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Western Culture Impacts Eastern Culture and Eastern Culture Impacts Western Culture

 Last term I took FIST 402 and K-Pop was something that if I remember correctly we lightly touched on, so I am glad we got to spend more time on it this week.  I am honestly not sure what my opinions are of K-Pop.  I think that all songs that I have listened to are catchy, but it isn't really something I am interested in.  I know many people that are interested in the genre, and I can understand the appeal, but it just maybe isn't for me.  I am by no means saying it is terrible, I do think it is good, I'm just not the audience for it.  

I feel like every single year K-pop along with other mediums of entertainment have only gotten more popular.  K-pop as evolved so much that I find it interesting to compare a boy band like One Direction to that of BTS.  I think the mass popularity of K-pop is said best in Yoon's article when he says, “Media studies scholars have recently defined the phenomenal rise of K-pop as ‘a way to counter the threat of the Western-dominated media market (374).'"  I think that the things popular in Asian and Asian youth culture are seen by people in America as an alternative to what's popular here.  

The is also the points of how western culture has effected Asian culture, but I also feel like a reserves effect has happened too.  Western boy bands may have impacted the way K-pop is done, but I feel like the very popular Anime genre has effected American animation.  Over the past couple of years I have seen ads or have heard of American animated shows that are done in the style of Japanese animation.  To me this almost seems like a new genre of American animation, but whatever it may be, the effects and popularity of Japanese animation has clearly ben seen in America.  


Popular anime Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood

Popular anime-styled American animation show RWBY


BTS at the AMAs




Comments

  1. Tom PowersFebruary 15, 2021 at 11:30 AM

    Anime has been very much integrated into American pop culture since my childhood, when shows like Avatar and Naruto were on major American cable stations along with American cartoons. I didn't watch these shows much, but they always had a presence as a staple of regular programming.

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  2. AmyFebruary 17, 2021 at 11:58 PM

    I think that its interesting to think about why certain aspects of culture appeal to us while others dont. It seems to me that most of k-pop is aimed at US female population rather than its male population so I agree that you are not the demographic for the music. That said though it seems like Asian youth and popular culture is influencing aspects of US culture beyond their specific genres and demographics, as you point out in the case of anime. I'm wondering then how groups like BTS and Blackpink will influence gender, youth and other aspects of US culture.

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