ASA002-A02
Response 8 - “Korean American Youth and Transnational Flows of Popular Culture Across the Pacific”
This reading was very interesting to me because I am fascinated by the internet and the globalization of pop culture that has become possible because of it. When I was growing up, I found myself interested in "anime" (Japanese animation) and the "visual kei" Japanese rock that was mentioned in the article, thanks to coming across them online. Before then, I read American novels and consumed American film/television/music/pop culture. However, after my personal internet revolution, I found myself interested in pop culture things such as music, television, fashion, etc from countries in Asia and Europe in addition to America's. As the years passed, I noticed the shift towards Korean pop culture among my friends and acquaintances. Although I wasn't as into Korean media, it was often shown to me because of Korea's presence in the scenes of bboying (or breakdancing, which I used to/still do), competitive online gaming (something that is currently growing into a lucrative industry thanks to games like League of Legends), and music (Kpop being very popular). Similarly to jrock or Japanese dramas, Korean media allows me a place to find artists and personalities of Asian descent, which helps to counteract the negative self-views one can develop from watching white-focused American media. The lack of Asian-American actors in American media can lead to Asians feeling unwanted or especially "other." The presence of Asians in Korean media helps Asians watching from predominantly white countries, such as America, see their own worth through media.
Something interesting to me is the role of globalization. My own knowledge of Japanese "Visual Kei" Rock is that it was originally very influenced by Marilyn Manson's visual styles and shock rock. (I am also a fan of Marilyn Manson.) It shows me that although the "original" style came from America, something new was created in jrock. And afterward, KPOP was developed with some of the visual styles of Visual Kei. Similarly, comics led to manga (Japanese comics), which then lead to the development of manhwa (Korean comics).
Q: What does one from a country that isn't as popular globally do to reconnect to their culture? I am from Vietnam and Vietnamese dramas haven't ever appeal to me. In fact, most of the ones I've come across are simply Chinese/Taiwanese dramas that have been dubbed over in Vietnamese. I am unsure what to think about this.
2014 picture of Dir En Grey, a longstanding rock band from Japan that is popular internationally. Perhaps more popular internationally than domestically within Japan.
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