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Postmodern Elements in Katsuhiro Ōtomo’s Akira (1988)
Corresponding Author(s) : Kunal Debnath
Humanities & Social Sciences Reviews,
Vol. 10 No. 1 (2022): January
Abstract
Purpose of the Study: This research paper intends to unravel and examine the postmodern elements in Katsuhiro Ōtomo’s anime film Akira (1988). This paper aims to analyze and critically study the postmodern elements as evident in the film and add more knowledge to the existing critical studies available on the film.
Methodology: The primary text for this research is Katsuhiro Ōtomo’s anime film Akira (1988). Close textual analysis has been applied to analyze the text in view of the characteristics of postmodernism. The text is read in terms of postmodernism’s traits.
Main Findings: Akira symbolically summarizes thoughts, ideas, and movements in post-WWII Japan. The film references many disaster texts from the repertoire of Japanese literature, cinema, and popular culture. The film exemplifies many postmodern traits such as discontinuity, pastiche, schizophrenia, hyperreality, cyberpunk, posthumanism, the cyborg et cetera.
Application of the Study: This study will be beneficial to those who are pursuing research on anime and manga studies, cultural studies, popular culture, and postmodernism. Furthermore, this research will add more knowledge to the existing literature available on this anime film.
Novelty/Originality of the Study: Ōtomo’s film Akira has evoked critical studies from a variety of critics and disciplines. However, a broader critical overview of the film’s postmodernism has always been lacking in the critical studies available on the film. Moreover, some specific issues such as posthumanism, the cyborg, postmodern paradoxes, glocalization et cetera have been overlooked by the critics. Therefore, this study will try to fill in the gaps of the previous studies.
Keywords
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- Abe, K. (1970). Inter Ice Age 4. The University of California.
- Baudrillard, J. (1994). Simulacra and Simulation. University of Michigan Press. ttps://doi.org/10.399 8/mpub.9904
- Baudrillard, J. (2002). Jean Baudrillard: Selected Writings (pp.145-46). Stanford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1515/9781503619630 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/9781503619630
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- Brown, S. T. (2010). Tokyo Cyberpunk (1st ed.). Palgrave Macmillan US. https://doi.org/10.1057/97 80230110069_1
- Dino, F. (2011, January 31). Introduction to Fredric Jameson, Module on Postmodernity. Purdue U. https://cla.purdue.edu/academic/english/theory/postmodernism/modules/jamesonpostmodernity.html
- Freiburg, F. (2009). Akira and the Postnuclear Sublime. In M. Broderick (Ed.), Hibakusha Cinema (pp. 91–102). Routledge.
- Fuller, F. (2015, August 6). The deep influence of the A-bomb on anime and manga. The Conversation. https://theconversation.com/the-deep-influence-of-the-a-bomb-on-anime-and-manga-45275
- Gakkai, S. (2009). Dictionary of Buddhism (p.358). Motilal Banarsidass.
- Gerow, A. (2019). Kitano Takeshi (p.30). Bloomsbury Publishing.
- Gordon, A. (1993). Postwar Japan as History. University of California Press. https://doi.org/10.1525/978 0520911444
- Haraway, D. (1991). A Cyborg Manifesto: Science, Technology, and Socialist-Feminism in the Late Twentieth Century. In Simians, Cyborgs and Women: The Reinvention of Nature (pp. 149–181). Routledge.
- Hebdige, D. (2004). Hiding in the Light: On Images and Things (p.182). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4 324/9780203358863
- Insights & Art, & Sc, B. (2017, May 18). The Collapse of Tradition. Insights & Art. https://insightsan dart.com/2017/05/19/the-collapse-of-tradition/
- Jameson, F. (2013). Postmodernism, or, the Cultural Logic of Late Capitalism. Duke University Press. https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctv12100qm DOI: https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctv12100qm
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- Lyotard, J. (1984). The Postmodern Condition: A Report on Knowledge. University of Minnesota Press. https://doi.org/10.2307/1772278 DOI: https://doi.org/10.2307/1772278
- Matsubayashi, S. (Director). (1961). The Last War [Film]. Toho.
- Miyazaki, H. (Director). (1984). Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind [Film]. Topcraft.
- Miyoshi, M., & Harootunian, H. (1989). Postmodernism and Japan (1st ed.). Duke University Press. https://doi.org/10.1215/9780822381556 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1215/9780822381556
- Moritani, S. (Director). (1973). Nippon Chinbotsu [Film]. Toho.
- Napier, S. (1993). Panic Sites: The Japanese Imagination of Disaster from Godzilla to Akira. Journal of Japanese Studies, 19, 327-351. https://doi.org/10.2307/132643 DOI: https://doi.org/10.2307/132643
- Napier, S. J. (2001). Anime from Akira to Howl's Moving Castle: Experiencing Contemporary Japanese Animation. Palgrave Macmillan.
