All eyes on Tokyo
26/7/21 22:28![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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talkpoliticsJapan is a cute, colourful, anime and manga-inspired wonderland. Obviously. If we're to take BBC's Olympics trailer seriously (which of course we probably shouldn't):
Tokyo Olympics branding adds to stereotypical view of Japan — but that doesn’t make it appropriation"The portrayal of Japan in this trailer raises questions about how Japan is viewed by outsiders and insiders, and what cultural or economic purposes such images serve."
I don't know if the British representation of Japan is a distorted, cliched, stereotypical view of Japan broken through the twisted prism of Western-centric worldview of "orientalism" - I'm aware that two weeks spent in Japan don't make me a Japan expert. The portrayal of Japan in this trailer sure raises questions about how Japan is viewed by outsiders and insiders, and what cultural or economic purposes such images serve. But there's another, bigger problem underlying these Olympics (save for the empty stands on the stadiums which create a somewhat eery feeling about the whole event).
I'm talking about the fact that the real problem of these Olympic games isn't representation, but rather the fact that many people in Japan don't want them to happen. There've been protests against the event, mostly because of health concerns (new Covid cases have started popping up within the Olympic village even before Day One of the Games).
A citizen's movement has formed around this resistance to the Games, and a series of convincing arguments have been made by the protesters: without visitors, the economic investment into the Olympics is essentially meaningless and, as has been shown already, the Games are a hotbed for potential new Covid infections.
From this controversy emerges an image diametrically opposed to the playful "geek chic" aesthetic of the BBC trailer: Japan is actually a divided country, with low levels of trust in the government and gaffe-prone officials. But of course we're not supposed to know that.
Tokyo Olympics branding adds to stereotypical view of Japan — but that doesn’t make it appropriation"The portrayal of Japan in this trailer raises questions about how Japan is viewed by outsiders and insiders, and what cultural or economic purposes such images serve."
I don't know if the British representation of Japan is a distorted, cliched, stereotypical view of Japan broken through the twisted prism of Western-centric worldview of "orientalism" - I'm aware that two weeks spent in Japan don't make me a Japan expert. The portrayal of Japan in this trailer sure raises questions about how Japan is viewed by outsiders and insiders, and what cultural or economic purposes such images serve. But there's another, bigger problem underlying these Olympics (save for the empty stands on the stadiums which create a somewhat eery feeling about the whole event).
I'm talking about the fact that the real problem of these Olympic games isn't representation, but rather the fact that many people in Japan don't want them to happen. There've been protests against the event, mostly because of health concerns (new Covid cases have started popping up within the Olympic village even before Day One of the Games).
A citizen's movement has formed around this resistance to the Games, and a series of convincing arguments have been made by the protesters: without visitors, the economic investment into the Olympics is essentially meaningless and, as has been shown already, the Games are a hotbed for potential new Covid infections.
From this controversy emerges an image diametrically opposed to the playful "geek chic" aesthetic of the BBC trailer: Japan is actually a divided country, with low levels of trust in the government and gaffe-prone officials. But of course we're not supposed to know that.
(no subject)
Date: 26/7/21 19:52 (UTC)But the IOC will not be budged either. Not easily.
(no subject)
Date: 26/7/21 20:04 (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 26/7/21 20:14 (UTC)