a same time for 18 years live. Then, I entered this University and I started to live alone in Kyoto, and all is new for me. Naturally there is no ibasho where I can really get comfortable, and it was not until I am away from a familiar ibasho that I understood the importance of family, friends and that is ibasho. Everyday life was terrible before I found my ibasho in Kyoto.

I think ibasho is one of the most important things in our life, and the people who cannot find own ibasho in society have possibility to be hikikomori. Maybe there are many people such them in present Japan. Now I have some important ibasho, it is indispensable for my school life. That is why I would like to place emphasis on connection with people in the future and also I will improve my communication skill for it in University life.

In addition, as my future direction, I would like to overcome a linguistics barrier and get an ibasho because people who live different countries have different ideas. I like the surprise which I feel when I realize new idea from different point of view, and so I would like to over the border, and find my ibasho. Also, I think that I can realize a Japanese precariousness and a good point of Japan. Therefore, I will go to a lot of countries in my life.

When I think about my future job, I do not have a concrete idea, but I want to earn enough money to be able to make a trip, play with my friends, and repay my parents for raising me so well. Indeed, Japan is an unstable society now and it might be difficult to get stable job, but if I am into such a situation, I will find my ibasho in society, and place importance on a connection with people.

Future dreams

Posted on by

Note from Editor: Students are reading Anne Allison’s book Precarious Japan, and sharing their thoughts on how their own future plans are impacted by the instability and insecurity that Allison describes.

Anonymous student post

I make plans for the future. Now, I am 19 years old. I will go abroad to study English for one year. I want to acquire ability for English. I will graduate from Ritsumeikan University smoothly at the age of 22. At the same time, I will begin to work for some company. Presently, I want to be a buyer. I like interior, fashion clothes, miscellaneous goods. Making use of my English skill, I would visit foreign countries, and buy up wonderful products. Moreover, I want to design original clothes, and sell them. I make clothes that I want to wear. I want many people to wear the clothes that I designed.

Apart from that, I like to announce things. So, I think that announcement person in department store is also suiting me. At the age of 24, I am going to get married. But I will not quit my job. I keep on working even I have babies. In my 20’s, I want two children. One is boy, the other is girl. I make a loan, and build detached house. I like both of western-style and traditional Japanese style. However, I don’t like the house which built in half-foreign style across between Japanese and foreign. So, I unify either western-style or traditional Japanese style. I will have a big dog, and white cat with blue eyes. Although It is very optimistic future plans, It is my dream.

By the way, “kodokushi” (dying alone) is now a serious issue in Japan. However, in the future, when I become a senior citizen, will “kodokushi” still be a serious problem? Presently, the senior generation in Japan is the generation that supported postwar Japan. They tend to think vertical connections are important. On the other hand, our generation tends to think side relations are important. So now, there is generation gap between senior generation to our generation. I think the tendency of our generation is more popular now. Present senior generation can’t fill the gap. As a result, they are lonely in present society. When our generation become senior, how the tendency is going? I wonder. It is unimaginable for me, but I don’t want to be lonely at that time. I am going to make strong relationship with people around me, like friends, elder people, my family and so on.

Seeking ibasho at home and work

Posted on by

Note from Editor: Students are reading Anne Allison’s book Precarious Japan, and sharing their thoughts on how their own future plans are impacted by the instability and insecurity that Allison describes.

Anonymous student post

My goal in the future is to work for the Ministry of Defense in Japan. I had an opportunity to listen to a lecture by a staff member of the Ministry of Defense at Ritsumeikan University. I became interested in working for Japan and thinking about how improve the position of Japan in international society through this lecture. The staff at the Ministry of Defense requires a high knowledge of security. Therefore, hard work and various experiences are necessary when I am a Ritsumeikan University student. Although I have a clear future goal in working, working is not everything in life. Through Anne Allison’s Precarious Japan, I rethink the concept of ibasho.

Where is my ibasho? Ibasho is a comfortable place to me. Although it is invisible, a good life needs it. My present ibasho is family, Ritusmeikan University, the American football team, and so on. I think having more than one ibasho is necessary, one is family and the others are public, for example school and company. My anxiety in the future is that I can get ibasho in both family and work.

Unfortunately, Japan is still not a women-friendly society. It is true that the number of working women is increasing and the condition for working women is improving. However, Japanese society still has a trend in which woman should have the burden of child rearing and housework. A lot of working women quit their jobs because of giving birth and child rearing. Some companies wish pregnant women to quit their job. It is difficult for women to get both ibasho in family and work.

I would like to be able to cope with my work and my family like my mother does. However, my mother’s work is women-friendly. She took childcare until I was 2 years old and got summer and winter vacations. I would like to choose work that I want to do. When I am employed, I hope Japan is a more women-friendly society.

Brainwashed by media?

Posted on by

by Kanae Mukaihara

What is beauty in Japan and what race do Japanese regard themselves? In “Seeing Faces, Making Races: Challenging Visual Tropes of Racial Difference in Japan,” Terry Kawashima mentions that Japanese people have used Westerners as a model of beauty, with Westerners’ taller noses, bigger eyes, and blond hair. Thus, Japanese women do makeup to make their eyes look bigger and dye their hair in brighter colors. Yet, being Japanese, I myself do not do my makeup while thinking about to wanting to look like Westerners. From this, Japanese are not putting Westerner as a model of beauty, yet we are brainwashed and affected since we are young children. 

