This thesis explores hafu and identity in japan, with an emphasis on the importance of race, relying on Stuart Hall's theories on race. Hafu have become quite popular in Japanese media in recent...Show moreThis thesis explores hafu and identity in japan, with an emphasis on the importance of race, relying on Stuart Hall's theories on race. Hafu have become quite popular in Japanese media in recent years, however are still faced with discrimination in their daily lives. While hafu as a topic has been broadly discussed in available literature, they are too often focused on 'hafu' as a single ethnic identity, and mostly focused on the white hafu, which see the most popularity in media. This thesis attempts a broader approach by focusing on hafu of multiple different backgrounds such as Zainichi Korean and Filipinos, to show hafu experiences and identity formation differ greatly within the group. This approach also shows how race, and how one society views one particular race has a great impact on one’s ethnic identity formation that should always be considered when discussing hafu, rather than taking 'hafu' as one ethnic identity.Show less
Stories such as Madama Butterfly and Memoirs of a Geisha have garnered much attention and have been received with much enthusiasm by the general audience. These stories tend to deal with Asian...Show moreStories such as Madama Butterfly and Memoirs of a Geisha have garnered much attention and have been received with much enthusiasm by the general audience. These stories tend to deal with Asian women as highly sexualised, fetishised and infantilised, mirroring larger processes of power found most evidently in the theory of Orientalism. They integrate both traditional clichés and love stories within the pattern of ‘the West’ portraying ‘the East’, based on the assumption formulated by Karl Marx as: “They cannot represent themselves, they must be represented” (Said 1978, xxv). This paper will focus on how the same process of phrasing and representing can be found in English language news media and how we can understand this through processes of discourse, knowledge and power of which Orientalism provides an important example. The case study which will be used to demonstrate this point will consist of English language news reportage about the presumed massive involvement of Japanese women in an extramarital dating website, Ashley Madison, which has been launched in Japan in 2013. I will try to show how we can identify certain principles and mechanisms of the concept of Orientalism and thereby offer insight into the discursive construct that inform images of women in general, Asian women and also relationships between Japan and other countries. This offers some insight into how unequal power relations, which have their roots in past centuries, continue to thrive today through media representations. The main question answered in this thesis is: “How does reportage on Japanese women in major English language news media reflect the continuing processes of power and knowledge found in Orientalism?”.Show less
