Mediating memory: Shōjo and war memory in classical narrative Japanese cinema

Coates, Jennifer (2018) Mediating memory: Shōjo and war memory in classical narrative Japanese cinema. Cultural Studies, 32 (1). pp. 105-125. ISSN 0950-2386

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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.

Item Type:	Article
Uncontrolled Keywords:	war,memory,media,japan,shōjo,affect
UEA Research Groups:	Faculty of Arts and Humanities > Research Centres > Sainsbury Institute for the Study of Japanese Arts and Cultures
Depositing User:	Pure Connector
Date Deposited:	29 May 2018 11:31
Last Modified:	14 Jun 2023 13:23
URI:	https://ueaeprints.uea.ac.uk/id/eprint/67221
DOI:	10.1080/09502386.2017.1394344

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