{"id":97,"date":"2019-04-22T09:54:46","date_gmt":"2019-04-22T09:54:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/transnationalhistory.net\/world\/?p=97"},"modified":"2019-07-29T15:12:04","modified_gmt":"2019-07-29T15:12:04","slug":"techno-orientalism-contrarian-stereotypes-and-the-japan-panic","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/transnationalhistory.net\/world\/2019\/04\/techno-orientalism-contrarian-stereotypes-and-the-japan-panic\/","title":{"rendered":"Techno-Orientalism: Contrarian stereotypes and the \u2018Japan Panic\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u2018Today, 40 years after the end of World War II, the Japanese are on the move again in one of history\u2019s most brilliant commercial offensives, as they go about dismantling American industry. Whether they are still only smart, or have finally learned to be wiser than we, will be tested in the next 10 years. Only then will we know who finally won the war\u2026.<\/em>\u2019[1]<\/a>\u2014Thomas H. White, \u201cThe Danger From Japan\u201d.<\/p>\n

The 1980s marked the climax of a Japanese Economic Boom. The stunning success of what came to be known as \u2018Samurai Capitalism\u2019 caused many in the west to fear that Japan was \u2018calling western modernity Into question and claiming the franchise on the future\u2019[2]<\/a>. More than simply an economic fear, the \u2018Japan Panic\u2019 caused a rise in the phenomenon known as \u2018Techno-Orientalism\u2019 that continues to be seen in western portrayals of Japan to this day. The culmination of these portrayals, were most prominently seen in the cyberpunk and dystopian productions in the west such as Blade Runner.<\/em> Interestingly Japan has in some instances adapted and remoulded these genres and produced Japanese cyberpunk, with which parallels can be drawn to Japanese adaptations of Utopian literature in the Meiji period. \u00a0Although Japan\u2019s economic prominence has faded in recent years, ceding its prominence to the \u2018Four Tigers\u2019 of South-East-Asia, ideas of Techno-Orientalism remain prominent in our culture today[3]<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Techno-orientalism is a term coined by David Morely and Kevin Robins in their contribution to the editorial Spaces of Identity: Global Media, Electronic Landscapes, and Cultural Boundaries<\/em>\u00a0(London & NY: Routledge, 1995). In their chapter, \u2018Techno-Orientalism: Japan Panic\u2019, Morely and Robins demonstrate the recent development of contrarian stereotypes surrounding Japan; its premodern culture of Samurai and Geisha<\/em> and its contemporary position as a forerunner in technological advancement[4]<\/a>. These contrarian stereotypes arose from fundamental issues with perceptions of modernity and orientalism, particularly in the States. Previous stereotypes around the oriental nature of Japan had ceased to apply, and older xenophobic and racial tropes could no longer be used to attach the \u2018techno-capitalist savvy\u2019 Japanese[5]<\/a>. As a result of this, Morely and Robins argued that Westerners produced \u2018techno-orientalism\u2019 that sought to critique the oriental whilst acknowledging the modern.<\/p>\n

Although it is not possible to say with certainty that Cyberpunk was a direct reaction to the 1980s economic growth of Japan, the Techno-Orientalism of the west was certainly reflected in the cyberpunk genre amongst others[6]<\/a>. Blade Runner<\/em> was arguably the forerunner in this endeavour, with its influential image of dystopian Los Angeles resembling Tokyo[7]<\/a>. The 1982 film arguably marked the first of a number of \u2018Japonised\u2019 novels and films, including William Gibson\u2019s Neuromancer<\/em> (1984). The work begins in the outskirts of Tokyo, and although the novel swiftly leaves Japanese technology and iconography predominates[8]<\/a>. To Morley and Robins this was a reflection of the fears of Japanese dominance amongst the west in the 1980s[9]<\/a>. Although, critique of Gibson has somewhat mellowed over time, his work still reflects the ideas of \u2018Techno-Orientalism\u2019 despite the author\u2019s professed \u2018Japanophilia\u2019[10]<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Interestingly, these ideas and the genre of Cyberpunk has been somewhat appropriated by the Japanese. Cyberpunk\u2019s \u2018cartoonish\u2019 nature appealed to the Japanese Science fiction manga and anime genres[11]<\/a>. Furthermore, the Japanese have expanded and arguably adapted many aspects of cyberpunk to suit their own narratives. This can clearly be seen in Shirow Masamune\u2019s Ghost in the Shell (1991), <\/em>in which the strong Japanese cyber-heroine is supported by a cast of weaker male figures[12]<\/a>. The substitution of the traditional Male hero of American Cyberpunk with a Japanese Herione arguably reflects Japanese adaptation of the Cyberpunk genre for its own messages such as the \u2018subjectivity of Japaneseness\u2019[13]<\/a>. \u00a0As such, although Techno-Orientalist Western works may have been influenced by Xenophobic ideas of the West, as a genre cyber-punk was both assimilated and adapted by the Japanese. As previously mentioned similar trends have also been seen in Utopian Works. Although Western models were originally imported to Japan during the Meiji period and Japanese Utopian literature was moulded on these Western models, Japanese writers were profoundly affected by their own social situations, as demonstrated by Akutagawa\u2019s Kappa<\/em>, a utopian vision and social critique of Japan that reflects the insecurities felt as a result of the decline of Taisho democracy and rise of Japanese imperialism[14]<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Finally, it is interesting to note that for the most part these ideas of \u2018Techno-Orientalism\u2019 have pervaded popular culture to a far greater extent than the ideas that caused their inception. Although this cannot be explored fully, examination of recent films reveals that many of the aspects of this view are still prominent, despite Japan\u2019s fall from economic prominence. A highly notable recent example could be Hollywood\u2019s The Wolverine <\/em>(2013) in which the American superhero travels to Japan, and as a result of the actions of a technologically advanced Ziabatsu<\/em> is stripped of his mortality and forced to fight Samurai and Ninjas[15]<\/a>. The final encounter between the wolverine and a suit of robotic samurai armour, perfectly demonstrates the contrarian stereotypes of Japanese technology and premodern culture[16]<\/a>. Seen in such a light the controversial decision to cast Scarlett Johansson in the reboot of Ghost in the Shell <\/em>(2017) has a broader-implications.<\/p>\n