How are Japanese people affected and brainwashed? Considering Japanese manga or animation, most characters have white skin with colored hair. If this characters are seen by foreigners, it is natural for them to consider why ‘white’ characters are are used in Japanese animations. Although Japanese children have seen these images since they were young, they do not feel uncomfortable or wonder why the characters have different colored skin than they do. From this, it could be said that media in Japan is constructing citizens to have Westerners as a role model and also to make the citizens feel similar to Westerners.

Yet, why would media do such a thing? In society, there always are classifications in race, even when we are not aware of them. So, from looking at the world, from Japanese aspect, Westerners have been superior since the end of World War II. This is making Japanese people treat Westerners as a role model, and also by media making Japanese people think similar and familiar with westerners, it makes Japanese consider themselves similar to Westerners. When we watch cartoons made in other countries and see a character that has black hair, small eyes and short height, I guess some Japanese people might have experienced regard that character as Chinese even wearing kimono or other Japanese traditional clothes. I consider this is coming from the classification and unconsciousness of superiority and inferiority. 

To conclude, Japanese are regarding Westerners as beauty due to the effects of exposure to the media since a young age, and the unconsciousness of classification is still affecting our ideas. Thus, Japanese people regard their race as Japanese, yet in some point, they have some kind of similarity to Westerners and Western stays as the model of beauty in Japan.

Working as a public official: a path to stability and security?

Posted on by

Note from Editor: Students are reading Anne Allison’s book Precarious Japan, and sharing their thoughts on how their own future plans are impacted by the instability and insecurity that Allison describes.

Anonymous student post

I have clearly no idea about my plans for the future, but I think I want to be a public official. There are three reasons.

First, the welfare system is more advanced than in other jobs. According to Allison, “Stuck at a low pay level, irregular workers are often unprotected at the workplace as well; easily replaced and fired, their rights are minimal at best” (p. 32). Workers are relatively compensated, have various holidays such as a childcare leave, nursing care leave and so on. In particular, for women, if they leave their work, it is easier to come back to their workplace.

Second, a public official is a stable job. After the bubble economy burst in the early 1990s, Japan experienced a serious stagnation. Many people were laid off by companies, and many young people couldn’t find jobs. This circumstances continues even until now. On the other hand, once you work as a public official, you are basically able to work until you are sixty years old. During those roughly forty years, public officials can get a constant salary. In addition, Allison says “Those in a position to have what once constituted the social contract of postwar Japan—hard work today tied to marriage, home, and progressive prosperity for children tomorrow—tend to be limited to those with regular employment” (p. 33). As she says, whether you work as a regular worker or irregular worker is greatly related to your future.

Third, the existence of my mother affects my idea. My mother is a public school teacher, so she is a public official. When I was young, I was taken to her workplace. I saw her as a teacher for the first time. She was cool. As I think she is independent of the society, I respect her. In the future, I want to be like her.

In spite of her good status, she seemed not to be satisfied with her current situation, because she is very busy. She has to not only work but also do housework. She has two social roles. One is a teacher to teach English, and another is a mother to cook meal and do the laundry and so on. She always says “Although both of us (my father and my mother) work, why do only I have to do housework?” My family case shows that women still struggle with the life-work balance, because the traditional concept that men should work, and women should do housework remains current society.

In conclusion, although there is a problem, I want to be energetic in society. As I think a public officer is a job to do so, I want to be a public officer.

References

Allison, Anne. 2013. Precarious Japan. Durham, NC: Duke University Press.

From precarious Japan to secure Denmark?

Posted on by

Note from Editor: Students are reading Anne Allison’s book Precarious Japan, and sharing their thoughts on how their own future plans are impacted by the instability and insecurity that Allison describes.

Anonymous student post

After reading some parts of Allison’s book, my view about Japan changed. I was thinking of getting a job in Japan after graduating from my university, without a doubt.

Actually, perhaps I can get a good job to some extent because Japan is gakureki shakai (if you graduate from famous university, you are guaranteed to get a good job, to some extent) and my university is famous in Japan. Japanese companies, however, have some disadvantageous aspects such as overwork, less holidays, lack of labor unions, and so on. Also, according to Allison, Japanese society is precarious. For example, relationless, and high rate of suicide. Sometimes I also feel these problems Allison mentioned, so these precarious affect my life plan.

Just then, I learned that Nordic societies are very different from Japan. There are high tax rates, high welfare, and everyone is guaranteed to have life that people should have. Denmark especially is famous for being the happiest country in the world (http://diamond.jp/articles/-/32485?page=7). People in Denmark do not need to pay money from elementary school to university, and for medical costs. And after retirement, they are guaranteed to have enough pension to live a life. This society is very opposite to Japanese precarious society.

The sense of well being is also different from Japanese to Danish. According to Aya Omoto, Danish put their happy on everyday life. They feel happy for the things we tend to be matter of course, such as talking with friends, having food, being healthy. To the contrary, it might be said that we Japanese tend to feel happy for being superior to other people, having much amount of money, and working hard to get fame. For this reason I strongly come to be interested in Danish society because I like a sense of well-being. Danish have.

Living and working abroad became one of the way to live a happy life for me, however, there is a saying : The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence. If I were born in a Nordic country, I might think that I wanted to be born in Japan, and vice versa. It can be said that there are no perfect countries in the world, and there are absolutely some bad points. For these reasons, I might get a job in Japan and want to work in many countries through a Japanese company, and in this mean my ibasho can be said to be the earth itself, and I want to make relationship in the world.