- Nayar, P. K. (2013). Posthumanism (1st ed.). Polity. https://doi.org/10.5749/minnesota/9780816676446.003.0 001
- Nishizaki, Y. (Director). (1974). Space Battleship Yamato [TV series]. NNN/NNS (YTV).
- ÅŒtomo, K. (1983). Domu. Futabasha.
- ÅŒtomo, K. (Director). (1988). Akira [Film]. Tokyo Movie Shinsha.
- Paik, P. Y. (2015). The Freshness of Ruins. Science Fiction Studies, 42(3), 601. https://doi.org/10.56 21/sciefictstud.42.3.0601 DOI: https://doi.org/10.5621/sciefictstud.42.3.0601
- Parui, A. (2018). Postmodern Literatures (1st ed.). P. K. Nayar (Ed.). Orient Blackswan.
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- Perkins, C. (2015). The United Red Army on Screen: Cinema, Aesthetics and The Politics of Memory. Springer. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137480354 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137480354
- Player, M. (2011, May 13). Post-Human Nightmares – The World of Japanese Cyberpunk Cinema. MIDNIGHTEYE. https://www.midnighteye.com/features/post-human-nightmares-the-world-of-japanese-cyberpunk-cinema/
- Scott, R. (Director). (1982). Blade Runner [Film]. The Ladd Company et al.
- Shapiro, J. F. (2002). Atomic Bomb Cinema (1st ed.). Routledge.
- Spencer, A. (2018, August 30). What is cyberpunk?. Polygon. https://www.polygon.com/featu res/2018/8/30/17796680/cyberpunk-2077-history-blade-runner-neuromancer
- Standish, I. (1998). Akira, Postmodernism and Resistance. In D. P. Martinez (Ed.), The Worlds of Japanese Popular Culture: Gender, Shifting Boundaries and Global Cultures (pp. 56–74). Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511470158.004 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511470158.004
- Storey, J. (2018). Cultural Theory and Popular Culture: An Introduction (8th ed.). Routledge. https://doi.org /10.4324/9781315226866 DOI: https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315226866
- Tanaka, M. (2011). Apocalypticism in Postwar Japanese Fiction (p.63). University of British Columbia.
- Tanaka, M. (2014). Apocalypse in Contemporary Japanese Science Fiction (1st ed.). Palgrave Macmillan US. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137373557_1 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137373557_1
- Tezuka, O. (Director). (1963). Tetsuwan Atomu [TV series]. Fuji TV.
- Tsuburaya, E. (Director). (1954). Godzilla [Film]. Toho Co., Ltd.
- Watanabe, Y. (Director). (1963). Giagantor [TV series]. TCJ.
- Woods, T. (2018). Beginning Postmodernism (2nd ed.). Viva Books.
References
Abe, K. (1970). Inter Ice Age 4. The University of California.
Baudrillard, J. (1994). Simulacra and Simulation. University of Michigan Press. ttps://doi.org/10.399 8/mpub.9904
Baudrillard, J. (2002). Jean Baudrillard: Selected Writings (pp.145-46). Stanford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1515/9781503619630 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/9781503619630
Bolton, C. (2014). From Ground Zero to Degree Zero: Akira from Origin to Oblivion. Mechademia: Second Arc, 9, 295–315. https://doi.org/10.1353/mec.2014.0017 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1353/mec.2014.0017
Brown, S. T. (2010). Tokyo Cyberpunk (1st ed.). Palgrave Macmillan US. https://doi.org/10.1057/97 80230110069_1
Dino, F. (2011, January 31). Introduction to Fredric Jameson, Module on Postmodernity. Purdue U. https://cla.purdue.edu/academic/english/theory/postmodernism/modules/jamesonpostmodernity.html
Freiburg, F. (2009). Akira and the Postnuclear Sublime. In M. Broderick (Ed.), Hibakusha Cinema (pp. 91–102). Routledge.
Fuller, F. (2015, August 6). The deep influence of the A-bomb on anime and manga. The Conversation. https://theconversation.com/the-deep-influence-of-the-a-bomb-on-anime-and-manga-45275
Gakkai, S. (2009). Dictionary of Buddhism (p.358). Motilal Banarsidass.
Gerow, A. (2019). Kitano Takeshi (p.30). Bloomsbury Publishing.
Gordon, A. (1993). Postwar Japan as History. University of California Press. https://doi.org/10.1525/978 0520911444
Haraway, D. (1991). A Cyborg Manifesto: Science, Technology, and Socialist-Feminism in the Late Twentieth Century. In Simians, Cyborgs and Women: The Reinvention of Nature (pp. 149–181). Routledge.
