もしひとこと君が気になる「政治」的な発言をこのブログで読みましたら、ぜひ意見を記入して下さい。他者にしか見えない点もありますし、このブログの読者とコメントを交わすことによって我々、そして歴史学という学問が抱いている歴史的意識や政治的偏見を少しでも理解できるということが私の意図であります。ですから返事を楽しみに待っています！

Mitch: I agree with you about Iwabuchi’s assessment of Swallowtail. While I think there is some validity to Iwabuchi’s interpretation that the film envelops Asian minorities within a fantasy harbored by the Japanese during the mid-90s HK boom, I also think you’re right on to point out that there are some potential to the film that might warrant some further discussion. I remember watching it when it came out and I really liked it.

I’d be curious to hear about the Korea boom in Japan. I haven’t seen the dramas with Yon-sama, but my general sense of it is related to the lure of masculinity that Iwabuchi finds in HK pop culture. Does Yon-sama represent Japan’s vitality a generation or two ago (perhaps when these Japanese middle-age housewives were young) but now is lost? Thanks for raising this question via Iwabuchi’s article.

I am quite intrigued by his idea of “capitalist nostalgia,” which he takes to be something like a modern version of “imperialist nostalgia.” It’s interesting to hear you say that you thought Iwabuchi was too harsh, because I thought he wasn’t harsh enough. Or differently put, I thought he could have done more with it.

What I mean is that he, at least not in the essay, explained the “capitalist” part of the term “capitalist nostalgia.” He has described the interplay between this “popular Asianism”‘s inherent critique of Japanese superiority and Japan’s ability to buy these fantasy, and often wrong, images of Asia.

But I guess I wanted to hear a little more about the economics behind what made all this possible. For example, who was actually promoting HK pop culture? Was it the HK companies? Japanese companies? Or transnational media companies? What were some of the reasons for these companies to promote HK? And was there a parallel in the business literature: did articles, for example, write about successful HK companies as a model for the Japanese business community to emulate? And lastly, how would he have characterized the economic relatioship between Japan and HK during this popular HK boom, other than the fact that Japan was going through a slump? I feel there might be more to be explored here.

All that, however, may be too much to ask for a journal article. Anyway, great post!

If you don’t like it, don’t read it.