List 8.2. Pop Culture in Japan 4-5 level 15-20 min.
GOAL. Listening for content in the following debate on the globalisation of Japan pop culture power.
BACKGROUND. For young Japanese youth the capital of pop culture is Tokyo. In this part of Japan's Pop Power, Chris Farrell and John Biewen continue their travels around Tokyo.
WARMING UP. Learn about Japan’s Gross National Cool. (click on listen Chapter III)
TASK 1. Which statement made by John Biewen you disagree with? Underline them.
LANGUAGE PRACTICE. Chris Farrell and John Biewen explore just how rich the Japanese are getting on pop culture, and whether a nation can keep a firm hold on what's cool.
TASK 2. Chris and John are walking the town of Mitaka. Why is it a well-known area? Any differences with its American counterpart, Sillicon Valley?
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Q2. Next stop-over is Studio Ghibli, founded by Miyazaki.
A) Who is he? ……………………………………………..………………………………………………
B) Which aspects surprise them? ……………………………………..………………………………………
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Q3. Who are these ‘creative industries’? Which are their economic figures?
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TASK 3. They talk to Eiko Torikai who is in Animate, a big manga comic store in Shibuya, the center of Tokyo. What can you learn about her work practices in her company, Amuse Soft Entertainment?
Q1.Why is she there? …………………………………………………………………………………
Q2.What is the company doing? ………………………………………………………………………….
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Q3.What is she designing at the moment? …………………………………………………………………
Q4. What are the prospectives for the Japanese content industry (movies, game software and animation)? ………………………………………………………………………………………………….
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Q5. Where might the competence come from? ………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
TASK 4. Austell Callwood is at the fair in Richmond, who has a stand. What are these?
Q1. Tenbo productions. ……………………………………………………………………………………….
Q2. Cove Pirate Mercenary. ………………………………………………………………………………..…
Q3. His Manga reminiscences are ……………………………………………………………………….…
TASK 5. The rise of Japan as a cultural power shows different aspects.
Q1. Why do the consumers seem to be the sure winners? ..................................................
Q2. What is surprising about Japan’s globalization? …………………………………………………………
Q3. Which are the reasons for her dominance? …………………..……………………………………… …….………………………………………………………………………………………….…………......
List 8.2. American Radio Works: Pop Culture in Japan KEY
TASK 1. (open) probably nothing!
TASK 2. Q1. Why is Mitaka a well-known area? Any differences with its American counterpart?
Anime Alley, that had been billed as the Silicon Valley of Japan's new entertainment industrial complex.
But in Silicon Valley you have these office towers, these giant campuses. This is very kind of sleepy, suburban, residential community here.
Q2. Next stop-over is Studio Ghibli, founded by Miyazaki. 2.A) Who is he? The animated filmmaker who made some successful films (including Spirited Away, the Oscar winning anime).
2.B. What surprises them? A world-famous studio that goes unnoticed to a passer-by. From the outside is another three-story building in a suburb, surrounded by a bunch of trees.
B2. This studio that you're sitting in, compared to a facility of the same type in the United States, is incredibly small, and doesn't seem that we have a lot of resources, relatively speaking
Q3. Who are these ‘creative industries’? Which are their economic figures?
A cottage industry made of thousands of tiny companies with 3-5 animes whereas the leaser made 15.
Manga publishers, one-third of all books published in Japan are comic books and they're selling millions overseas. More than half the world's animation comes out of Tokyo. And over the past 15 years, while the Japanese economy went nowhere, Japanese pop culture exports, did well.
TASK 3. What can you learn about Eiko’s work practices in her company, Amuse Soft Entertainment?
Q1.Why is she there? she needs to go to the comic store and study what the fans are up to
Q2.What is the company doing? They convert manga books into anime and sell the DVDs worldwide.
The company specializes in a subgenre of manga and anime: same sex love stories with young men. But the artists are primarily women and the audience is female.
Q3.What is she designing at the moment? a ladies' comic style, war story set in the 19th century, yeah.
Q4. Which are the prospectives for the Japanese content industry (movies, game software and animation)? Solid sales with a young adult market supporting the trend. The number show a steady increase (11 trillion yen in 2001> 15 trilion in 2010 = 150 billion $). The confidence comes from owning the original brand with its increasing popularity the world over.
Q5. Where does the competence may come from? Globalisation. The companies can make anime films anywhere, small creative companies are turning into business people in Korea, Taiwan, Australia ... or USA.
TASK 4. Tenbo productions. His company, and he also owns and operates a DVD store in northern Virginia that specializes in Asian movies and TV shows
Cove Pirate Mercenary. His comic book. The book is based off of Japanese Buddhism plus a lot of Western pirate concepts.
Manga reminiscences. Captivated by Japanese storytelling, and still is. His first show, at the age of 7 was ‘Battle of the Planets’, known as ‘Gotchaman’ in Japan.
TASK 5. Q1. Why do the consumers seem to be the sure winners? more products and cheaper!
Q2. What is surprising about Japan’s globalization? nobody saw it coming
Q3. Which are the reasons for her dominance? Japan, for a combination of reasons, cultural, economic, historical, seems just especially well positioned to create products for today's youth. They're open-minded, they're restless and they're very wired.
FOLLOW UP. Why not listen to it again while you read the transcript to check your answers?
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