Not that different after all

If you were to sit down with a youth from ancient Japan and ask them about the differences between their cultural entertainment and that of America at the same time period, it would be easier to describe what was the same, so many are the differences. However, if you sit down with a youth from modern Japan , it becomes increasingly difficult to reveal significant differences in their entertainment and ours.

Perhaps it is because fifty years ago, we (as a country) made a sovereign nation alter their way of life to accommodate our way of thinking, after we bombed them to oblivion. Perhaps it is the advent of television, radio, and movies that breaks down the barrier. Surely music plays a part in this change, especially in the minds of the youth of Japan , as Brittany Spears goes global, and Hip-Hop slowly takes over the world. Japanese kids can be seen walking the streets in white sneakers, baggy pants, and sports apparel, using slogans they can hear on TV.

Since Hiroshima and Nagasaki , American influence has slowly increased in Japan , so that now, as you walk the streets you can see English words on street signs, t-shirts, television, and magazines. Japanese music now has English words in it. Meanwhile, popular American TV shows spawn numerous Japanese imitators, and Spider-Man paraphernalia is sold on the streets.

Japanese families sit in their living rooms and watch TV with dinner, discuss their favorite program at work with friends, and anxiously await the arrival of the next big American blockbuster in the local theatre. This doesn’t sound very different from American entertainment at all, especially when you hear about the millions of kids who flocked to see Brittany Spears at her appearance in Tokyo .

A big difference is that Japan seems to take their shows less seriously, if with as much interest. American shows concentrate on making a show as real as possible, while Japanese programming is meant to be more fun.

The effect of television seems to be universal, in that once accepted into the life of a culture, it slowly takes over a large part of the home life, situating itself firmly in the back of people’s minds reminding you to turn it on when you walk in the door. Regardless of nationality, television with take its toll.

The question to ask is this: Would television even be a major part of anyone’s life in Japan if America had not forced its culture onto them in the post-war world? After all, we don’t see signs on our streets, and in our magazines with Japanese lettering on them, so it isn’t just that we are “sharing culture” because we have—politically--a closely knit relationship with the Japanese Government. It is rather that we forced our culture upon another country because we think we are a superior race.

In closing, regardless of the reasons, America and Japan do not have that much difference in terms of entertainment, except perhaps language. Lets hope they can keep at least that from the hungry dogs of American Culture.