Forthcoming Paper in HKSSJ

Perpetrators or Victim? How Female Images portrayed in Post War Japanese Animation help to reconstruct the New Japanese Social Order

Abstract

This article examines the images of females portrayed in post war Japanese animation, analyzes the meanings associated with their portrayal in these anime, and considers its relationship with the development of the postwar Japanese economy and the reconstruction of Japanese social structure. I propose that, these representations help to strengthen "the images of the male", "the division of work between husbands and wives” and works to enforce "the gender role division". Finally, it concludes by employing Stuart Hall’s “Encoding/Decoding model” (1973), asserting that specific social meanings encoded in animation concerning women’s images communicate the female “mission” to educate and assist in the reconstruction of a new social order during that period. In conclusion I argue that these insights would stimulate scholars to reconsider the media industry today, especially its role in stimulating a sense of collective consciousness that reflect deep-seated cultural ideology and social values.

Keyword
Japanese anime, Female images, Media Studies, Social Values

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被害者還是加害者?
從「少年猿飛佐助」看戰後日本動畫女性形象如何協助重建日本社會新秩序


摘要

本文透過對戰後動畫女性形象的介紹，從而分析早期動畫中所描繪與塑造的女性形象蘊含著何等社會意味，並藉此討論其與戰後日本經濟發展及重建社會結構有何關係。作者提出，此等描繪與塑造女性的手法有提倡「強化男性」、「夫妻分工」及「男女性別角色分工」的力量之餘，更重要的是肩負著重建各式各樣生活秩序及倫理關係。最後更以英國社會學者Stuart Hall於1973所提出的Encoding/Decoding model作結，再次引證了當時動畫在「編讀」 (Encode)的過程中，確實肩負著教育及協助重建戰後新秩序的使命之餘，更令人開始反思現今各種媒體網絡如何從集體意識文化著手，在無聲無色中影響著人們的價值取向等問題。

關鍵字
日本動畫，女性形象，媒體，價值取向