Japanese Cartoons as a Cultural Product Essay -- Marketing Business

The cultural product that I will be focusing on is Japanese cartoons. A more colloquial term â€Å"Manga† is used when referring to such comic books. I hereby focus on Manga because of its popularity and ubiquitous nature in Japan. About 35 per cent (Allen & Sakamoto, 2006) of all publications are in serial and paperback formats and they are read by people of all age groups and class (Craig. J, 2000). The prevalence and popularity of such manga suggest that it may be an accurate indicator of social norms and values in the Japanese society. This realm of the fantastic, albeit not to be taken literally in many instances, serve as metaphors for culture itself and speak about the world we live in today (Craig. J, 2000). Hence, this sophistication has allowed manga to spread beyond Japan to places like the other parts of Asia and the western world. As such, I find it imperative for an acute analysis of this cultural product and the crucial actors involved in its production and cons umption. To give a brief introduction to manga, they are story-driven, (audio-) visual narratives, which deal with â€Å"nearly every imaginable subject† (Schodt, 1996). Visually crafted, they exemplify multifarious experiences and can potentially reveal the nuances of contemporary society, like a kaleidoscope. Diverse disciplinary fields are inherent in these narratives and serve as not only pivotal points for modern Japan, but post-modern society as well. Manga evolved from sources like graffiti and picture scrolls in the Edo Period (1602-1868). Although prominent from the Edo period, it was only during the post-war period which socially deemed it as a significant form of artistic expression. Post-war baby boomers and radical experiences of social change defined ... ...rom: http://www.asianlang.mq.edu.au/japanese/documents/Bryce_Davis.pdf. †¢ Cubbison, L. (2005). Anime Fans, DVDs, and the Authentic Text. The Velvet Light Trap, no. 56, Fall. †¢ Craig, J. (2000). Japan pop!: Inside the world of Japanese popular culture. USA, New York: M.E. Sharpe, Inc. †¢ MacWilliams, M.W. (2000). Japanese Comics and Religion: Osamu Tezukas Story of the Buddha. T. J. Craig (Ed.). Armonk, N.Y: M.E. Sharpe †¢ Matsui, T. (2009). Gatekeeping Foreign Cultural Products: The Diffusion of Japanese Comics (Manga) in the US, 1980-2006. Tokyo, Japan: Hitotsubashi University. †¢ Schodt, F.L. (1996). Dreamland Japan: Writings on Modern Manga. Berkeley, California: Stone Bridge Press. †¢ Wong, S.Y. (2007). The Presence of Manga in Europe and North America. Retrieved 25 November, 2010 from: http://www.rthk.org.hk/mediadigest/20070913_76_121564.html.