Another lecture from my "Pokemon" course on global cultural flows at Miami University

1. Oshin,
The Bold and the Beautiful,
and the Great Escape
ATH 390Z “Pokemon: Global and Local Cultures”
Dr. Mark Allen Peterson

2. Question One
How do people
understand other cultures
from the media they
consume?

3. Question Two
What does it mean to
speak of media
consumption as an
“escape”?

4. OSHIN

5. Oshin in Japan
Asadora “Morning
television serial
drama”
 297 15-minute
episodes
April 4, 1983 –
March 31, 1984

6. Oshin in Japan
Oshin is the story of a woman born into
a poor village in 1900. It describes her
life and hardships from the time she is
sold into domestic service by her father,
to the rise of her family into wealth and
success as department store owners in
the 1980s

7. Oshin in Japan
Oshin experiences a series of advances
and setbacks – poverty, hunger, the
grinding drudgery of agricultural labor,
miscarriage, social alienation, marriage
and separation—while persevering in
hard work, and nurturing children,
husband, family and friends.

8. Oshin in Japan
Oshin was “a new
kind of female role
model, tough and
successful with
traditional
feminine values”
- Anne Allison 1995

9. Meiji
1868–
1912
Establishment of Japanese Empire
Radical reform of state structure
Currency reform
Industrial Revolution
Taisho
1912–
1926
Expansion in China
Democratization of legislature
From rice riots to unprecedented prosperity
Increasing internationalism
Great Kanto earthquake devastates Tokyo
Showa
1926–
1989
World War II
Hiroshima and Nagasaki
Occupation
De-militarization
Americanization
Rising prosperity

10. Oshin in Japan
NHK: Japanese
Public Broadcasting
Authentic portrayal
of Meiji period
from real
biographical
materials

11. Oshin in Japan
Enormously
successful
69% viewing
audience

12. Oshin in Japan
Oshin became a reference
point for parents and
grandparents to talk with
children about their own
suffering during Japan’s
turbulent modern history.

13. OSHIN
In Egypt

14. Oshin in Egypt
1993-1994
Distributed free
by the Japan
Foundation

15. Oshin in Egypt
Initially not well
received.
Pre-empted
popular US soap
opera “The
Bold & the
Beautiful.”

16. Oshin in Egypt
“We enjoyed the beautiful
women and Western fashions in
The Bold & Beautiful. While we
are watching television, we want
to forget about the poverty and
problems we have”

17. Oshin in Egypt
Identified with
Oshin’s
problems and
suffering

18. Oshin in Egypt
I didn’t feel that the problems Oshin faced
were different from ours. For example, oshin
started to work as a nanny in a rich merchant
family from her early age in order to
financially support her family. Such a story is
common in peasant families in Egypt.
Egyptian businesswoman, age 32

19. Oshin in Egypt
Sympathized
with issues of
patriarchy with
which Oshin
dealt

20. Oshin in Egypt
“Unfairness toward women and the
conflict between Oshin and her mother-
in-law are issues we can easily find in
Egypt, and we can relate ourselves to her
situation.”
Egyptian businesswoman, age 32

21. Oshin in Egypt
Appreciated the
values of hard
work and
perseverance.

22. Oshin in Egypt
“Tabaan! Oshin helwa awi… What I liked
best was that she was so strong and never
gave up, always tried to achieve the better
life. I am different from Oshin because I
never married. But I can sympathize with
her very much because I have been working
for my family for a long time.”
Egyptian servant and nanny, age 50

23. Oshin in Egypt
Appreciated
Oshin’s
character: strong
and persevering,
but humble and
faithful

24. Oshin in Egypt
“Awiz mitgawiz maa wahida Yabaniyya.
Shuft Oshin? Yabaniyya tai’ba giddan.”
“I want to marry a Japanese woman. Did
you see Oshin? Japanese women are so
faithful.”
Egyptian taxi driver, age 27

25. Oshin in Egypt
Family viewing
Relation of Oshin’s
family issues,
economic
problems, and
moral dilemmas to
their own lives.

26. Oshin in Egypt
“Ten minutes after Oshin finishes, a
daughter will call her mother to discuss
the program; soo they start to discuss her
family problems.”
Official at the Japanese Cultural Center, Egypt

27. Oshin in Egypt
Created strong
positive feelings
toward Japan
Presented Japanese
“character” in a
positive light
Generated interest in
Japan
Distorted view of
contemporary Japan
1. Gender roles
2. Economic
conditions
3. Past and present

28. Oshin in Egypt
“Many Egyptians seem to believe Oshin
was a depiction of modern Japan, they
have a wrong image of us. For example,
today Japanese women have more
freedom than in the period of Oshin.”
Official at the Japanese Cultural Center, Egypt

29. Analysis
In most interviews, at some
point people needed to
explain Oshin by reference
to the show it pre-empted
(and which returned to
replace it when it ended.

30. THE BOLD AND THE
BEAUTIFUL

31. The Bold and the Beautiful
The Bold and the
Beautiful is a US
soap opera about
the wealth
Forrester family,
whose business
dominates the
world of fashion.

32. The Bold and the Beautiful
1987-present
“Low context”
No references
to wider
political and
economic issues

33. The Bold and the Beautiful
Aired in more
than 80
countries
“World’s most
popular soap
opera”

34. The Bold and the Beautiful
Egypt: 1991-
present
Channel 2
National
(government)
channel

35. The Bold and the Beautiful
Beautiful
Actresses
Setting
Clothing
Production values
Bold
Immoral activities
Unrealistic
aspirations
Unattainable
commodities

36. Analysis
Egyptians enjoyed both Oshin
and The Bold and the Beautiful,
yet in very different ways. How
do we analyze this?

37. THE GREAT ESCAPE

43. Resources
Allison, Anne. 1995. Wrappings of Japan. American
Anthropologist 98: 885-887.
Harvey, Paul A.S. 1995. Interpreting Oshin: War, history and
women in modern Japan. In Women, Media, and Consumption
in Japan, Lise Skov and Brian Moeran, eds. University of Hawa’ii
Press.
Inoue, Kanako. 1998. The sociocultural impact of the Japanese
melodrama Oshin on Egyptian society. Unpublished paper.
Iwabuchi, Koichi. 2002. Recentering Globalization: Popular
Culture and Japanese Transnationalism. Duke University Press.
Mowlana, Hamid, and Mehdi Mohsenian-Rad. 1992.
"International Flow of Japanese Television Programs: the Oshin
Phenomenon." Keio Communication Review 14: 51-68.
Radway, Janice. 1984. Reading the Romance. University of
North Carolina Press.