Language and Popular Culture in Japan (Japanese studies) - Hardcover

Moeran, Brian

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0719030412 ISBN 13: 9780719030413

Publisher: Manchester University Press, 1989

Synopsis

When this book was originally published it was the first work of its kind to examine the way in which language is used to express the ‘myth’ of advertising slogans and other popular cultural forms. By making use of general theories from the disciplines of anthropology, linguistics, media studies and semiotics, the book attempts to demystify Japanese culture as it has been hitherto presented in the West, and shows how such cultural forms as ‘noodle westerns’ and high-school baseball uphold the well-known ideologies of ‘selflessness’, ‘diligence’, ‘compliance’ and ‘co-operation’ typically associated with the Japanese. Ultimately, the book poses the question: are those whom we call the Japanese ‘real’ people in their own right, or merely a nation acting out a part written for them by Western civilisation?

About this title

Synopsis:

Addresses the way langauge is used to express advertising slogans and other popular culture forms. Draws on theories from anthropology, linguistics, media studies, and semiotics to show how such cultural forms as noodle westerns and high school baseball uphold traditional Japanese values. Questions whether the nation is just acting out a part writt

About this edition

• Publisher: Manchester University Press
• Publication date: 1989
• ISBN 10: 0719030412
• ISBN 13: 9780719030413
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 176