Cinematic Narratives of Precarity: Gender and Affect in Contemporary Japan

Ritu Vij*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingChapter

1 Citation (Scopus)

Abstract

Recent natural as well as man-made cataclysmic events have dramatically changed the status quo of contemporary Japanese society, and following the Asia-Pacific war’s never-ending ‘postwar’ period, Japan has been dramatically forced into a zeitgeist of saigo or ‘post-disaster.’ This radically new worldview has significantly altered the socio-political as well as literary perception of one of the world’s potential superpowers, and in this book the contributors closely examine how Japan’s new paradigm of precarious existence is expressed through a variety of pop-cultural as well as literary media.

Addressing the transition from post-war to post-disaster literature, this book examines the rise of precarity consciousness in Japanese socio-cultural discourse. The chapters investigate the extent to which we can talk about the emergence of a new literary paradigm of precarity in the world of Japanese popular culture. Through careful examination of a variety of contemporary texts ranging from literature, manga, anime, television drama and film this study offers an interpretation of the many dissonant voices in Japanese society. The contributors also outline the related social issues in Japanese society and culture, providing a comprehensive overview of the global trends that link Japan with the rest of the world.
Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationVisions of Precarity in Japanese Popular Culture and Literature
EditorsKristina Iwata-Weickgenannt, Roman Rosenbaum
Place of PublicationOxon, OX and New York
PublisherRoutledge
Pages169-186
Number of pages18
ISBN (Electronic)9781315752754
ISBN (Print)9781138804739, 9781138104181
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 4 Dec 2014

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