U.S. Media Treatment of Japan in 1948
This paper will discuss the depiction and treatm
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This paper will discuss the depiction and treatment of Japanese culture and society in the American popular media during the year 1948. At that time, the United States had recently attained victory over the Japanese in World War Two. In various ways, the forces of the American occupation were trying to reshape Japanese society in order to prevent another war from breaking out in the future. During the Second World War, the Japanese people had proven themselves to be relentless in obeying the dictates of their Emperor. Most Americans believed that the Japanese invasion would have not been stopped had it not been for the devastating impact of the atomic bomb attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August of 1945. Thus, in the years following the war, many Americans were concerned about the possibility of the Japanese regaining their military power. In addition, there was widespread hope that the Western values of democracy would be instilled in Japan in order to counteract the former influence which was held by the Emperor. Depictions of the Japanese people in American newspapers and magazines often focused on these aspects of the Japanese society. The American popular media at the time also made frequent comparisons between the American and Japanese people. Apparently, the purpose of these comparisons was to determine the extent to which the Japanese people were becoming more Westernized, and thus less of a threat to the American people.
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nd it appealed more to the intellectual reader rather than the average reader. In the October 1948 issue of the Contemporary Review, writer Alan Gresham described his recent "impressions" of the Japanese people. It was noted that many people in Japan were trying to learn the English language (Gresham 206). This was taken as being a positive sign for the future Westernization of the nation. In the course of his article, Gresham also implied several times that the Christian and democratic values of Western society were superior to the traditional views of the Japanese. For example, Gresham pointed out that many shrines and monuments pertaining to Japan's Shinto religion had been destroyed by occupation forces following the war. In particular, relics which glorified the Emperor or national unity were taken down. In addition, an effort was made to remove any Shinto artifacts "commemorating Japan's warlike past" (208). Gresham also noted that the members of Japan's younger generation had become disillusioned with the traditional religions of their nation. Following the defeat in World War Two, many Japanese youth felt that the traditional religious beliefs had "let them down" (208). In Gresham's view, this represented an oppo
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Some common words found in the essay are:
York Times, War Japanese, Angeles Times, Professor Lotus, Regarding American-imposed, World War, Japan's Emperor, Boys' Festival, Contemporary Review, Zaibatsu Japan, japanese people, york times, japanese society, los angeles, los angeles times, angeles times, american people, newsweek article, world war, contemporary review, 1948 issue, american popular media, york times reported, japanese society culture, august 9 1948,
Approximate Word count = 3199
Approximate Pages = 13 (250 words per page)
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