Godzilla, Sailor Moon, and Power Rangers are popular examples of the different types of children's media from Japan that have made their way into global, historic levels of popularity in contemporary entertainment. Whether it is in the flashing advertisements looming over Shibuya's busiest intersection or on the shelves of dead stock stores in Yamagata, these shows have distinctly ingrained themselves into the forefront and backdrop of Japanese society. However, because children’s media is so prevalent amongst advertisements, foods, toys, and day-to-day life as a whole, certain ideologies or caricatures presented within can easily perpetuate or reflect societal morals of the audiences they influence. This presentation will discuss the intercultural context of the data collected from the student’s findings during their study abroad through cultural artifacts, interviews, and research of existing scholarship from Toyo University’s database. The conclusion of this project demonstrates how the biases of these commodified shows and advertisements affect impressionable audiences and, more importantly, influence the world around them.
Suryka Kom is a triple major in Business Administration, Health Humanities, and English and Writing Studies with a concentration in Creative Writing. During her time at Salem, she has worked as a Writing Consultant at Salem College's Writing Center, presented at NCHA and IWCA, and studied abroad at Toyo University in Japan. After graduation, Suryka plans to pursue either an MFA or seek a career in a creative writing related field.