Open AccessCan Pop Culture Allay Resentment? Japan’s Influence in China Today
Author(s) -
Yuqing Wu
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
media and communication
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.804
H-Index - 19
ISSN - 2183-2439
DOI - 10.17645/mac.v9i3.4117
Subject(s) - anime , militarism , china , popular culture , soft power , entertainment , resentment , youth culture , chinese culture , gender studies , power (physics) , korean wave , media studies , japanese culture , government (linguistics) , sociology , comfort women , political science , history , art , literature , politics , law , linguistics , philosophy , physics , quantum mechanics , japanese studies , artificial intelligence , computer science
In China, despite the traumatic collective memory relating to militaristic Japan during World War II, an increasing number of Chinese young adults have developed an obsession with Japanese culture, due to its export of anime, movies, pop music, and other popular culture. Based on interviews with 40 Chinese and Japanese young adults, this work examines how contemporary pop culture and historical war memories related to Japan influenced Chinese young adults, who had to reconcile their contradictory sentiments toward the Japanese government, people, and culture. The success of Japanese pop culture in China also shows how the allegedly apolitical, virtual sphere of entertainment has helped build Japan’s soft power through shaping a cool image of Japan in Asia and worldwide.