1. Teaching Japanese Popular Culture Conference
National University of Singapore
11 November 2012
Ghost in the Shell:
A Gender and Media Literate Approach
Gerry Yokota, Osaka University
gyokota@gmail.com
2. Introduction
At Osaka University, I use popular culture materials in a
variety of educational settings, including Introductions
to Gender Studies and Peace Studies in the general
undergraduate curriculum (in Japanese); a year-
abroad program for international students (in English);
and a master's seminar on Gender, Language and
Culture (in English). I am also scheduled to start
teaching a class on Japanese popular culture in the
G30 degree program next fall.
3. As Philip Seaton pointed out in his plenary address, I
am thus navigating the channels of teaching about
Japanese popular culture as opposed to using
Japanese popular culture to teach about other things.
Either way, I am finding that anime seems to promote
learner autonomy in a way that film does not, no
doubt in no small part because students are often
more knowledgeable than faculty about the work, so
while the teacher may provide new critical tools such
as media literacy and gender theory, students can
engage with the text with greater confidence.
4. The futuristic anime series Ghost in the Shell is a world
of cyborgs populated by terrorists, refugees, hackers,
clones, illegal organ traffickers, traumatized war
veterans, Internet and computer game addicts, and
evolving artificial intelligence. (And that's just the first
season!) It thus presents a wide range of engaging
topics which provide ample opportunity for the
development of critical thinking skills. I have
particularly found online chat about the work to be
an effective tool for stimulating classroom discussion.
A sampler of topics
follows.
13. Gender Literacy Checklist
A relationship
between two Stereotypes Representation Silence Metaphor
women
A relationship Ambiguity
between two Symbolism Violence Names Ambivalence
men Anxiety
Between
members of Subject/ Presence/ Personal/ Mixed
the opposite Object Absence Political messages
sex
Self/ Private/ Visibility/ “Race”/ Different
Other Public Invisibility Ethnicity abilities
Power Class Religion Age Sexuality
