Abstract
Considering the impact of the trope of the shōjo, or girl trope in post-war Japanese cinema, this paper argues for the repeated motif as a key factor in the creation of a particular affective economy around the memorialization of war in Japan. I trace the development of the shōjo motif from the post-defeat era through the anti-nuclear films and activist movements of the early 1950s to show how the affect generated by the repeated trope drew real-life events into a persuasive cycle of repetition. The tone of this repeated trope thereby came to dominate the practice of public memorialization of war in Japan. Today’s post-pacifist Japan is informed by these past moments in the memorializing process, which impact on contemporary anti-war and anti-nuclear protests.
Original language | English |
---|---|
Pages (from-to) | 105-125 |
Number of pages | 21 |
Journal | Cultural Studies |
Volume | 32 |
Issue number | 1 |
Early online date | 14 Dec 2017 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 2018 |
Keywords
- War
- memory
- media
- Japan
- shōjo
- affect