Arguably the re-envisioning of the popular Manga, could be seen to reflect more than simply \u2018whitewashing\u2019 of a film, as with its new cast the film reflects many of the older tropes of Techno-Orientalism, albeit with less damning motivations[17]<\/a>.<\/p>\n

[1]<\/a> Charles Paulk, \u2018<\/em>Post National Cool: William Gibson\u2019s Japan\u2019, Science Fiction Studies,<\/em> Vol. 38, No. 3 (November 2011), p479.<\/p>\n

[2]<\/a> Ibid,<\/em> P480.<\/p>\n

[3]<\/a> David Morley, Kevin Robins, \u2018Techno-Orientalism: Japan Panic\u2019 in David Morley & Kevin Robins, Spaces in Identity: Global Media, Electronic Landscapes and Cultural Boundaries <\/em>(London, 1995), p173.<\/p>\n

[4]<\/a> Kumiko, Sato, \u2018How Information Technology Has (Not) Changed Feminism and Japanism: Cyberpunk in the Japanese Context\u2019 Comparative Literature Studies, <\/em>Volume 41, Number 3 2003, p354.<\/p>\n

[5]<\/a> Paulk, \u2018<\/em>Post National Cool: William Gibson\u2019s Japan\u2019, p480.<\/p>\n

[6]<\/a> Kumiko, \u2018How Information Technology Has (Not) Changed Feminism\u2019, p340.<\/p>\n

[7]<\/a> Christopher Bolton, Istvan Csicsery-Ronan Jr. and Takayuki Tatsumi, Robot Ghosts and Wired Dreams, <\/em>(Minneapolis, 2007), pix.<\/p>\n

[8]<\/a> Paulk, \u2018<\/em>Post National Cool: William Gibson\u2019s Japan\u2019, p481.<\/p>\n

[9]<\/a> Morley & Robins, \u2018Techno-Orientalism: Japan Panic\u2019, p169.<\/p>\n

[10]<\/a> Charles Paulk, \u2018<\/em>Post National Cool\u2019, p479.<\/p>\n

[11]<\/a> Bolton, Csicsery-Ronan Jr. & Tatsumi, Robot Ghosts<\/em>, pix.<\/p>\n

[12]<\/a> Kumiko, Sato, \u2018How Information Technology Has (Not) Changed Feminism\u2019, p347.<\/p>\n

[13]<\/a> Ibid, <\/em>p352.<\/p>\n

[14]<\/a> Yoriko, Moichi, \u2018Japanese Utopian Literature from the 1870s to the Present and the Influence of Western Utopianism\u2019, Utopian Studies,<\/em> Vol. 10, No. 2 (1999), p92.<\/p>\n

[15]<\/a> The Wolverine<\/em>, James Mangold, 2013<\/p>\n

[16]<\/a> The Wolverine<\/em>, James Mangold, 2013<\/p>\n

[17]<\/a> Anne-Maries Tomchak, \u2018Is Scareltt Johansson casting Hollywood \u2018Whitewashing\u2019?\u2019, 19th<\/sup> April, 2016, < https:\/\/www.bbc.co.uk\/news\/blogs-trending-36083113<\/a>> [21st<\/sup> April4 2019]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u2018Today, 40 years after the end of World War II, the Japanese are on the move again in one of history\u2019s most brilliant commercial offensives, as they go about dismantling American industry. Whether they are still only smart, or have finally learned to be wiser than we, will be tested in the next 10 years. … Continue reading “Techno-Orientalism: Contrarian stereotypes and the \u2018Japan Panic\u2019”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-97","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/transnationalhistory.net\/world\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/97","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/transnationalhistory.net\/world\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/transnationalhistory.net\/world\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/transnationalhistory.net\/world\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/transnationalhistory.net\/world\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=97"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/transnationalhistory.net\/world\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/97\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":136,"href":"https:\/\/transnationalhistory.net\/world\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/97\/revisions\/136"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/transnationalhistory.net\/world\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=97"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/transnationalhistory.net\/world\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=97"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/transnationalhistory.net\/world\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=97"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}