Representing nation in postwar Japan : Cold War, consumption and the mass media, 1952-1972
This thesis argues that the development of ideas of nation in the 1950s and 1960s strongly tied questions of Japanese national identity to the changing international environment and to the everyday lives of the people. A growing commercially driven mass media helped broaden representations of nation beyond the overtly political and ideological concepts of the immediate postwar period. During the 1950s, the promotion of consumption became tied to the goal of national economic development. This conflicted with calls for rationalisation and thrift and at the same time brought out the contradictions of Japanese economic development under US hegemony. During the 1950s and 1960s, popular magazines, radio and television were put to use promoting consumption through advertising. The same goal was evident in the burgeoning mass circulation magazines, which grew with and in response to consumer society. Articles in these magazines addressed issues of national identity not simply through the advertising of consumer goods, and magazines aimed at young people such as Shukan Heibon and Heibon Punch and graphic magazines such as the Yomiuri Graph and Mainichi Graph as well as magazines aimed at housewives all created ideals
Smith, Martyn David
Representing nation in postwar Japan : Cold War, consumption and the mass media, 1952-1972. This thesis argues that the development of ideas of nation in the 1950s and 1960s strongly tied questions of Japanese national identity to the changing international environment and to the everyday lives of the people. A growing commercially driven mass media helped broaden representations of nation beyond the overtly political and ideological concepts of the immediate postwar period. During the 1950s, the promotion of consumption became tied to the goal of national economic development. This conflicted with calls for rationalisation and thrift and at the same time brought out the contradictions of Japanese economic development under US hegemony. During the 1950s and 1960s, popular magazines, radio and television were put to use promoting consumption through advertising. The same goal was evident in the burgeoning mass circulation magazines, which grew with and in response to consumer society. Articles in these magazines addressed issues of national identity not simply through the advertising of consumer goods, and magazines aimed at young people such as Shukan Heibon and Heibon Punch and graphic magazines such as the Yomiuri Graph and Mainichi Graph as well as magazines aimed at housewives all created ideals
representing nation postwar japan cold_war consumption mass_medium argues development idea nation strongly tie question japanese national_identity change international environment everyday live people grow commercially drive mass_medium help broaden representation nation beyond overtly political_ideological concept immediate postwar period promotion consumption become tied goal national_economic development conflict call rationalisation time bring contradiction japanese economic_development hegemony popular magazine radio television put use promote consumption advertising goal evident burgeon mass circulation magazine grow response consumer society articles magazine address_issue national_identity simply advertise consumer good magazine aim young_people graphic magazine graph graph well magazine aim create ideal