Watching Doraemon: Dismantling hegemony in a Japanese popular series

Wahyu Handayani Setyaningsih, Gadjah Mada University, Indonesia
Lufi Wahidati, Gadjah Mada University, Indonesia

Abstract


This article examines hegemony spread through Japanese popular series, Doraemon. In 2008, the character Doraemon was made the Anime Ambassador and was sent around the world to campaign for Japanese popular culture. This appointment is part of the Japanese government's public diplomacy strategy. Doraemon is then synonymous with the perfect character figure, which has become one of the symbols of the progress of the Japanese state. Hegemony theory is used to dissect how ideology works through characters that have become state icons and are widely accepted with a very positive image. The results of the analysis show that patriarchal hegemony works through the depiction of scary female characters, male superiority, and the role of the media as a means of ideological dissemination. The Doraemon series preserves the patriarchy wrapped in a beautiful dream story of a future with Japan's advanced technology.

Keywords


Doraemon; hegemony; ideology; patriarchy

Full Text:

PDF

References


Belarmino, M., & Roberts, M. R. (2019). Japanese Gender Role Expectations and Attitudes: A Qualitative Analysis of Gender Inequality. Journal of International Women’s Studies, 20(7). https://vc.bridgew.edu/jiws/vol20/iss7/18

Çineli, B., & Mugiyama, R. (2023). Money management over the course of marriage: Parenthood, employment and household financial organization in Japan. Advances in Life Course Research, 56, 100544. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.alcr.2023.100544

Faruk. (2017). Pengantar Sosiologi Sastra dari Stukrutalisme Genetik sampai Post-Modernisme. . Pustaka Pelajar.

Gadjeva, N. (2022). Japan’s “Kind Diplomacy”: Conceptualizing Japanese Foreign Cultural Policies. 立命館国際研究 (Ritsumeikan Kokusai Kenkyuu), 34(3), 165–188.

Gultom, E. S., & Rustiani, K. W. (2018). Ideologi Masyarakat Jepang Dalam Komik Doraemon. Prosiding Seminar Nasional Dan Pra Lokakarya Asosiasi Departemen/Jurusan Antropologi Seluruh Indonesia (ADJASI) 2018, 2018. https://id.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doraemon

Hounshell, B. (2008, March 19). Japan Appoints Anime Ambassador. https://foreignpolicy.com/2008/03/19/japan-appoints-anime-ambassador/

Islam, N. N., & Biswas, T. (2012). Influence of Doraemon on Bangladeshi Children: A CDA perspective. Stamford Journal of English, 7, 204–217.

Lundqvist, N. (2020, December 17). Understanding Japan’s Gender Inequality. https://isdp.eu/understanding-japans-gender-inequality/

Marshall, R. C. (2019). Explaining Doraemon’s perduring popularity: Structural analysis, specious technology and mother’s indulgent affection. Contemporary Japan, 31(1), 79–98. https://doi.org/10.1080/18692729.2018.1522075

Marwah, S., Lestari, S., & Rini Widyastuti, T. (2021). Women of Peripheral Javanese Tradition: A Nearly-Forgotten Inspiration. Kritika Kultura, 37, 128–144. https://ajol.ateneo.edu/kk

Naito, T., & Gielen, U. (1992). Tatemae and Honne: A Study of moral relativism in Japanese culture. Psychology in International Perspective, 161–172. https://doi.org/10.13140/2.1.4535.8886

Nakamura, T. (2013). Japan’s New Public Diplomacy: Coolness in Foreign Policy Objectives. Media and Society (メディアと社会) .

Norris, C. (2009). Manga, anime and visual art culture. In The Cambridge Companion to: Modern Japanese Culture (pp. 236–260). Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/CCOL9780521880473.014

Novia Ulfa, R., Astri, R., Octavita, I., & Somba, S. (2020). The Representation Of Nobita Weakness In Doraemon Stand By Me Film. Wanastra : Jurnal Bahasa Dan Sastra, 12(1). https://doi.org/10.31294/w.v12i1

Nye, J. S. (2021). Soft power: the evolution of a concept. Journal of Political Power, 14(1), 196–208. https://doi.org/10.1080/2158379X.2021.1879572

Oi, M. (2021, April 9). Why Japan Can’t Shake Sexism. https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20210405-why-japan-cant-shake-sexism

Otmazgin, N. K. (2012). Geopolitics and soft power: Japan’s cultural policy and cultural diplomacy in Asia. Asia-Pacific Review, 19(1), 37–61. https://doi.org/10.1080/13439006.2012.678629

Ott, B. L., & Mack, R. L. (2014). Critical Media Studies. Willey Blackwell.

Roberts, G. S. (2016). Japan’s Evolving Family: Voices from Young Urban Adults Navigating Change. East-West Center.

Roca, Y. B. (2021). Origin of the Sun: Japanese Soft Power and Public Diplomacy Evaluated. Electronic Journal of Contemporary Japanese Studies. https://www.japanesestudies.org.uk/ejcjs/vol21/iss1/roca.html

Susanto, G. (2021). Representasi Gender Dalam Buku Teks BIPA. Diksi, 29(2).

The Guardian. (2019). “There are almost no women in power”: Tokyo’s female workers demand change. https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2019/jun/13/there-are-almost-no-women-in-power-tokyos-female-workers-demand-change

TV Asahi. (2018). 母の日特別企画「ママをとりかえっこ」「ざぶとんにもたましいがある」[2018年5月11日放送]. https://www.tv-asahi.co.jp/doraemon/story/0520/

van Dijk, T. A. (2009). Society and Discourse: How Social Contexts Influence Text and Talk. Cambridge University Press.

Walton, D. (2008). Introducing Cultural Studies: Learning through Practice. SAGE Publication.

Widarahhesty, Y. (2020). Otsukaresamadeshita!: A Critical Analysis of Japan’s Toxic Work Culture. International Journal of East Asian Studies, 9(1), 32–47. https://doi.org/10.22452/ijeas.vol9no1.3

Zahlten, A. (2019). Doraemon and Your Name in China: The complicated business of mediatized memory in East Asia. In Screen (Vol. 60, Issue 2, pp. 311–321). Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/screen/hjz016




DOI: https://doi.org/10.21831/diksi.v31i2.65749

Refbacks

  • There are currently no refbacks.


Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

 

Jurnal Diksi is published by Faculty of Languages, Arts, and Culture, Universitas Negeri Yogyakarta. It is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. Based on a work at http://journal.uny.ac.id/index.php/diksi

 

Our Journal has been Indexed by:

  

  

   

Diksi Journal is published by the Faculty of Languages and Arts Universitas Negeri Yogyakarta in collaboration with Himpunan Sarjana Kesusasteraan Indonesia (HISKI)

Supervised by:


 
Translator
 
View My Stats