1. Oshin, The Bold and the Beautiful, and the Great Escape ATH 390Z Pokemon: Global and Local Cultures Dr. Mark Allen Peterson

2. Question One How do people understand other cultures from the media they consume? 3. Question Two What does it mean to speak of media consumption as an escape? 4. OSHIN 5. Oshin in Japan Asadora Morning television serial drama 297 15-minute episodes April 4, 1983 March 31, 1984 6. Oshin in Japan Oshin is the story of a woman born into a poor village in 1900. It describes her life and hardships from the time she is sold into domestic service by her father, to the rise of her family into wealth and success as department store owners in the 1980s 7. Oshin in Japan Oshin experiences a series of advances and setbacks poverty, hunger, the grinding drudgery of agricultural labor, miscarriage, social alienation, marriage and separationwhile persevering in hard work, and nurturing children, husband, family and friends. 8. Oshin in Japan Oshin was a new kind of female role model, tough and successful with traditional feminine values - Anne Allison 1995 9. Meiji 1868 1912 Establishment of Japanese Empire Radical reform of state structure Currency reform Industrial Revolution Taisho 1912 1926 Expansion in China Democratization of legislature From rice riots to unprecedented prosperity Increasing internationalism Great Kanto earthquake devastates Tokyo Showa 1926 1989 World War II Hiroshima and Nagasaki Occupation De-militarization Americanization Rising prosperity 10. Oshin in Japan NHK: Japanese Public Broadcasting Authentic portrayal of Meiji period from real biographical materials 11. Oshin in Japan Enormously successful 69% viewing audience 12. Oshin in Japan Oshin became a reference point for parents and grandparents to talk with children about their own suffering during Japans turbulent modern history. 13. OSHIN In Egypt 14. Oshin in Egypt 1993-1994 Distributed free by the Japan Foundation 15. Oshin in Egypt Initially not well received. Pre-empted popular US soap opera The Bold & the Beautiful. 16. Oshin in Egypt We enjoyed the beautiful women and Western fashions in The Bold & Beautiful. While we are watching television, we want to forget about the poverty and problems we have 17. Oshin in Egypt Identified with Oshins problems and suffering 18. Oshin in Egypt I didnt feel that the problems Oshin faced were different from ours. For example, oshin started to work as a nanny in a rich merchant family from her early age in order to financially support her family. Such a story is common in peasant families in Egypt. Egyptian businesswoman, age 32 19. Oshin in Egypt Sympathized with issues of patriarchy with which Oshin dealt 20. Oshin in Egypt Unfairness toward women and the conflict between Oshin and her mother- in-law are issues we can easily find in Egypt, and we can relate ourselves to her situation. Egyptian businesswoman, age 32 21. Oshin in Egypt Appreciated the values of hard work and perseverance. 22. Oshin in Egypt Tabaan! Oshin helwa awi What I liked best was that she was so strong and never gave up, always tried to achieve the better life. I am different from Oshin because I never married. But I can sympathize with her very much because I have been working for my family for a long time. Egyptian servant and nanny, age 50 23. Oshin in Egypt Appreciated Oshins character: strong and persevering, but humble and faithful 24. Oshin in Egypt Awiz mitgawiz maa wahida Yabaniyya. Shuft Oshin? Yabaniyya taiba giddan. I want to marry a Japanese woman. Did you see Oshin? Japanese women are so faithful. Egyptian taxi driver, age 27 25. Oshin in Egypt Family viewing Relation of Oshins family issues, economic problems, and moral dilemmas to their own lives. 26. Oshin in Egypt Ten minutes after Oshin finishes, a daughter will call her mother to discuss the program; soo they start to discuss her family problems. Official at the Japanese Cultural Center, Egypt 27. Oshin in Egypt Created strong positive feelings toward Japan Presented Japanese character in a positive light Generated interest in Japan Distorted view of contemporary Japan 1. Gender roles 2. Economic conditions 3. Past and present 28. Oshin in Egypt Many Egyptians seem to believe Oshin was a depiction of modern Japan, they have a wrong image of us. For example, today Japanese women have more freedom than in the period of Oshin. Official at the Japanese Cultural Center, Egypt 29. Analysis In most interviews, at some point people needed to explain Oshin by reference to the show it pre-empted (and which returned to replace it when it ended. 30. THE BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL 31. The Bold and the Beautiful The Bold and the Beautiful is a US soap opera about the wealth Forrester family, whose business dominates the world of fashion. 32. The Bold and the Beautiful 1987-present Low context No references to wider political and economic issues 33. The Bold and the Beautiful Aired in more than 80 countries Worlds most popular soap opera 34. The Bold and the Beautiful Egypt: 1991- present Channel 2 National (government) channel 35. The Bold and the Beautiful Beautiful Actresses Setting Clothing Production values Bold Immoral activities Unrealistic aspirations Unattainable commodities 36. Analysis Egyptians enjoyed both Oshin and The Bold and the Beautiful, yet in very different ways. How do we analyze this? 37. THE GREAT ESCAPE 38. Resources Allison, Anne. 1995. Wrappings of Japan. American Anthropologist 98: 885-887. Harvey, Paul A.S. 1995. Interpreting Oshin: War, history and women in modern Japan. In Women, Media, and Consumption in Japan, Lise Skov and Brian Moeran, eds. University of Hawaii Press. Inoue, Kanako. 1998. The sociocultural impact of the Japanese melodrama Oshin on Egyptian society. Unpublished paper. Iwabuchi, Koichi. 2002. Recentering Globalization: Popular Culture and Japanese Transnationalism. Duke University Press. Mowlana, Hamid, and Mehdi Mohsenian-Rad. 1992. "International Flow of Japanese Television Programs: the Oshin Phenomenon." Keio Communication Review 14: 51-68. Radway, Janice. 1984. Reading the Romance. University of North Carolina Press.