Thinking about...Hollywoodisation and Asianisation
“Capitalism’s world-historical tendency to break down national barriers,
obliterate national distinctions and to assimilate nations is a tendency which
manifests itself more powerfully with every passing decade…” (Lenin, V, 1924).
This powerful quote is particularly relevant to understanding the concept
of ‘Hollywoodisation’, and how transnational entertainment industries have
fallen under this paradigm. Wasser (1995) describes the process by which
America now gains financial support for entertainment industries from purely domestic
sources, not cross-culturally, as a form of Hollywood domination. Wasser (1995)
believes by “…concentrating on the financing of American films the history of
Hollywood trans-nationalization can be isolated”.
Japanese anime is particularly significant in describing both the process
of Hollywoodisation and Asianisation, and how they have transformed the Western
entertainment industry. The breakthrough of anime was particularly prominent in
the 1980s, and consisted of metaphysical, horror or science fiction type themes
(Sexton, J, Mathijs, E, 2011). What is particularly interesting about anime is
that there was not necessarily always a ‘good triumphs over evil’ solution in
their movies or shows, which challenged audiences to view the world with ‘unclouded
eyes’ (Sexton, J, Mathijs, E, 2011).
Shows such as ‘Astro Boy’ are a
particular nostalgic highlight for the baby-boomer generation. Drawing on this
example, we can see how there has been a Hollywood adaption in order to appeal
to a Western audience. Action in anime typically takes a long time to unfold in
order to heighten the anticipated suspense of a scene, and includes many
moments with no dialogue at all. American versions of anime shows such as Kiki’s Delivery Service have been edited
to include further dialogue and sounds in order to fill silent gaps (Poitras,
G, 2001). Further, violence in anime presents instances where people do get
hurt, comparatively to American cartoons in which the protagonist may fall off
a cliff, land on the pavement, then brush themselves off and continue to fight
crime (Poitras, G, 2001). Traditionally themes have also been edited to
emphasis romance, heroism and the triumph of good over evil.
Hollywood has constrained and manipulated anime productions to push
common American ideologies and mould them into traditional Western storylines. They
have transformed anime into a censored product targeted at children, rather
than the violent, over sexualised, traditional nature anime productions.
Sources:
Poitras, G, 2001, Anime Essentials:
Everything a Fan Needs to Know, Stone Bridge Press, U.S.
Sexton, J, Mathijs, E, 2011, Cult
Cinema, Blackwell Publishing, UK
Wasser, F,
1995, ‘Is Hollywood America? The Trans-nationalization of the American Film
Industry’ Critical Studies in Mass Communication, Vol 12, pp423-437
I like your example of anime, and how you have compared the original Japanese anime with that of the adapted American anime, which has been modified and changed to suit American ideologies and "traditional western story lines" as you say.
ReplyDeleteHowever I am still unsure if anime is a truly global form? or is it just an art / media form that has been inhabited and celebrated by American and Japanese culture? A brief sentence explaining whether or not this is the case would have been helpful, as I know nothing about anime haha.
Also it would have been good to know which of the two (American anime and Japanese) proposers more, financially and culturally etc.
Very useful example to link back to the weeks content though, and I saw connections between the 'modification' of American anime, with that of Hollywood film 'modifying' martial arts film.
Your reference to the different outcomes of the hero were interesting- the Hollywood version of the hero 'dusting himself off and continuing' in comparison to getting heart in original anime cartoons. However your statement that Hollywood 'manipulates' anime products to enforce 'American ideologies' is strong and I was not completely convinced by your supporting arguments that this is achieved through filling silent gaps with sounds and dialogue. Some stronger examples would have convinced me.Some evidence of the financing of anime products by Hollywood would have also strengthened your first argument. An interesting insight into 'anime'. You have highlighted the differences in American adaptions of Asian media and especially the filtering systems.
ReplyDeleteYour reference to the different outcomes of the hero were interesting- the Hollywood version of the hero 'dusting himself off and continuing' in comparison to getting heart in original anime cartoons. However your statement that Hollywood 'manipulates' anime products to enforce 'American ideologies' is strong and I was not completely convinced by your supporting arguments that this is achieved through filling silent gaps with sounds and dialogue. Some stronger examples would have convinced me.Some evidence of the financing of anime products by Hollywood would have also strengthened your first argument. An interesting insight into 'anime'. You have highlighted the differences in American adaptions of Asian media and especially the filtering systems.
ReplyDeleteHey Sarah,
ReplyDeleteGreat piece! I really liked how you wrote this entry around the concept of anime. Continually drawing on this example, i felt, was a good way of unpicking the topic for the reader.
It is interesting how the different cultures perceive violence in their cartoons. Do you think that American's have become more resilient towards violence in their cartoons? I think that with access to internationally produced media because of the internet, we are seeing less and less resistance towards this violence in American cartoons.
Hi Sarah,
ReplyDeleteYour blog post this week was very well done. I thought it was great how you have used the concept of anime, it is now becoming more popular in society so it is very relevant to this unit.
You have used a good range of readings that have been unpacked well. I do agree with you that American ideologies are being produced in these films but I also believe that the change in anime has come down to consumerism and changes in society. In today's society people want films that can sell products and merchandise to make more money. Plus people today are more aware of the violence because news can be accessed anywhere (the beauty of globalisation) so I don't understand why anime would be censored now.
Your blog was a great read, maybe to improve your blog you could insert more links.
Thank you