Cycle de conférences « Productions et pratiques culturelles du Japon contemporain » / Conference series “Cultural productions and practices in contemporary Japan”

Online Zoom. Link to the registration form:  https://forms.gle/b2CT5fKfjd8A4xfn8 

Presentation

Contemporary Japanese popular culture is increasingly attracting attention from both the general public and the academic world. While there is already a substantial literature in fields of manga, animated films and video games, particularly in Japanese and English, other fields such as music and urban cultures are still little addressed. Moreover, the studied objects, which are often closely examined through their content, their reception, or the production and consumption practices from which they are directly derived, are generally little understood by means of interdisciplinary approaches. This highlights the need to intensify scientific exchanges between disciplines, fields of study and academic areas. In order to develop research on Japanese popular culture in France and to open up new collaborative perspectives, it seems appropriate to amplify the transnational dialogue. We therefore propose an online series of conferences on the subject of Japanese cultural studies. Each session, organised around a specific theme, would present the work of two researchers and offer a space for discussion between them and the public.

The aim of this project is to link the topic of each seminar to the social problems of contemporary Japan and to identify, through cultural production and practices, the power relations in Japanese society. Indeed, it should be considered that the cultural production and practices of a given community, in addition to being a reflection of the context with which the latter is in contact and composing normative organisational frameworks, can in some cases form a lever for the affirmation of identity. While anchoring the analysis in the social, political and cultural context of the period concerned, we seek to intersect creative processes, to put works and phenomena into perspective and to examine the dynamics of group cohesion around consumption. These allow us to understand where some of the dynamics of (re)mediation of myths are situated in relation to contemporary Japan and to identify, in response, what the expressions and strategies of resistance may be.
 

Session 1: Mediated attempts to overcome the psychological effects of the Fukushima disaster
Friday November 25, 2022; 10:00-12:00

Luca Proietti (School of Oriental and African Studies, London University) Nuclear noise of Japan: Understanding sound performances’ intents during Fukushima
Tino Bruno (Kyoto Sangyo University) Atom for fun: Cartoons in Japanese press before and after the Fukushima nuclear disaster
Commentator: Kenjirō Muramatsu (Université Jean Moulin Lyon 3)
 

Session 2: Propagande étatique et culture populaire
Friday March 17, 2023; 09:00-11:00

Julien Bouvard (Université Jean Moulin Lyon 3) Des armes pour la paix ? Comment le discours en faveur du réarmement du Japon se déploie dans le manga.
Fabien Carpentras (Yokohama National University) Les films réalisés en coopération avec les Forces japonaises d’autodéfense : un exemple de propagande grise dans la culture populaire
Commentator: Elise Voyau
 

Session 3: Representations of the economic crisis in movies
Friday April 28, 2023; 10:00-12:00

Iris Haukamp (Tokyo University of Foreign Studies) Supermarket Woman (1996): Bubble shadows and burst premonitions in Itami Jūzō's film
Marie Pruvost-Delaspre (Université Paris 8): Reading Miyazaki Hayao's films through an economical lense
Commentator: Raphaëlle Yokota (Inalco)
 

Session 4: Gender performances in the relationship with fictive characters
Monday June 12, 2023; 10:00-12:00

Agnès Giard (Université Paris Nanterre)Oshi-kon: Marrying a character? Gamer trouble in Japan
Tōko Tanaka (University of Tokyo)2.5 Musicals: The dimensions and culture of feminine fans
Commentator: To be announced