Hebdige, D. (2004). Hiding in the Light: On Images and Things (p.182). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4 324/9780203358863
Insights & Art, & Sc, B. (2017, May 18). The Collapse of Tradition. Insights & Art. https://insightsan dart.com/2017/05/19/the-collapse-of-tradition/
Jameson, F. (2013). Postmodernism, or, the Cultural Logic of Late Capitalism. Duke University Press. https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctv12100qm DOI: https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctv12100qm
Lamarre, T. (2008). Born of Trauma: Akira and Capitalist Modes of Destruction. Positions: East Asia Cultures Critique, 16(1), 131-156. https://doi.org/10.1215/10679847-2007-014 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1215/10679847-2007-014
Lyotard, J. (1984). The Postmodern Condition: A Report on Knowledge. University of Minnesota Press. https://doi.org/10.2307/1772278 DOI: https://doi.org/10.2307/1772278
Matsubayashi, S. (Director). (1961). The Last War [Film]. Toho.
Miyazaki, H. (Director). (1984). Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind [Film]. Topcraft.
Miyoshi, M., & Harootunian, H. (1989). Postmodernism and Japan (1st ed.). Duke University Press. https://doi.org/10.1215/9780822381556 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1215/9780822381556
Moritani, S. (Director). (1973). Nippon Chinbotsu [Film]. Toho.
Napier, S. (1993). Panic Sites: The Japanese Imagination of Disaster from Godzilla to Akira. Journal of Japanese Studies, 19, 327-351. https://doi.org/10.2307/132643 DOI: https://doi.org/10.2307/132643
Napier, S. J. (2001). Anime from Akira to Howl's Moving Castle: Experiencing Contemporary Japanese Animation. Palgrave Macmillan.
Nayar, P. K. (2013). Posthumanism (1st ed.). Polity. https://doi.org/10.5749/minnesota/9780816676446.003.0 001
Nishizaki, Y. (Director). (1974). Space Battleship Yamato [TV series]. NNN/NNS (YTV).
ÅŒtomo, K. (1983). Domu. Futabasha.
ÅŒtomo, K. (Director). (1988). Akira [Film]. Tokyo Movie Shinsha.
Paik, P. Y. (2015). The Freshness of Ruins. Science Fiction Studies, 42(3), 601. https://doi.org/10.56 21/sciefictstud.42.3.0601 DOI: https://doi.org/10.5621/sciefictstud.42.3.0601
Parui, A. (2018). Postmodern Literatures (1st ed.). P. K. Nayar (Ed.). Orient Blackswan.
Pause and Select. (2016, June 7). Understanding Disaster, Part 2: Akira and the Postmodern Apocalypse [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L5XeDQ6sb2g
Perkins, C. (2015). The United Red Army on Screen: Cinema, Aesthetics and The Politics of Memory. Springer. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137480354 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137480354
Player, M. (2011, May 13). Post-Human Nightmares – The World of Japanese Cyberpunk Cinema. MIDNIGHTEYE. https://www.midnighteye.com/features/post-human-nightmares-the-world-of-japanese-cyberpunk-cinema/
Scott, R. (Director). (1982). Blade Runner [Film]. The Ladd Company et al.
Shapiro, J. F. (2002). Atomic Bomb Cinema (1st ed.). Routledge.
Spencer, A. (2018, August 30). What is cyberpunk?. Polygon. https://www.polygon.com/featu res/2018/8/30/17796680/cyberpunk-2077-history-blade-runner-neuromancer
Standish, I. (1998). Akira, Postmodernism and Resistance. In D. P. Martinez (Ed.), The Worlds of Japanese Popular Culture: Gender, Shifting Boundaries and Global Cultures (pp. 56–74). Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511470158.004 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511470158.004
Storey, J. (2018). Cultural Theory and Popular Culture: An Introduction (8th ed.). Routledge. https://doi.org /10.4324/9781315226866 DOI: https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315226866
Tanaka, M. (2011). Apocalypticism in Postwar Japanese Fiction (p.63). University of British Columbia.
Tanaka, M. (2014). Apocalypse in Contemporary Japanese Science Fiction (1st ed.). Palgrave Macmillan US. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137373557_1 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137373557_1
Tezuka, O. (Director). (1963). Tetsuwan Atomu [TV series]. Fuji TV.
Tsuburaya, E. (Director). (1954). Godzilla [Film]. Toho Co., Ltd.
Watanabe, Y. (Director). (1963). Giagantor [TV series]. TCJ.
Woods, T. (2018). Beginning Postmodernism (2nd ed.). Viva Books.